new to cross stitching

[Giliane]

hi girls, I am completely new in the art of cross stitching and I am really loving it. This is the story of how it all started and some pictures of my work so far: http://thesimplethingsinlife2012.blogsp ... onary.html" target="_blank

Anyways, I would like to know whether you have any tips and tricks for choosing canvases, does it depend on the pattern? I only use canvas aida 14 count, however I wondered whether I can produce daintier work? Is this possible?

Thanks girls =)

[rcperryls]

Hello and welcome from South Carolina. and welcome to the addictive hobby, pastime, obsession called Cross Stitch. Be warned that we will do everything we can to aid and abet you in this endeavor. You have a world of choices as to what and how you want to stitch. Spend some time browsing our forum, especially the SAL threads to see the wide variety of cross stitching we do, from the "simple" to the "complex". I put those in quotes because everything is pretty much one stitch at a time no matter what you choose. I took a peek at your blog and it looks like you've made a nice start. I hope you will post your pictures here also so that we can all watch your progress.

Carole

[Nachstenliebe]

Welcome! Aida is usually my go to fabric for smaller projects.. I love all the hand dyed fabrics at http://www.silkweaverfabrics.com/home/." target="_blank.
Faith

[LastingAllure]

Great start so far! Welcome to the wonderful world of cross stitching you will be addicted!

And if you want to do daintier work maybe try working your way up to smaller counts of fabric? I would suggest going with a 16 count aida and then a 18 count and then maybe even try linen (not everyone does linen...it just gives the project a more finished look but that is preference for everyone and nothing wrong with choosing not to use it)

Happy stitching!

Shannon

[coffee_freak]

your blog is lovely! and welcome to cross stitching

[Giliane]

thanks for the support ladies =)

atm I am working on what for me is a masterpiece, I will take some pictures and give you an update =)

[LadyS]

Welcome to the forums!!

I read your story in your blog it's wonderful to see people finding this art and falling in love with it! Some of us started early, some of us started late, so we have people here of all ages, both genders, and varying experience in Cross stitching.

If you look around the tips and tricks forum, you'll find questions to all sorts of doubts on how to best handle this work, on fabrics, and flosses, and organization, etc.

Starting simple is the way to go, and remember that if you ever feel overwhelmed or feel that a pattern you love is too daunting, it's all still one cross at a time!

[Lessa54]

Hello and welcome!

As you'll find out if you hang around on here, the world really is your oyster in this craft. There's all sorts of things to try from little projects, through to massive replicas of artwork etc. As far as fabric goes, maybe try some small projects on little pieces of higher counts. Also if you do opt for a big project where the canvas is covered, you don't really have to worry about the fabric- just choose a size you like and calculate thread accordingly, because no-one will see it under the finished piece.

[Rose]

I love to work on my 14 ct aida. I have been stitching for years and I find that 14 is my fabric of choice.

[BookNerd]

Welcome!

Ditto to what everyone said! This can be a very addictive hobby, but also a good one. I also find it very relaxing. Well, until I get a knot or discover I goofed something up.

I had only used 14 & 16 count aida until I joined this forum, and discovered a whole other world of fabric and patterns. I like LastingAllure's suggestions.

Have fun!!

[BizzieLizzie]

Hello and welcome!

I started with kits on 14ct Aida, then tried 18ct Aida and am now doing a project on 22ct Hardanger, which is very similar to Aida. I've found that working my way up through the stitch counts has made the higher counts less daunting for me but I'm still a bit nervous about trying 28ct (I'll be skipping 25ct as the way I stitch 2 over 1 is too bulky and 1 over 1 gives too much show through).

Half the fun is playing around with new stash to find what works for you.

[Giliane]

hi thanks girls,

lessa54 you said choose the fabric and calculate the thread accordingly, what does that mean?

i therefore assume that the higher the count the smaller the finished work would be. What do you do if you want to use say count 18 but not end up with a smaller finished work?

thanks girls =)

i think i will experiment with 16count for my next pattern, although I am dying to try the evenweave or linen, but I will wait for now =)

[Mystonique]

I'd recommend finding a nice kit for trying even weave and especially linen.

It is quite different to stitch on and at least with a kit you are just following the directions rather than having to size the fabric and work out how many strands accross how many holes etc.

I'm not sure how you would go trying to make something the same size on 18ct from 14ct Aida. You might go over two blocs on the fabric but I think that would be too much.

[Lessa54]

hi thanks girls,

lessa54 you said choose the fabric and calculate the thread accordingly, what does that mean?

i therefore assume that the higher the count the smaller the finished work would be. What do you do if you want to use say count 18 but not end up with a smaller finished work?

thanks girls =)

i think i will experiment with 16count for my next pattern, although I am dying to try the evenweave or linen, but I will wait for now =)

Yes, the higher the count, the smaller the finished work. Mabel did a great example stitch of how the different counts work into different sizes - will have a hunt around for the link later.

There are various fabric calculators around that can work out the size of fabric you need for any given number of stitches wide and high - http://www.thehappycross-stitcher.com/p ... lator.html" target="_blank" target="_blank is just one.

The higher the count of fabric and the smaller the design, the less thread you will need. Exact amounts of thread depend on you doing some practice pieces to work out your personal tension for each fabric so that you know that say on 18ct, you can stitch say 50 stitches with 50 cm of thread.

On making the piece the same size on a smaller count, you would have to scale the design up. I'm not sure whether any of the pattern programmes could help with that (skitzzzz may be able to answer as our resident pattern programme wizard). Personally, I wouldn't want to try scaling anything of any great detail up to make it the same size, I'd just stitch it on a larger count fabric.

[Giliane]

thanks a million girls =)