? for stiching stand (Lowery etc)users who don't park thread

[rcperryls]

I hope these questions make sense.

1) I always use a loop start when I am stitching with two strands and think I understand how to do this either front or back. However, if there is a lot of confetti or just not a lot of stitches with a particular color, I finish it off and then the threaded needle with both strands goes back in the bobbin box where it is kept. Which means the next time that thread is used I either have to start with a pinhead stitch which is pretty tricky if I'm tenting on 28 ct. (Haven't tried that yet) Or do you separate the strands and do another loop start. Doesn't that waste a lot of floss?

2) Since you can't use a loop start if stitching 1 over 1 (which I do on 25 ct and have several large pieces that way) I know I can start with a waste knot or a "pseudo" waste knot as long as it isn't the last stitch in the area or try again a pinhead stitch, but that also seems difficult on 25 ct, though not impossible.

3) Again, if you finishin off a thread by bringing the end of the thread to the front and waiting until other stitches cover it, it seems like there will be a lot of loose threads hanging off the front . And it seems while that could work, what do you do if it is the last stitch in the area. Ending with a pinhead stitch when its 1 over 1 on 25 ct sounds as hard to me as starting with a pinhead stitch.

4) If these questions don't make any sense, let me know please. My feelings won't be hurt if it is too confusing. I will try to explain it better. Or just be glad that the Lowery side clamp is pretty easy to flip over as long as you watch out and don't hit a cat in the head when it is on your lap.

Really hoping that two handed stitching starts to get faster. My left hand isn't great at stitching yet, but slowly getting there. And for all the above issues, I am in a strange way loving my stand.

Carole

[jocellogirl]

I'm not going to be much use for you Carole, as I'm constantly flipping my work on the Lowery to start and finish off at the back. The only thing I do at the front is actually stitch. But then again I don't have the risk of injuring a feline which is keeping me company

[rcperryls]

Thanks Jo. I think they are going to have to learn to keep their heads down or just help with the stitching that I don't do in the stand. Laverne prefers the afghans anyway, and those are too big I think, though I won't know till I try.

Carole

[nachosmiley]

I'm not much use either I'm afraid as I always use two strands and so I use a loop start on the front of the work and I flip my frame to end threads. I don't even know how to attempt a pinhead stitch!!

Your left hand will get used to two handed stitching and will instinctively know where to go trust me....I started using the technique about a year ago I guess and it took a week or so before my co-ordination sorted itself out!

[imogenX]

Or just be glad that the Lowery side clamp is pretty easy to flip over as long as you watch out and don't hit a cat in the head when it is on your lap.

Aww, poor kitty. But I couldn't help laughing out loud at the mental image.
(Sorry, I don't have a Lowery stand. But if someday I do, I'll be wondering the same things as you, so I'll be watching this thread )

[socialsue]

I figured out how to do the loop thread on the front to start but I didn't like the way it looks when I finished in the front. I prefer to finish in the back because I thought it looks to bulky in the front and plus you could see the thread ending in the front for some color of threads. I am not sure why. I try not to pick too many charts that has confetti because it drives me nuts! I do use two hands stitching method because it saves me time. I have a special needle that has a eye in the middle of the needle and u just slip it up and down instead of turning the needle every time u are ready to stitch in the next hole. It doesn't tangle as much that way. I think it depends on how u want the front of the design to look when stitching your finishing thread on the front or the back.

socialsue

[Mrs Milkybar Kid]

Poor kitties - I didn't think there would be room for them and the stand when it comes to flipping! Let's just hope they don't plot together to come up with a way to destroy it!

I'm a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to how I work as it all depends on the project - some I park, some I cross country etc etc! One thing I haven't done is bother to teach myself to stitch two handed, I'm quite happy with the speed of my stitching and I've streamlined the process in other ways (thank you iPad!).

I don't do a great deal of 1 over 1 stitching, only on parts of Chats, so I'm not much help really! I'll either start on the back running the thread under, or if I'm feeling really lazy (more often than not) I just hold the thread end on the back and make sure I stitch over it with the first few stitches.

If I'm stitching over 2 I always use the loop start from the front. If I come across confetti where I only need a few stitches in a colour, I'll rethread the needle with a smaller piece of thread if I have one (I always save smaller pieces just for the purpose!).

Sometimes I end threads on the front if I've cross countried and found myself in a place with no other stitches to anchor on. Normally the ends that stick out of the fabric are quite small (1cm or so, I might trim them if quite long) so it's not as if threads are dangling everywhere.

I do flip the stand a lot though to end threads as to me that is the point of investing in the Lowery. I think we all have things that we hate doing (for you threading needles!) and we adapt the way we stitch accordingly, sometimes it takes time to find our groove with new methods. I think the constant ending of threads with HAEDs annoyed me which is why I tried parking in the first place!

Probably all of that is gobbledygook - but thought I would try and contribute!

[BizzieLizzie]

Re two handed stitching, is your left hand the one underneath? I found that resting the tips of the fingers of each hand lightly against the fabric helps because the fingers can 'feel' each other through the fabric. Try it - it makes finding the hole from underneath much easier.

