How do you read 3/4 stitch patterns?

[Melissa B]

Hey everyone,

I just started a new VERY detailed cross stitch pattern, and I have come across stitches I have never encountered before. One of these is the 3/4 stitch. I understand the premise of how to make the stitch on the fabric, but I am having problems deciding what qualifies as a 3/4 stitch on the pattern itself.

The instructions with the pattern say to use the stitch when you have a small symbol in the lower left corner of a box and then a backstich line across the box and a small symbol in the upper right corner of the following box.

example [, ]\[ ']

I have found a few of these on the pattern so I know how they look, the problem is that I have also found that pattern vertically on the design as well.... Does anyone know if I should be doing this vertically as well or does this only work horizontally?

Any help you can give me would be great! Thanks a lot!
Melissa

[Rose]

I would say yes it works vertically as well as horizontally. But with out knowing the pattern it is hard to say. The instructions indicate that you would do this in any of the squares that are marked with half of the box marked. Can you look at the finished picture that came with the pattern and find the areas and see how the picture is finished.

[stitchingmae]

I had one that would have a symbol then a slash and a symbol and if I did mine right it was two half stitches of different colors?? I may have done it wrong though? or maybe not half but you know two stitches that butted up against each other but two diff colors?

[LadyS]

Here you go. You have a row of cross stitches and underneath you have a half stitch, a 1/4 stitch and a 3/4 stitch.



Two quarter stitches should look like this:


When working a design where there's no specification as to which stitch to use (1/4 or 3/4) I usually do a 1/4 if it calls for backstitches right down the middle, otherwise I use a 3/4 stitch of the color that I think would make more sense, like below.

[Melissa B]

Thanks guys, that really helps. I hope this project turns out as well as I hope it will.