Helpful Hints

• Never lick your floss before threading it in the needle. You may cause colors to bleed!
• To find the center point of your fabric, fold it in half lengthwise, then widthwise. Put your threaded needle at the folded point, open the fabric and that’s your center!
• Instead of knotting the end of your floss, cut your floss twice the size needed, then FOLD IN HALF! Thread the loose ends through your needle (with the loop at the opposite end, away from the needle). Bring your needle UP FROM THE BACK of the fabric, but don’t pull the floss all the way through. MAKE A HALF CROSS on the top of your fabric, then on the BACKSIDE, BRING YOUR NEEDLE THROUGH THE LOOP on the underside of your fabric. This is a natural knot, and doesn’t create the excessive bulk of a regular knot! (Another way to explain this is: Bring the needle up through Point A, down through Point B and pass the needle through the loop BEFORE coming up through Point C.)
• Put a luggage tag—with your Name, Address, Phone Number, and Email Address—on your cross stitch bag! I had a friend who left a very beautiful project in an airport. Of course, there was no way for the "finder" to get it back to its owner. Sometimes when I travel, I don't take my entire bag, I put my project in a big zip lock baggie. PUT AN ADDRESS LABEL on the outside of the zip lock, for the same retrieval purposes!
• When doing a long line of solid color (like a border), do / / / / / / / / / X —one half of the cross stitch, and on the 10th one make an "X". This way it's easier to count!
• Always wash your hands before stitching. This rids your hand of the natural oils the body produces, so it doesn’t transfer to your stitching, drawing lint and dirt!
• Be sure to always carry spare needles (especially when traveling!). I keep an empty Tic-Tac Mints plastic container in my purse with spare needles. It has a flip lid that clicks closed, and is see-through, so you can see what you’re doing when you’re retrieving a new needle!
• Good lighting is a must! I have a floor-model Ott light at home that’s a lifesaver! I also have a portable Ott light that I take when I travel, or when I’m going to a friend’s house to stitch. Always remember to bring an extension cord, too!
• Cross stitch fabric is very expensive, so in order to use every last inch of it, I do the following: Instead of cutting a huge piece of cross stitch fabric, so it fit’s around my hoop, I cut my cross stitch fabric 1 1/2” larger (on all 4 sides) than the actual design size. I then sew scrap fabric strips on all 4 sides of my cross stitch fabric, big enough so it will fit in my hoop or Q-Snap. (So now, instead of wasting that extra cross stitch fabric to fold over my hoop’s edge, I’m using scrap fabric!)
• I keep standard 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 frames on hand for those quickie gifts! If my design is smaller than those sizes, I sew a beautiful fabric border (strips) and that becomes my “mat” around the cross stitch design, and fits perfectly in the standard frame!
• I also keep several of the 3" x 3" opening tuck pillows (from Amy’s Pillows) on hand. This is another great way to have a completed gift in minutes!! I love her pillows!
• Centering lettering and numbers seems to always be a problem. Download the Excel form below, just fill in the blanks on the form, and you will EASILY figure out where to start your lettering on the fabric! Click the Link at Right to Download the Centering Form: HowToCenterLettering.xls