Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

Hi everyone,
I started cross stitching about two weeks ago. I brought a magazine in asda that came with a kit and then I started making one of the projects from in the magazine and I was hooked. I then brought two books of amazon and have started doing one of the projects. It seems to be taking me ages to do a small amount though, so I was just wondering if anyone could give me any tips on how to speed up?
Thanks in advance x
P.s I can't wait to be able to view the gallery on here

Cross stitching is relaxing

you need to take your time otherwise you will be a lot

I also like the slow and steady method.but sometimes I don't have much time to stitch so I want to get as much done as possible.

I grid...and I look for big blocks of color..so sometimes I bounce all over the fabric....

coffee_freak wrote:.so sometimes I bounce all over the fabric....

Does that not leave foot prints

Yes I grid too on anything but a mini project, I like to know where I am at all times and it saves me making a lot of mistakes.

Don't rush, enjoy the process.

Reta

Reta wrote:

coffee_freak wrote:.so sometimes I bounce all over the fabric....

Does that not leave foot prints

haha nope..i'm usually in my socks when I stitch

Everyone stitches at a speed that they are comfortable with, and different patterns will also be different in how much you can do at one time. Once you are comfortable with stitching then you will be able to decide on what "tips" work for you. There is lots of information on here for sure. I find that for most of my projects, gridding is very helpful and becausse I hate threading needles, I keep my floss threaded and that saves time. I also find that while speed is great for feeling that you have accomplished something, focusing on that rather than the joy (for me) of the process of stitching turns a project into work rather than my favorite pastime. Hope you will post some pics of what you are doing. and welcome to the forum.

Carole

coffee_freak wrote:

Reta wrote:

coffee_freak wrote:.so sometimes I bounce all over the fabric....

Does that not leave foot prints

haha nope..i'm usually in my socks when I stitch

Stitching is a sloooow hobby (unless your name is Vanessa )....nice and relaxing....a wonderful way to destress after a hectic day at work or with the kids.

It really isn't a race and you will soon realise that the fun is in the process as much as the finish.

There's nothing quite like finishing a piece after all those hours of stitching away...it's an accomplishment...a labour of love But.....if you didn't have to spend all that time stitching then that finish wouldn't feel as special now would it? Well thats what I think anyway!

I definitely see your points about it being relaxing. I can sit and do it for hours.
It is definitely enjoyable. I only ask about speeding up because I'm trying to make a picture for my boyfriend for christmas with batman characters and I'm not sure it will be finished in time.

At the minute I'm stitching a simple fairy design, its not very detailed but I have to change colours a lot more times than the first one I did and its slightly larger. I love looking at patterns as well, I purchased two mini haeds so I can't wait to get started on them as well.

Thanks for all the replies, you all seem really nice

x

Sounds like you have jumped in with both feet and are having lots of fun with your new addiction - and yes it is an addiction but its a nice one.

We all know the feeling on wanting to get something done by a certain date and stitching doesn't seem to go fast enough. Sorry no helpful hints as I've not found the answer yet - except to start sooner.

One of the biggest ways you will have to increase your speed is just experience. I find that I'm a lot faster at stitching that I used to be and really the only difference is that I'm more experienced that I used to be. After a while you get a feel for how to do it without having to think about it as much which makes things a bit faster. Not much you can do to get there other than to stitch more.

If it's a deadline you're worried about ... well don't be too worried about it. You would not be the first stitcher in history to give a half completed project to someone only to take it back and finish it afterwards. I know I've done it several times.

mechie

I'm sure he'll understand if I have to do the whole give it and take it back thing . It definitely is an addiction lol .

Its hard to only want to do just one project at a time. Im loving my new hobby though. I also make jewellery as well but cross stitch is more relaxing to do while watching tv and relaxing.

mechie wrote:You would not be the first stitcher in history to give a half completed project to someone only to take it back and finish it afterwards. I know I've done it several times.
mechie

hahaha.. yep! Just this afternoon I was working on cleaning up a hardanger piece I have already given my mother- only to take it back when she said she was going to frame it. I noticed too many threads poking out after I gave it to her- and well, once it was behind glass those threads would be the only thing I would see. I'll give it back to her again.. eventually.

For me I hate finishing off a thread so I will poke my needle through a hole in the fabric and bring the thread through. Once I have 5 pieces to finish off I can then do that all at once and start that all over again.

I also find keeping your fabric tight on a hoop or Q-Snap helps a lot and makes it easier to count.

And one last thing, I like to make areas that I can fill in with one color without having to count. For example there is a dark, medium and light color. I will do the dark first then the light and then go and fill in the space in between those two colors.

And as mentioned above, experience will make you faster. Once you have the confidence and you get into a routine with the stitches without having to think much of where the needle is going then you will find you are moving faster. Everyone has their own speed

The other stitchers have already given you the best advise and that is experience. Once you have stitched fo a while you will speed up but in the long run you stitch the speed you stitcha dn if you try to hurry then you make those mistakes that then bring out the . He is not an animal that you want to see when it comes to cross stitching.

Things that sped me up:

A hoop to keep my work tight
A laying tool (also called a trolley needle) that attaches to my thumb to lay my threads straight as I go
Gridding the fabric so I can easily see where ten squares is
I usually try to do edges first so that I can "just fill in" blocks of colour
A good light - my eyes are pretty good but a good light made things much quicker from threading to finishing.
I also find good scissors, a piece of rubber and a thimble to pull/push the needle through tight spots and a detailer for pulling short ends under are great time savers.

Like everyone's said though - stitiching is a labour of love, I don't know anyone that is fast enough to finish an average piece in less than a month.

Experience has been the biggest help for speeding up for me. Also finding new places to do stitching. I often feel I'm slow on here compared to others, but then if I look at it properly, I'm comparing my speed with some of our members who have a lot more time to stitch than I do, so of course I make less progress. I counter that by doing things like stitching on the train when I'm commuting to get those extra minutes in.

diamondradleylover wrote: Its hard to only want to do just one project at a time. Im loving my new hobby though. I also make jewellery as well but cross stitch is more relaxing to do while watching tv and relaxing.

You do know there's no rule saying you may only do one project at a time? We're very enabling here - most of us were one project people once and then found here and we now all have rotations as long as your arm

Thanks for all your help and advise. I'm just going to enjoy it and if its not finished then it just wont be finished in time. He can have it when its done

I might just have to let your bad influences rub off on me then and start my haed fairy face that I brought a couple of days ago
When I have a huge rotation going I will just have to blame you