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I just have a couple of questions for everyone here. It seems like I've seen threads on these issues before, but for the life of me I can't find them now.

In my current project, I'm having a couple of issues. Firstly, how do you go about anchoring isolated stitches with no other stitches nearby, especially for half-crosses? I'm currently working on the sky around the castle, and there are a few instances of this. With the full crosses I can at least go over the thread on the back one time, though the anchor seems pretty weak and a couple of the stitches have come apart. But for half-crosses I'm at a total loss as to how to keep the stitch from coming out again.

My second question is about blended threads. This kit uses a lot of them, and up until now I've just been storing the unused threads in the same little baggy together until I reach that color again. But they're starting to grow in numbers and that's starting to get cumbersome. It's not worth it to get a separate baggy for every blended thread, though I probably will get a second one just so I don't have so many colors in the same bag. I'm just curious how all of you go about storing these?

The model I'm working on has a lot of blended threads. What I do is to use an index card (or something similar) and punch holes in it. Then I can loop the blended thread through the hole and mark what colors/symbol it is so I can use it again.

For my blended threads...I put them on their own bobbins. Then you could store these in a baggie together if you wanted without them getting mixed up.

As for the confetti stitches...I'd probably carry it to an anchor point, if the thread were too dark/its way way too far away, then I would put a very small knot in it I know no knots buttttt sometimes....

Stitch wrote:Firstly, how do you go about anchoring isolated stitches with no other stitches nearby, especially for half-crosses?

I have run into this instance myself and have had to find someway to anchor it without putting a knot in the back of my fabric. If you are working with aida, this will work. What I do with half stitch is because there is nothing back there to anchor it to I weave it through the back of the aida itself. It does not show through to the front of the fabric. I have included a picture to show you what I'm talking about.

edit: heheheh.. forgot to include the picture. lol...........here it is.

Stitch wrote:My second question is about blended threads. This kit uses a lot of them, and up until now I've just been storing the unused threads in the same little baggy together until I reach that color again. But they're starting to grow in numbers and that's starting to get cumbersome. It's not worth it to get a separate baggy for every blended thread, though I probably will get a second one just so I don't have so many colors in the same bag. I'm just curious how all of you go about storing these?

As for this I agree with the other poster is that I would get a few skeins of thread and blend the colours and then put them onto their seperate bobbins. It would help a lot.

With half cross's I anchor by backstitching around the thread at the back twice. But I have fairly tight tension to start with. I never thought about feeding it through the Aida but that's a brilliant idea Corey has come up with =}

As for blended threads - I keep a separate thread sorter just for them and mark the symbol on the sorter, like Busy-B.

Thanks Corey. Hadn't though about weaving it through the fabric itself.

As for the blended threads, an index card would probably work well. I don't like using the sorters like that that come with Dimensions kits, so I never really considered it, but for the blended threads it would work well I think.

How many threads are you using? I'm assuming an even number since you have blends...

I always start with the loop method (and always make sure that I do an even number of stitches because I am addicted to it.

If there are other stitches nearby, I weave the thread through the back of those stitches to anchor. If there aren't... well, I almost always do complete coverage pieces ... but I guess starting off with the loop method, then anchoring the way Corey G demonstrated would be what I would do.

I know a lot of people do the parking method when there is a lot of confetti. I never heard of it until I started reading this forum, but I've been trying to figure it out, and I'm going to attempt it on my next big project. Has anyone seen a video of parking? I've had a tough time really understanding how people do it.



Stuck at work :*(

The half-crosses I'm mentioning only use one thread, so the loop start wouldn't work. I have tried the loop start in the past but ended up abandoning it since it only works with an even number of threads.

Stitch wrote:The half-crosses I'm mentioning only use one thread, so the loop start wouldn't work. I have tried the loop start in the past but ended up abandoning it since it only works with an even number of threads.

Yeah, the loop method is a life saver for the two thread half stitches! I usually fiddle futz around with the out there stitches and somehow get them to weave on the back around whatever thread I can find, then I hit the end with a spot of Fray Check to make sure they don't come undone.

As for blended threads:
If you are working on a kit and it came with a cardboard backer in the packet, put a few holes in that piece of cardboard and use it as a spare organizer. I'll usually poke a hole through, annotate the symbol, and keep the blended threads there. If it's not a kit, grab an index card or any type of slightly thicker paper to keep the strings straight. Those light tan file folders are a nice thickness for this. They cut up into strips as makeshift thread organizers very well too. (We had a bunch of used and abused ones they were getting rid of at work, so I recycled a couple!)
If you have extra thread organizers, you can always use one of those too but they get expensive to keep purchasing after a while, so I usually make my own.

If you are working with two strands, like the others say a loop start will help; make sure you've done plenty of other-coloured half cross stitches nearby to fasten off behind.

If you are working with a single thread, and there are other stitches nearby, I've used the not-quite-a-knot method which is very secure:



If it is one isolated half stitch in one strand -- it should never have been charted, shame on the designer !

I find pako needle organisers invaluable. One of my projects has 200 colours, 116 of which are blended.

Mabel Figworthy wrote: If it is one isolated half stitch in one strand -- it should never have been charted, shame on the designer !

Thumbs up to that!!

Those Pako needle organizers have always looked really nice, but I fear the dangling threads will prove a wonderful plaything for the cats, so I try to avoid any storage system that leaves threads out in the open.