So often, when any of my friends (whether they are crafty or not) see one of my cross stitch projects like this Harley Davidson cross stitch, they tell me that they would have no idea where to start. Are you that type of person? You’re in luck, because I’m going to show you the basics on how to start a project.
To me, this is one of the most important parts because if a project doesn’t start well, it certainly won’t end well. I’ll also share a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way.
The very first step is to take inventory of what you have. For this little demonstration, I’m using a Sleeping Beauty cross stitch kit I got from a local craft store. It’s a JanLynn brand and it comes with everything I need, except a hoop and masking tape.
If you are using bright floss colors, you may want to wash the floss first. The color can tend to fade and pre-washing it does help. Just wash it in warm water with a mild soap and make sure you rinse it thoroughly. Lay the floss flat to dry and make sure it’s COMPLETELY dry before you start stitching.
The next thing you’ll want to do is prepare your fabric. The edges tend to fray due to the type of material that you cross stitch on. You can see it has already started to happen here:
You can prevent further fraying by taping all the edges of the fabric with masking tape. Just tear a strip of tape the same length of the edge of fabric. Lay it on the fabric so that half of the tape strip is higher than the edge of the fabric.
Then fold the other half of the tape strip over the fabric.
Do this for all four sides. When finished, your fabric will look like this on both sides.
The next step for your fabric is to lock it into the cross stitching hoop and get ready for stitching.
Once your floss is completely dry, I recommend separating it out into color families. Depending on who made the instructions, you may have a kit such as this one where the floss is already separated for you and labeled as it is on this card.
However, a lot of times, they just give you all the floss and you have to sort it yourself. The two biggest clues you have to figuring out which chunk of floss is the “light gold” or “very light gold” the chart refers to are:
1. The number of strands / lengths included – typically, the instructions will say that you have 5 “strands” or “lengths” of white and 2 “strands” or “lengths” of red, etc. Strands are made up of six individual threads (you will also here it being referred to as 6-ply strands).
2. The other colors in the bunch. If you group all your like colors together, you can, by process of elimination, figure out which strand is which color on the chart.
Tie the color families together or sort them in some way like the sorting card shown above – whatever method of organization works best for you. Just make sure you don’t throw all the colors back together once you have found the one you want. You’ll end up sorting and resorting over and over again.
So your fabric is ready, the floss is washed, dry, and organized. You have your chart open and you begin to thread your needle. But you stop. Where do you start with your first stitch? I prefer to start in the middle and work out. I’m not good at estimating how much space I have between the edge of the fabric and the edge of the pattern to play with.
On your pattern, locate the center of the image. A lot of times there will be little arrows either on the vertical or the horizontal axis to show you where the true center is. A little hint is that each of those cross grids in the pattern represents 10 stitches x 10 stitches. There are 65 stitches across which means that line 32 or 33 is center for me horizontally. The arrow on the vertical line shows me the true center of that direction.
I use a pen to mark that center point. Here is a close up photo so you can see my mark.
Now that you have the center of your pattern marked, place a similar mark on the center of your fabric – just fold it into fourths and find the center. Make sure you make the mark very lightly. If the ink shows through the floss, it could detract from the overall look of your project.
At the center of my pattern (where I’ve made my mark, so to speak), the predominant color in that area is “medium pink” so that is where I will start. Taking a few minutes to make sure you have all your bases covered when you start a cross stitch project will help in the long run.
Happy stitching!
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Your directions are great! I also find it helpful to use a pencil to color the stitches I have done on the pattern. It helps to keep my place.
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Ok, I’m going to try one. But a little one to start!(I agree, great how-to instructions!)
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Thanks! The coloring in the stitches on the pattern that you’ve completed is a great idea! I’ll have to try that!
@momsreality – definitely start small! The go from there! I recommend getting a kit because it will have everything you need get started except for a hoop.
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Thank you for the great tips! I’ve never tried to cross stitch, but you’ve made it look so easy that I want to try!
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