Do you cross as you go?

[Fljotsdale]

Mine'd never pass the 'back' test either! At one time I used to keep the backs tidy, but the more I stitch the less I fuss about the back. I do quite a lot of my stitching as full crosses xxxx each stitch, and only larger areas as /// and back \\\. BUT I have to admit to not always starting a stitch where it should be started. They all go the same way, but if there is a crowded hole where the needle should go next, I don't use it, but go to the less crowded hole that will place my stitch correctly. This does not make for a tidy back! But who is going to look at the back apart from the framer?

[Ketta]

So, question along the lines of how we all make our x's...

I'm wondering how it came about that the 'traditional' way was to stitch from bottom left to top right, then bottom right to top left? That's always seemed wrong to me and I've always stitched from top to bottom instead. I understand going //// then coming back with \\\\ conserves thread a bit, so I get the reasoning behind that. But bottom to top? Am I the only one who finds that backward? (It's ok if you all think I'm a freak, it's not the worst I've been referred to!)

[LadyS]

The idea of going bottom to top is simply to make it so you always come up a hole that doesn't have a thread already going into and go down where it's already stitched, so you don't end up catching the strand with your needle.

I must say I don't always follow that (almost impossible to on confetti areas) as I tend to stitch in rows and sewing style, and sometimes it makes more sense to start on the right going left so I end up making full rows of stitches going top to bottom.

My backs are a nightmare as well but I never intend to enter anything into any competition, and the only thing I worry about is that my stitches all cross to the same side (even if I'll do top / or top \ in different projects).

[mechie]

So, question along the lines of how we all make our x's...

I'm wondering how it came about that the 'traditional' way was to stitch from bottom left to top right, then bottom right to top left? That's always seemed wrong to me and I've always stitched from top to bottom instead. I understand going //// then coming back with \\\\ conserves thread a bit, so I get the reasoning behind that. But bottom to top? Am I the only one who finds that backward? (It's ok if you all think I'm a freak, it's not the worst I've been referred to!)

If this makes you a freak, Ketta, then I'm right there with you! I've always stitched top left to bottom right, then top right to bottom left (the same way I would write the letter x).

I think this is also why I'm the only one I've seen stitching an HAED from the bottom up. If I stitched it from the top down then I'd end up undoing the stitch above as I moved directly below it (if that makes sense). Plus, for me, going bottom up allows me to do what LadyS said and always come up a hole that doesn't have a thread already going in it.

Of course, maybe I really am just wierd (or backward, one or the other ) .

mechie

[Corey.G]

First I'll say that I go along with everyone else here (without knowing it) and make my stitches \\\\\/////. Then for confetti, I do each stitch individually.

And to Ketta's comment about "traditional". I never heard any mention of this til now and I'm almost cometely backwards. I find it's easier to make my stitches from the bottom right to top left, then top right to bottom left. As long as all my top stitches lay the same way then I'm fine.

[Ketta]

Ah... Corey that makes sense. I simply have system where I come up where I haven't gone down, like at the end of a row where I have to go below the x I just stitched, I come up first from the bottom. Been doing it that way for so long, I don't even think about it.

As far as traditional, here's my experience with it (mostly bad):

When I was 12, I'd finished a project out of a book of patterns of state birds. I was really proud of it and had gotten compliments from a lot of people, so I decided to enter it in the state fair. When we went to drop it off, the lady who checked it in popped the back off the frame and informed me that the back of my work was not acceptable for judging (i.e., would not be judged because it wasn't finished correctly). I can only assume she had gotten plenty of entries from kids and people who didn't clean up the back of their work. She wasn't mean, but she could have been nicer.

Anyway, I asked her why they look at the back in the first place; wasn't the front what was important? She said they look at both, because a 'sign of a good stitcher is a clean piece' and that they only accepted traditionally finished pieces (please refer to the entrance requirements in our book, yadda yadda).

Now you can enter cross stitched works in state and county fairs and they don't judge the backs (but if your piece is blobby from having too much lumps in the back, they take points off). I know there are shows where they do judge both sides, but I don't know of any locally.

I'm glad to be on these forums, where there's no snarking or sniping. From this thread, I learned the why behind rows of //// vs. full X's and behind coming up from bottom to top. In other places, you'd get snarked first, and then some nice person might have taken pity on you and told you why (maybe). It's good to be around good peeps!

[debupnorth]

I've been following the discussion about starting at the bottom versus the top of the stitch.

I've noticed that my threads lie/lay smoother when I start my stitch at the top and go down at the bottom, which is for me, top right to bottom left (/), then top left to bottom right (\), crossing as I go. Since I'm usually starting at the bottom of the pattern, my open holes are at the top of the individual stitch. Whenever I do have to work the stitches from bottom to top, the threads get a little twisted or kinked, it doesn't feel as natural, and I also tend to get more knots.

It's really interesting to hear how & why others are doing what they do.

Deb

[LadyS]

Since I usually stitch sewing style, I start top left and go bottom right if I'm going from the middle of the design up, and usually stitch bottom left to top right if I'm going from the middle of the design and down, if that makes sense, to avoid what I was talking about in my previous post. But like I posted before as well, in some areas I can't follow this patterns so I end up going up a hole already stitched in at times.

[Darlene]

Very interesting question. I never really paid much attention, but now I see that I tend to always go bottom left to top right for a row, if there are enough stitches, and then come back bottom right to top left. Don't really know how I got to this but it feels natural so I guess it is okay for me! I do complete cross stitches when I need to do stitches that don't flow easily (going from one place to another) to avoid a lot of wasted thread, as some have already said.
I think it just makes sense to do what comes natural and to follow the flow of the pattern.
I sometimes feel lazy when I make complete crosses rather than //// and \\\\\, but at my age stitching is about fun!
darlene