Cross Stitch Tips

1. When cross stitching on a light-coloured fabric, lay a dark cloth across your lap. You will find it easier to see the fabric holes. (Vice versa for working with dark coloured cross stitch fabric)

2. To more easily see the different symbols in a cross stitch pattern, go over the symbols with highlighters, a different colour for each symbol.

3. The perfect needle for cross stitch is small enough not to widen the gap between the fabric threads as it passes through. It should glide quickly and easily, requiring almost no effort from the stitcher. To determine a fabric's thread count, count the number of threads per inch.

4. To avoid embroidery hoop marks, remove fabric from the hoop when you are not stitching and smooth out any wrinkles.

5. To work a single isolated cross stitch, leave a 2" tail at the beginning and the end of the stitch. Weave tails through the back of the stitch, tie tails in a square knot and trim the ends.

6. For subtle shading, combine two or more different coloured strands of floss in the same needle.