Tips from HAED and large patterns stitchers

[toni99]

Hi! I am Toni from the Philippines and new to this forum. I really enjoy my stay here reading all your posts. I've been cross stitching for more than ten years with small and medium projects. I took a plunge yesterday and purchased 4 patterns from HAED. This group is such a big enabler

Since I will be starting this big, big projects, I would really appreciate any tips and tricks from our fellow stitchers who did big patterns.

By the way, here are the HAED patterns that I puchased yesterday. I just pasted the link here since I don't know how to post photos yet:

http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index. ... ts_id=3642" target="_blank

http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index. ... ts_id=4270" target="_blank

http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index. ... ts_id=6098" target="_blank

http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index. ... ts_id=3844" target="_blank

Thank you in advance and happy stitching!

Toni

[janny]

Hi Toni

Welcome from Australia. You have chosen some beautiful charts - especially the chocolate one....will keep you busy for some time.

Jan

[kell]

Welcome to the forum! I love the designs you've chosen.

I'd say my best tips are:

1. Get organised. Make sure all the colours you'll need are set out in numerical order so you can find them quickly and easily

2. Use a fabric calculator and make sure you have enough fabric, because it would be terrible to put in pages and pages of work, only to discover you're short at the bottom.

3. Hem your fabric or use fraycheck or something similar. You'll be working on this project for a long time, and you don't want to risk your fabric fraying too much.

4. GRID YOUR FABRIC! Even if you don't usually grid for projects, I'd highly reccommend it for HAED. Lots of colours, many very similar, are a lot easier to work with if you grid.

5. Used a frame or hoop of some kind. If you're a stitcher who usually just holds the fabric, you may find that the sheer size of these projects makes that far more difficult.

6. Make sure you've experimented with different numbers of strands on different fabrics till you find the coverage you like best. (I', working with 2 strands on 18-count for my storykeep, but I think I'd only use 1 strand if I were using a higher count fabric, but that's just me - some people use 2 strands on 25-count too).

[Midge]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Good luck with the designs. I have the first one but haven't started it yet.
Are you a peacockaholic like me?

[Cecilia]

Hello and welcome. I like the peacock design.

[Becca]

I really love that first design. I think my tip would be don't just rush into it, make sure you think carefully about how you want to do it. Try out different count fabrics and different numbers of strands of thread. I use 1 strand on 28 count and I don't grid, but I love my plastic snap frame. Everyone does it slightly differently so you have to find the way that works for you. I have also enlarged my pattern to twice the size because it makes it a lot easier to read so this is something you might want to think about doing.

[vanessanjf]

I love the quick stitch peacock. Such vibrant colours.
I think Kell gave you some great tips. The main thing for me is to get organised. I always use the pako needle organiser and floss holder (or 3 of each on the project I am doing now!) but it depends on your preference.
Also I never use hoops or frames even on the huge designs as I feel they slow you down but some people struggle without one so it really depends on what suits you.

[mrscullen]

wow beautiful patterns i like the peacock and doves in a garden one the best....good luck with those.

[ali-cat]

What beautiful charts!! Buying four at once - this forum has influenced you!!

I can't think of anything more to add on advice - except to be aware that they will take a long time and just relax and enjoy seeing them come to life.

[pamelam]

Welcome to the forum, Toni! You've chosen some lovely patterns to stitch!

[franacropan]

I would add that for some people learning to park really helps. I thought I would never get the hang of it but once I did it became second nature. There are some good threads about it on HAED forum under "parking" and also http://www.scarletquince.com/parking.phphas a tutorial.It really helps to keep the stitching smooth and, for me, I like the way it means that you never have to go back and fill in confetti stitches.
The second thing that helps me enormously is use of the pin head stitch to start and finish. Again, you can find tutorials but I use a modified method http://www.morecambesands.com/morecambe ... -over.htmlthat means I never have to flip my work to start and end threads.

[christianstitcher]

When I work on large patterns I have to use either a floor frame or lap frame depending on the size of the fabric. I work in sections which I find easier.

Don't give up, I often get bored when working a huge design so I find it handy to keep some smaller stitching on the go so I can do a bit and then go back to the larger piece.

[toni99]

Thank you very much for all your inputs, tips and techniques. I really appreciate them.

Jan - I've chosen the Chocolate one because I think it will be pretty for the dining area, and I love chocolates

Kell - I will keep in mind all your tips. I will be doing the patterns in 18-count since it's very hard to purchase here the 25-count fabric. I think I should email HAED about the floss usage since 18-count is a bit larger than 25.

Midge - actually most of my patterns consists of scenic/landscapes/nature, but whenever I see a very nice peacock pattern, I can't help it. Maybe unconsciously, I'm a peacockaholic like you, since I realized that I have more peacock patterns than I thought. One of my to do patterns is this (the last photo of the blogger, I just found his blog when searching for cross stitch):

http://docgelo.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/artist-in-you/" target="_blank
http://docgelo.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/img_7119.jpg" target="_blank

Ali-cat - yes, this forum is such a big influence that my wishlist for haed and big patterns is getting long

Franacropan - I will practice the parking method as soon as I start my next big project which will be this (a gift for my husband since he really likes the painting):

http://www.pinoystitch.org/index.php?ma ... ge&pID=670" target="_blank

TO ALL - thank you once again and happy stitching to all of you!

[Midge]

That is one yummy scrummy peacock. Where did you get that pattern please? I'd love that for my collection.

[toni99]

Hi Midge, the yellow peacock is an original colored pattern from DMC Philippines. I am not sure what year they released that although I was able to still get one from a local store here. I will do my best to search for an online cross stitch that I remember selling that chart and will give you the link.

[Midge]

Thank you

[milkmaid]

lovely paterns ,no advice i'm afraid ,but i hope you enjoy doing them

[toni99]

Midge,

I'm sorry I really can't find the yellow peacock pattern anywhere in the web. But if my memory is right, I think it was together with these patterns before:

http://www.kscrossstitch.com/green-ligh ... p-603.html" target="_blank

http://www.kscrossstitch.com/brilliant- ... p-604.html" target="_blank

I will still look for it, I promise