yarn, ribbon and even strips of fabric to give your work your own personal touch. The larger the squares the larger ply thread you can use.
Needles
Generally blunt pointed needles are better for working on most cross-stitch fabrics because they slip through the holes and threads without snagging and splitting the fibers. There is one exception to this rule, when working with waste canvas you will need to use the sharp embroidery type needles. And a lot of companies sell the
creating your own art, you will need to know more about the fabrics, thread, needles and frames. That's why most Crafters start out with a kit. Also when you buy patterns or kits, sometimes you decide to use different fabrics and threads than what is mentioned in the projects. The following will help you to understand and adapt the patterns and materials for your own needs.
Cross-Stitch Fabrics
What is called counted cross-stitch can be stitched on just about anything that will allow you to make consistently even sized stitches. I have even seen people use an
Stitch-opedia
An Encyclopedia of Stitches...
The Upright Cross Stitch exactly what the name implies. It consists of two straight
Upright Cross Stitch Horizontal Method (Diagram 1):
Bring the needle up at A, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at B. Bring the needle up at C, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at D. This completes the first Upright Cross Stitch. Now, bring the needle up at E, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at F. Bring the needle up at D, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at G. Bring the needle up at H, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at I. Bring the needle up at G, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at J. This completes the first row.
To start the second row, we will work in the opposite direction of the first row. Bring the needle up at K, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down
Upright Cross Stitch Diagonal Method (Diagram 2):
Bring the needle up at A, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at B. Bring the needle up at C, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at D. This completes the first Upright Cross Stitch. Now, bring the needle up at E, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at F. Now, this is where the Diagonal Method becomes interesting. Instead of completing the Upright Cross Stitch, we will continue working the vertical stitches
stitches (one horizontal, one veritcal) that cross each other at the center. This stitch can be scaled to whatever size you choose. Just be sure to choose a yarn thickness that will cover the canvas. The Upright Cross Stitch may be worked horizontally (Diagram 1) or diagonally (Diagram 2). You may work this stitch left to right (Diagram 1) or right to left. Two diagrams have been used to demonstrate this stitch. Clicking on the PRINTABLE VERSION icon, located at the end of the series of diagrams, will direct you to the page to print these instructions.
at G. Bring the needle up at E, move to the right over two canvas threads, bring the needle down at H. As you can see from the diagram, the second row is worked into the bottom of the first row. All remaining rows will be worked in this manner.
until this diagonal row is complete. Let me show you... Beginning where we left off at F, bring the needle up at D, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at J. Bring the needle up at B, move up two canvas threads, bring the needle down at H. Bring the needle up at I, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at J. Bring the needle up at B, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at F. Bring the needle up at D, move over to the right two canvas threads, bring the needle down at G. This completes this diagonal row of stitches. All subsequent rows will be worked in the same manner (veritcal stitch first - bottom to top - horizontal stitch second - top to bottom). And, as with the horizontal method, all subsequent rows should be worked into the previous row.
***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
A - I
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***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
I - Z