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Hi, I'm about to start a new project, and I haven't stitched in a while, so i would like to know what people think about where to start on a project.

In the past, I have never used a hoop, and I have tended to stitch left to right of the page, but since I use my left hand to hold the canvas, my whole work tends to bunch up, and crease, and get oily, and generally untidy.

So i was thinking, perhaps i should be stitching from the right, top down, and then working towards the left of the artwork, so I don't damage the stitches.

I'm thinking a hoop would probably do the trick, but i just wanted to make sure before I change what i've been doing in the past. So, what do people normally do?

Margaret

I use scroll bar frames to put fabric on

Then depending on what i am going to stitch a to where i start

It really is what you are comfortable with

I use q-snaps for most of my projects and a hoop for some. I tried stitching in hand when I first started and could never get the tension right so I used hoops for years until I heard about q-snaps on this forum. I usually start in the top left corner and move on from there. Occasionally I start in the middle, mostly on projects that are 2 over 2 on evenweave. As Reta says, there are no rules. Whatever is most comfortable for you.

Carole

Hi Margaret
I use a hoop and go left to right starting at the bottom I don't think it matters where you start when using a hoop, I use a piece of kitchen towel folded in two inbetween the hoop and fabric when I need to move it to stop the stitches getting squashed, I never used a hoop for a long time but I do find stitching much better now I do.

Lulu x

When I stitch in hand for larger pieces that are too small to use in any of my frames/hoops (and I don't like the smaller sized hoops) I use a clean hanky between my hand and the cross-stitch fabric where I'm holding it to keep dirt/oil off of it. But I also always wash my hands before I handle any of my stitching, so that helps a lot, too.

Depending on the design I either start in the center or one of the four corners, whichever one suits the pattern best, but I prefer to start on the left if I go for a corner.

Thanks you for your feedback. I think i'm going to at least get a hoop and then do as most of you do, start top left, and keep hands nice and clean before sewing, so the piece doesn't end up all grubby.

Thanks heaps!

I usually start in the middle of a project--and almost always use qsnaps--much easier to deal with than the hoops and a lot more affordable than scroll bar frames are

I stitch from the center in hoop and wear a glove on left hand, as holding hand, to KEEP fabric clean.
I fold the fabric in 1/4's. At the top I put 2 "xs" to mark the TOP of the fabric, so when I lay down the project, OUT of hoop, I know WHERE to put the project BACK into the hoop with the TOP of the hoop EXACTLY at the 2 "x's".
Where the fabric MEETS EXACTLY in the CENTER of fabric of the 1/4's, that is where I put my CENTER X. IF the project is BIG and the area is COVERED by design, I count DOWN to the END of the LAST design stitch on pattern and put the "x" for my center. On COPIED pattern, I write at the TOP of copy, how many stitches from bottom of pattern to center.
EX. pattern is 100 stitches H, and center is 50, and center of project is covered with design, I would put the CENTER x 49 stitches DOWN from the center.
Then I would work with CENTER color, from left to right, counting the stitches as needed from the LEFT of the CENTER.
Ex. 20 stitches for CENTER color. From CENTER x, count 10 to the LEFT. Start 1st stitch and work to the COUNT of 20 stitches with 1/2 stitches. Then on way back, CROSS.
It's sort of like typing on a typewriter, for those of us who REMEMBER or HAD typing classes in school. And for those who READ, always LEFT TO RIGHT method.
I work in a CIRCULAR method in doing the colors. I fill in ALL the CENTER area 1ST. Then work NEXT color, ALWAYS working in the LEFT to RIGHT method.
Ex. The CENTER color is ALL red, next is blue ALL around the red, I start at the LEFT BOTTOM of the LEFT of the CENTER color, red, and work the area of ALL blue from LEFT to RIGHT. Then I would work from the TOP of the CENTER red the same manner.
I ALWAYS WORK OUTWARD of the project. like a STAR BURST, in doing so, I have NO FLATTEN stitches
I ALWAYS start LARGE projects with a 7", 9", and FINALLY a
11" hoop respectively, as I find it's COMFORTABLE for me and in doing so.


HAPPY STITCHING IN STITCHING LAND

Am I an oddball? When I do my stitching project I start in the middle with a color and work down with that color. When that strand runs out i find a color close to what I just stitched that I can easily count to and then work that one color. So my project, instead of filling in like a picture on slow Dial-up top to bottom, ends up filling in as random patches of color spread out in all directions that eventually make something.

I do all of the above. I prefer scroll bars but find a hoop easier to transport so unless the project is big (or a tapestry) I will use a hoop.

I tend to hold the hoop at the back of the fabric. Most people seem to put it on the top but I find that putting the hoop under the work lets me grip it better without touching as much of the fabric - and it's the back of the fabric that I grab then too.

I start in the middle or the top left or top right.
Middle: if it's a smaller project or the background is not stitched.
Top Left: it it's a larger project with a full back ground and the more important side is to the right OR vice versa top right.

I use a hoop or frame because my tension is not regular from session to session and the frame/hoops helps to correct that. I also have oily skin and the frame or hoop takes the brunt of that rather than my project.

As a newbie I have the same questions. Reading this certainly helped give me some ideas on the different ways to approach a project. One question I have is about hoop/frames when the sewing method is apparently my natural inclination. Does the stab method get easier?? I find myself wasting time because I come up in eight different places with each stitch before I get the correct placement. I just feel like my tension is wonky with the sewing in hand method so I need a better way...

SunnyDay wrote:As a newbie I have the same questions. Reading this certainly helped give me some ideas on the different ways to approach a project. One question I have is about hoop/frames when the sewing method is apparently my natural inclination. Does the stab method get easier?? I find myself wasting time because I come up in eight different places with each stitch before I get the correct placement. I just feel like my tension is wonky with the sewing in hand method so I need a better way...

The stab method gets easier if I use a hoop or qsnap--it's nearly impossible for me to feel like I am getting even tension if I try to stitch in hand. I also find that having a nice cover works wonders on my qsnap--keeps it that much cleaner

I will try it on my new HAED design. Thank you!

I've always used the stab method. I find the sewing method more difficult, but maybe I'm just an odd duck. I spend more time trying to find holes with the sewing method than actually stitching. So stab method all the way for me. It definitely gets easier as you get more used to it. I'm pretty fast stitching with it in hand, but when I am able to do it two handed in my frame it goes so fast!

The stab method definitely gets easier with practice. I was the same way when I started, especially when switching fabric counts. With time and repetition, your hand will remember how far apart the holes are, and it won't take you 8 attempts to come up through the right one. For me, using the sewing method gives me uneven tension and makes me split the stitches that I've already done.