Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

I've done some cross stitching in my days, but NOT alot. I know not as much as most of you on here.
HOWever....I DO have some projects in progress.
I have the Amazing Grace, I've already mentioned that on here in one of my first threads, I think, a couple of small projects and I actually found something the other day that I started many years ago and never finished it.
So now I'm working on that, too, and it will go to a new baby in the family for her room.
But....with all these projects you would think I would have learned something about cross stitching by now.....
My stitches just don't look as good as I would like them to look.
Some are bigger than others.....some threads within the same stitch don't seem to be pulled thru as tight as the other threads in the same stitch.....
And then other stitches look okay....
Is this just me....or does anyone else find their stitching to be like this?
Maybe I am being too much of a perfectionist?
I know that in my painting.....I work and work until it looks just like I want it to look...but this cross stitching seems to be a struggle for me.... I do like to do it but I always want anything I'm making to look good.
The difference I find in my stitching and my painting is that in painting...I can always go back and change something if I want to improve it...but in this stitching....once that stitch is made it's impossible to make it look any better once you've done alot of stitches after the bad one unless you just go back and pull out alot to get the bad one. {If that makes any sense}

If anyone can tell me if you find this in your work also...maybe I'm not alone or is it just me?

I think most people are critical of their own work, I know I look at some of the stitching on the forum and it looks so neat I wish mine looked as neat. I am also sure that your stitching is not as bad as you make it sound.
Do you let the thread hang down every few stitches to untwist it or some people turn the needle in their fingers after every couple of stitches, it's easier than it sounds as it becomes a habit.
Make ysure you go through the holes in the aida accurately as sometimes it is easy to split the aida and this will put the stitch a tiny bit bigger or smaller.
Try to have a quick look as you do each stitch and if you arn't happy undo that 1 stitch and do again.
I'm not sure how long you have been stitching but like everything I guess we all improve the more we do it.

Try not to stress about it and enjoy it as that is important. I am sure other members will have some other ideas but good luck anyway

I have to admit that although I have been stitching for 19 years my sitches are nowhere near as neat and even as the ones I often see in pictures on this forum. I think when the article is finished though you don't notice it so much.

Thats a good point, I think they always look so much better when they are washed and ironed.

If you really want your stitches to look even, try railroading (if you search on this forum I am sure you will find some explanation) - it may help. I have tried it but it was too slow for me, so I decided I don't mind a bit of unevennes

Well I am sure that I'm not as neat as most others here.
I do try and keep a watch on my stitches as I go and unpick if I'm not happy.
If I'm stitching with two strands one always ends up longer than the other
Like Agi, I tried railroading but found it a bit of a pain.
So I carry on as I do and hope nobody criticises (within my earshot).

I think we are all our own worst critics and that we think everyone else looks better then our own. We are all perfectionist and think it should all be perfect but reality is that nothing is perfect and if we do our best no one is going to notice one or two stitches that are a bit off. There are some good suggestion about what you can do to improve your stitching but in the end it is not going to be perfect and really that is what makes it unique to you.

I noticed when doing my first attempt at 25 count fabric that my stitching tends to be looser when I first start a new strand of color, then kind of evens out as I go on with it... But after awhile it all looks to be same.... Maybe thread length is an issue as well? The longer the thread is, the harder it is for you keep it neat?
Faith

Something I have found a help is to split one strand at a time from the floss and then rebuild to the desired thickness. This helps the stitch lie flatter and therefore can help with the even look. As many others and I've said before, look at it from a distance before you get too critical. Something I learned in quilting was to use the criteria that if a man on a galloping horse would see what you consider an error it needs corrected. Otherwise, why sweat the small stuff. Cross stitching is a hobby. If you stress rather than relax with your hobby on a regular basis then it is probably not the right hobby for you. I had a friend who I advised to stop quilting for that reason until I found a method that was so forgiving that she could make rag edged baby quilts with glee.

I like your explanation Granny ours happens to be "you will never see it from the grandstands"

I would agree with what everyone else has said, we are definitely our own worst critics.

If you're still worried, then as others have said, try railroading/letting the needle untwist to help with threads seeming twisted. If you don't use a hoop/q snap/frame, then trying one of these might help with varying tension in your stitches. And do post an SAL thread - you'll get a great idea from it how everyone else sees your work, which is wonderfully reassuring when we think we've made mistakes.

I was going to say that I noticed a variation in tensions on my owls project, but I think that's because I held it rather than use a frame/hoop.
Funnily enough, I also thought I noticed a difference in tension depending on the time of day I stitched ... but maybe that was more my imagination.

Anyhow, I look at the owls now they're finished and framed up on the wall at my mum's and it doesn't look bad at all.
Maybe it's more a case of you looking too closely and analysing every little stitch. Probably once you take a step back and look again, it won't seem so bad.

Ceitidh wrote:I have to admit that although I have been stitching for 19 years my sitches are nowhere near as neat and even as the ones I often see in pictures on this forum. I think when the article is finished though you don't notice it so much.

I know that I, for one, cheat by only posting photos where the stitches look particularly neat!

~threadbear~ wrote:I was going to say that I noticed a variation in tensions on my owls project, but I think that's because I held it rather than use a frame/hoop.
Funnily enough, I also thought I noticed a difference in tension depending on the time of day I stitched ... but maybe that was more my imagination.

Anyhow, I look at the owls now they're finished and framed up on the wall at my mum's and it doesn't look bad at all.
Maybe it's more a case of you looking too closely and analysing every little stitch. Probably once you take a step back and look again, it won't seem so bad.

You're probably right. I do use a magnifier and light tool....so the stitches are larger than normal and I see the mistakes and looser tension more than usual.

I think that we do tend to be more critical of our own work than others. I see imperfections in mine that no one else would ever notice. I have stopped working on one piece because the color of the floss in the same skein seemed to differ and it bothered me so much. My daughter swore that she couldn't see any difference in the color, but it bothered me so much I just put it away to maybe deal with later on. I don't railroad stitches on every piece because it takes me so much longer to get it done. If I notice a little twist in the way a stitch lays, or if it sticks up higher than the one next to it, I seem to always notice it more than I should. I'm a lot fussier than I used to be years ago, and yet my old work looks just fine to me. That should tell me that I need to be less critical and just enjoy stitching.

For the most part, my stitches are pretty even, I only really ever have a problem with the odd few stitches which at the time of stitching looked right, but after a while start to look looser than the rest. I've found a good method of dealing with this though.

I move the loose stitch somewhere where I can get to it, say if the loose stitch is in the middle of a row and there's no stitches to go on top or below it, I move it to the edge. This is pretty simple as I work in rows. Well then when I'm doing the next row or the next colour, or even the backstitch, I pull the thread so the loose bit is on the back, take my new thread onto the back as normal, thread it through the loose stitch and bring it up as normal. This holds the loose thread in place at the back with no negative effects on the front. Sorted.