Preparation Habits?

[Vykic37]

I was curious how other stitchers prepare their cross stitches! When I first started when I was 12, I used to tape the edges so they wouldn't fray, now I go around the edge and stitch the frays down. It is much neater than taping and it even looks a bit like a border. I noticed in many pictures, stitchers dot or line their canvases (I'm not a block stitcher, I'm a one color at a time stitcher). How do you prepare your works?

Vyki

[MaggieM1750]

I am an edge taper. Or I do nothing at all.
And also like you, I follow a color until it's done.
But I do sometimes grid,or I at least find my center lines. It depends on the project. The more color changes, or the larger the project, the more likely I am to grid to lessen the number of counting mistakes.

[Reta]

None Edger

One colour at a time

Grid if needed

[crosstitcher1]

Welcome to the forum.
I whip stitch my edges. I mark my center with black thread. I put 2 stitches at the top to tell me the right end when coming back to the project.
If the project is an ornament, I just stitch project holding the fabric rolled up in left hand, adjusting the coverage as needed.
I stitch in a circular motion, starting from center outward, like a star burst, ripple when a stone is thrown in the water, or a coil, using 3 differ sizes of hoops, 7, 10 and end with 11 1/2. Always starting from center, right side to edge of the hoop, top til the top of the hoop, left til the left of the hoop, and bottom til the bottom of hoop. Then change to next hoop and repeat til the design is finished.

HAPPY STITCHING IN STITCHING LAND.

[Rose]

I like to make a zigzag stitch around the edge of my fabric and do it in a contrasting color. I hate to have my edges unravel when I am stitching.

I to like to follow the color to the end and I am way to impatient to spend the time gridding, so I don't do that.

[rcperryls]

If I have bought the fabric at the craft store I will use masking tape around the edges. If I get it at my LNS or 123Stitch it is zigzag sewn before I get it. I don't know about other fabric suppliers. Afghans I just leave and sometimes have to pull a loose string, but not that often. I grid HAEDs and would grid other large projects now that I know how to do it. On my Lizzie Kate's I don't grid because the fabric and the design just doesn't seem to lend itself to gridding, but I am thinking of trying it.

Carole

[devinf]

I'll tape the edges and mark the center and corner borders. If it's looking complicated I'll use thread to mark out grid sections.

[stitchingmae]

I def grid, even if it is just to keep up with what line I hit I still count and try to do all of one color on a page unless I get bored....the grid lines are more to catch mistakes early by saying...oh crap I should be hitting a line LoL

If I prep my edges its usually on big projects that I know will be handled a lot, I use fray check...although now that I have a sewing machine may try out the zig zag method soon!! In fact maybe tonight since I'm sewing.

I then of course have my floss, since I use the floss away baggies I put them on a ring in numerical order and sometimes include a small card or piece of paper that has the symbol for that color in the baggie.....

[geekishly]

Right now I prep my edges with masking tape. Once I am able to have my sewing machine hooked up all the time, I might zig zag the edges. But if I'm gridding with fishing line I'd want to tape the edges after putting in the gridding so that the ends don't poke me.

Depending on the size of the project is whether I do any gridding or not. with small projects I don't fuss beyond finding the center. On the larger projects where most of the design is full of stitches I do gridding. it makes it easier to count and prevents me from making as many mistakes.

As of right now there is only one project I've gridded, though I do have another that I wish I had gridded, but at this point it's too much of a fuss. Although I might add in gridding to the bottom of it when I get to that point. Haven't decided yet.

As mentioned I use fishing line to grid. I get the cajun line red lightning in 4lb weight. It's nice because it shows up on most colors of fabric and I don't have to turn around and wash my piece/worry about marker not coming out. Though there are plenty on here that use the markers without a hitch, it's just not my preference.

I am a cross-country stitcher. I just prefer going that route so I don't have to deal with a bunch of different threads hanging off my piece and carrying them over a few blocks prevents me from having to start and end threads.

