Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

Does anyone wash their projects half way through?

I like how steaming and ironing squishes down my stitches just enough to ensure that there is plenty of coverage, I am wondering if this will have the same effect - sort of smooth them all out nicely.

My hoop left weird grungy marks on the fabric, which is white (Not obsessively washing my hoop often enough it would seem). It's outside of the pattern and wouldn't be visible after framing but I know it's there and it's bothering me. I took a wet soapy q-tip to it but that only lightened and spread out the marks.

Can a project like mine (HAED, white aida, DMC thread) handle multiple washings or is it best to only steam and iron frequently, washing once at the end?

If it had to dry for a few days flat it would give me an excuse to finish up a UFO, also.

Edited to add: I mean gentle, in the sink washings with a bit of dish soap, not in the washing machine.

I don't do it often but there have been times when a large project (ie..my tree skirt) has gotten something on it and I needed to wash the project. I saw no bad effects from the washing.

I wash my projects in the middle of working on them frequently. I draw all over my fabric with the washable markers- and after a while too many lines just confuse me or it looks too messy and drives me crazy.
BUT.. I don't work on fully stitched/ HAED type projects. So I usually only wash once during the middle of stitching- by the time I am ready to wash again, I am done working on it.
The only time I have ever had problems was when stitching with overdyed threads. Never had troubles with regular DMC/ Anchor projects. I also hand wash in the kitchen sink with a little Fabric Care.

I've found that washing your hoop can actually cause the grungy marks - I think it has to do with soap residue (especially the porous wooden hoops).

Some people will say that washing will disturb the nap (the way the fibres lay) on the thread but I've never been able to notice it.

I saw a tip somewhere about wrapping a strip of acid free tissue paper around the outer ring of your hoop so it doesn't mark the fabric. I haven't tried it myself, but it might help prevent the marks.