HAED tips?

[fccs]

I have three HAED charts (thanks to all you enablers ) and although I'm not ready to start them yet, I am ready to think about them.

Am I correct in thinking that most of you stitch 2 strands over 1 thread, using a tent or half cross stitch? Is 1 over 1 better, worse, or does it depend on the design and the coverage desired? If 1 over 1, would it still be a tent, or would a full cross stitch be better?

Have you found any fabrics better than others for HAED's? I am especially fond of Lugana and Jobelan.

Any other suggestions for those of us who are HAED newbies?

[bookknurd]

I had similar concerns/questions when I started. The advice I got (which I thought was great!) was to test things for yourself. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to fabric and thread coverage.

If you have some fabric samples of things you want to test, you can do a 10x10 block or more of each type of stitching to see what you like. So you could do 10x10 of 2 over 1 tent, 10x10 of 1x1 full cross, etc. Then consider what you preferred not only in terms of how much coverage you get but also how you felt stitching it. Some people feel that 2x1 full cross on higher count fabrics is difficult because you're trying to put a lot of thread through a smaller hole. But then some people really like it!

Also, when considering which count to use, make sure you know how much bigger or smaller that will make your finished image. If you want to be above or below a certain size, that will definitely matter.

Basically, just experiment and you'll figure out how you like it. Remember, HAEDs are a big commitment so you want to pick some combination of fabric and stitching that doesn't frustrate you or make you not want to stitch. So it's worth the time to work all that out at the beginning, before you get halfway through a project and decide you don't like the coverage you're getting or the fabric, etc.

Good luck!

[NeedleAndFork]

I agree with the idea of testing. And not just with a single color, but with areas of confetti too. Stitching a block of 10x10 with a couple of colors is one thing, doing it in the most confetti dense area of the piece is another. For myself I ended up with 1 over 1, and full crosses. While I liked 2 over 1 tenting, it confused me during parking so I stuck with full crosses.

That's another thing to consider - will you be parking or sewing cross country? I think tenting is easier when you sew cross country since it is easier to get into the remainning gaps to sew missing stitches. But for parking, I found full crosses easier because I didn't have to worry which direction my stitches were going. I prefer to always bring my needle up from the back in an empty hole and push down from the front in a hole shared with other stitches. For that parking is better as that style of stitching makes it possible to always do that.

My other suggestion would be to have a plan of some sort on how you will organize your floss. This is not like other projects where you're using a small handful of colors that you can pull from your main stash for a couple of weeks - you will be repeatedly using the same colors again and again for a period of many months or even years. So decide if you want to have a separate stash for the HAED you're working from, or if you want to pull from your main stash. That's what I chose to do by making project cards and cutting a length of floss from each color to put on the cards. That way my floss collection stays intact and I don't have to keep digging in it every time I change a color. I just replenish the floss card whenever something on it runs out, and each time I do that I check to see which other colors I am low on (just 1 or 2 strands left) and replenish those too with another cut length of floss.

[meg4050]

I just read your tips for HAED, I am thinking of having a go at one and your tips are very useful thanx

[JazzeyBear]

I agree with what has been said already. But with all of my HAED projects, they all have their own set of threads, kept in their own boxes. My extra skins of floss are stored in a zip logic bag that has the project name written on it. I was afraid of the dye lots not matching up later on down the road and the colors being off.

[nachosmiley]

Definitely experiment....it may not be what you want to do but it is totally worth it in the end! I restarted my first HAED three times because I wasn't happy with coverage and/or the bulkiness of the threads on the count of fabby I was using.

In the end I plumped for 2 over 1 tent on 28cnt but I also have a WIP that is 2 over 1 full cross on 20cnt it really depends on your own personal preference. (I like to stitch with 2 strands specifically so I can loop start! )

One more tip is to test stitch an area of confetti....there WILL be confetti in your HAED and that's when the back can get a bit bulky with all the starting and stopping of threads which can obviously make a difference too......good luck starting out on your HAED journey......I'm sure once you find 'your' combo you will love stitching them! (I know I do )

[Parksfarm]

I started a small chart (SK) and discovered that I wasn't happy with it, so switched to what I use now on all of them, 2 over 1 tent stitches on 28 count fabric. I will pretty much use any 28 count evenweave, Lugana, Jobelyn, Jubilee, Brittany, Jazlyn... I purchase new, any colors needing more than one skein and keep them in floss away bags on a ring with the project. The rest of the colors, I use from my full master set of DMCs.

Good luck with your first HAED, they are wonderful to stitch and very addictive!

[LadyS]

I'm also a big fan of tenting here, like everyone else said, test on different fabrics with different combinations to see what suits you best. I'm very careful with my tension on HAEDs and 2x1 tent on 25ct works for me, but a lot of people do that on 28ct due to coverage.

[dknit]

I ordered my first HAED chart yesterday but won't start right away. I have done needlepoint and I'm familiar with tent stitching but the 2 over 1 for cross stitching....you've lost me....
Donna

[cairee]

I tested 2 over 1 tenting and full cross as well as 1 over 1 full cross. I ended up using 1 over 1 full cross on 25ct. the coverage is decent, and I prefer full cross to tenting. my next one will be 1 over 1 on 28ct for denser coverage.
I found 2 over 1 full cross on 25t to be too bulky, and the odds of splitting threads too high.

its all about what you are comfortable with and what look you like best.