[BizzieLizzie]

I tape the edges, then mark the centre of the fabric and count up and left to find and mark the top left corner where I'll start stitching. Then I sew the fabric onto the scroll frame (which is the only bit other than gridding that I really don't enjoy! ).

I park in columns so I don't need to grid, but I find it useful sometimes to just grid all the way along the top and down the left-hand side of the first page in the row, just to make sure I get the first column correct and the tops of the subsequent columns. After that, I use the existing stitches to help me find my place.

[Oriettait]

I mask tape the fabric. So far I never did much gridding, I did not know about washable mark and I used to do it with a dark thread but found it boring to death so I usually do the center and the top left corner where I begin my project and than count on the go.
Now that I found out about washable marker (never seen one in Italy, I had to order abroad ) I will try those as they look like a simpler way.
I am a cross country stitcher, I highlight all the crosses of the color I want to stitch in the page with a light highlighter and I mark them off with a darker one after i have done them, this help me keep track of where I am.

[Reta]

Then I sew the fabric onto the scroll frame (which is the only bit other than gridding that I really don't enjoy! ).

.

I have these 15 inch and 27 inch Can do all I want on either

http://www.sewandso.co.uk/ran997-0.html" target="_blank

[Lessa54]

I don't do anything to my edges. I always leave a 3 inch finishing allowance and have never had more than 3 or 4 threads come loose even on projects that have been handled and transported a lot.

I also don't grid. Depending on the project, I'll either measure in 3 inches from each edge to find a start point at the top left corner (for a BAP), or I'll measure to find the middle and may either tack that or simply use pins to count out to the start point.

I'll usually pick a colour of which there are a quite a few stitches and will start with that, then pick colours next to it and everything gets referenced off what I've already done.

I put my bad habits down to sheer impatience to get stitching

[Splunk10]

i will hand stitch an edge, but dont grid

[Sarah Gixxer]

I hang my fabric up and paint craft glue around the edges, leave it a couple of hours to dry and it lasts years (which is how long I've been stitching some of my HAEDs). Then when I finish the project I cut off the half inch edge that has glue on it.

I don't grid and I start either in the middle or in the top left, depending if it's a multi-page chart or not. Then I work outwards with colours that have large areas and fill in the confetti every so often as I go.

[Trylla]

I used to either whip stitch or FrayCheck the edges of my fabric, but I bought a serger last summer, so I just serge all my edges.

I use washable pens to grid on large projects (e.g. HAEDs) where I tend to park my threads, but stitch cross country on other designs (e.g. Mirabilia patterns).

[Mrs Milkybar Kid]

For large projects (which for me means HAEDs and Chats!) I always zig zag stitch the edge of my fabric on my sewing machine. For other projects I take it on a case by case basis, as some fabrics are more prone to fraying than others and it depends whether i'm stitching a small in my hoop or a bigger piece on a frame e.g how lazy I am feeling!

I only grid my HAEDs and work across the page in rows, everything else I find the centre and cross country stitch from there.

[natural_isis]

I serge the edges. On HAEDs, Scarlet Quince, Mystic Stitch, Golden Kites or any pattern with a large number of pages, I start 3 inches in and down from the upper left corner. Others I start from the center and count up to the topmost stitch. I prefer to stitch from the top down. I then put them into either Q-snaps, my standing hoop, or my tapestry frame depending on their size, and on which of the previous is already in use. Then......I just hope for the time to work on them.

[stitchingmae]

For those of you that do zigzag or serge what type of thread do you use? I have seen some clear nylon thread...have any of you used that?

[natural_isis]

For those of you that do zigzag or serge what type of thread do you use? I have seen some clear nylon thread...have any of you used that?

I generally just use whatever is on my machine at the time as long as it is appropriate for the fabric (light thread on light fabric, dark on dark. I don't stress over it much since it won't show on the finished piece anyway. I haven't used any of the clear nylon on my x-stitch fabric, but I've noticed in regular sewing that some of it can be rather stiff. I don't think it would cause a problem unless you stitched in hand. It might get a little annoying then.