Also, most people say to stitch with the non-dominant hand on top because being able to see it makes it easier, but that doesn't work for me. I have my non-dominant hand underneath.

And yes, two handed stitching does get faster. I did 220 stitches in an hour last night (it was only one or two colours of background, but still ...) so it's definitely worth persevering with.

[rcperryls]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think I'll probably do as Amanda said, find the mix of things that suits me best. I have a few 1 over 1's that I started before I realized I could grid the 28 cts. So all new HAEDs are tented on that. And I like stitching two handed and figure it will get faster so I'm glad to hear from Sam and Lizzie that they agreed. I tried switching for a while at one point, but am pretty sure my dominant hand on the bottom works best. I also have found that if I adjust the height of my chair when a kitty demands a lap (I am such a sucker it is disgusting, but they have been my comfort since my DH died and I can't shoo them away. And they know it too!) I make sure there is room to flip. And sometimes I use a wasteknot. Depends on how much fabric is left to stitch over.
For all of that, I am so happy that I got the Lowery and thank you all again for the enabling and encouraging and gentle prodding that I got.

Carole


ps anyone who has any other thoughts or ideas I'm also willing to listen!

[Parksfarm]

I often have my 20 pound fellow on my lap and it definitely makes it a bit more difficult to rotate the frame when he there... He usually has a grumble at me when I do, lol.

[Fizzbw]

I work a lot with the extender on the lowery, so flipping it is an awkward process!

I start with a loop start from the front or an adapted pin head stitch, where the bottom cross goes into the middle hole. Then finish with a pinhead stitch. Cut it off without looking on the back and trim later if needed. No bulk, and no coming undone. No disturbing the cat on my lap!

Working with one strand is harder but you can still do the pinhead stitch. It gets easy after a while, though I do have to swap my hands around to do it. I work with non dom hand on the top usually. And yes you'll get a lot faster and won't believe that you used to only stitch with one hand, and when you do again when something is in hand etc, then you will feel some tugs of frustration at the clumsiness of it!! It also means that you experiment to find out what is the smallest hoop you can ut in the Lowery.......

Niki xxx

[rcperryls]

Thank you Niki. I can see where it is going to be faster stitching with 2 hands when I'm doing a block of color, for sure. The starting and finishing are still something I'm working on finding the best method for me, especially with 1 over 1 stitching on the 25 ct with a lot of confetti. I'm getting better at flipping so that is helping too. And like all things stitching, it's finding the right combination that works for me. All in all, this has been a great purchase.

Carole

[NeedleAndFork]

I'm piping up late here - but I'd highly recommend starting and finishing from the front if yu don't want to flip your work constantly. I stitch 1 over 1 on 28 count, and all my threads are started from the front, a few rows below where I am currently working. It took a little time to get used to stitching that way, but it now makes things go so much faster, especially in confetti dense areas. I haven'treached the bottom of my piece yet, so I haven't had to deal with what to do about that yet, but I imagine when it happens that I'll end up doing my starts and finishes to the right of where I'm working, so that the only area I have to deal with flipping to deal with threads is the very last corner that I work in. I can't post pictures yet or I'd include one of my current WIP that shows how I work. Maybe in a few posts if you'd ike to see it.

[starshine123102]

Not to jump in in the middle of a thread, but reading through this I see that a lot of people have posted that you start and end a thread on the front of the work. Am I reading that correctly and if so how does that work?!?!

[NeedleAndFork]

To start from the front, you take the thread, and from a few stitches away from where it is needed, you bring the thread down from the front of the work to the back, and then stitch as normal, making sure not to pull the tail all the way through to the back. You do that across an area that hasn't been stitched yet, so that future stitches will cover up that tail - so rather than starting by sliding the tail under existing stitches, you're leaving it exposed and stitching over it. Then once it's been stitched over, you can snip the tail from the front - I use a pair of tweezers to pull it really tight and snip as close to the fabric as I can, and the tiny end just vanishes back through the hole into the back of the work. Ending from the front is similar, after you're done, you bring the thread to the front across an area that hasn't been stitched yet and cut a short tail, and once it is stitched over, you snip the tail away.

Some people use a waste knot - putting a knot in the tail before starting. If you're using a fabric with large holes, that might be be needed to keep the tail in place, but on my 28 count evenweave, I find that I can just pull it through and leave about 1 inch or less sticking out the front and it stays put no problems.

This method is especially useful if you park and stitch grid by grid - since there's a method to the madness. But I'm sure that it can also be used by cross country stitchers, you just have to put up with the threads in the front in a bit more haphazard manner.

Hope this helps - if not, let me know and I'll add a picture of a piece I'm working on that shows the tails sticking out from the front for a better visual.

[starshine123102]

That's definitely an interesting way of doing it! I don't like having to flip my work over, my needle always falls out of the hole if there isn't a stitch there already, especially on my current project. I'm doing a 28ct linen and the spaces seem to be awfully large from what I was expecting.