The Basic Steps Of Cross Stitch

Cross stitch is an embroidery method that uses special embroidery thread and cross plaid and uses the method of crossing the warp and weft to embroider with a special coordinate pattern. Anyone can embroider the same effect. There are many ways to do cross stitch.

The basic steps

1. Choose a pattern
The first step in starting a cross stitch work is choosing a pattern. After choosing your favorite pattern, select the corresponding number of DMC cross stitch threads according to the requirements of the pattern, and then select the appropriate cross plaid to calculate the size and cut it.

2. Prepare the embroidery thread
The method of extracting the required number of embroidery threads is very simple: here is an example of 11-grid cross gingham, 11-grid cross gingham needs to use 3 strands of embroidery thread. Divide 6 strands of DMC cross stitch thread into two 3 strands, then grab the 3 strands with both hands and gently pull them in opposite directions. If the embroidery thread is tightly entangled during the embroidery process, you can let go of the needle in your hand and let it hang in the air, and the embroidery thread will naturally unravel.
For the convenience of embroidery, it is recommended to cut the embroidery thread used each time into 50 cm long segments.

3. Determine the midpoint
The core of determining the midpoint is to ensure that the embroidered pattern is in the middle of the cross gingham.
The horizontal and vertical midpoints are marked in each cross stitch pattern. Determine the midpoint of the corresponding cross gingham according to the midpoint of the pattern. Just fold the cut cross gingham in half and then fold it in half to find the midpoint of the cross gingham. You can also use a marker to mark the midpoint.
During the embroidery process, you need to continuously calculate the starting position of the cross stitch thread of each color according to the pattern. The easiest way is to count the coordinates from the midpoint of the cross stitch cloth.
For beginners, it is recommended to start embroidering from the midpoint of the pattern and cross plaid. For familiar embroiderers, you can choose the starting position according to your own habits.

4. Start embroidering
When you start using your first cross stitch thread, leave an inch of thread tail behind the gingham. Hold the end of the thread with your finger and start making the cross stitch. During the embroidering process, the stitch will hold the thread ends in place. When a cross stitch is complete, simply use a narrow stitch on the back of the gingham and cut off the rest of the line.
To use a new cross stitch thread, run the needle and cross stitch thread through the bottom of a few stitch steps (similar to the narrow cross stitch method) near where you will start sewing again.

Common tools
Winder, 2 needles, U-shaped scissors, stitch remover, threader, water-soluble refill, cross stitch frame.

1. The direction of embroidery is the same.
When embroidering a cross, you must pay attention to the consistency of the direction of the embroidery. If you start embroidering from top to bottom or from left to right, the entire work must follow this direction, otherwise, the entire work will be damaged. Due to different personal habits, the direction of embroidery will also be different, but the consistency should still be followed. Unless the direction of the embroidery is required due to the special cross stitch theme, for example, embroidering a circular sun can also be embroidered from the middle of the sun to the edge.

2. Find the center point first when embroidering.
Be sure to find the center point of the cloth before starting the embroidery, otherwise, it may cause embarrassment to the embroidery, but the embroidery cannot be successfully mounted.

3. Commonly used cross stitch stitches.

Full needle embroidery, 1/2 needle embroidery, 1/4 needle embroidery, 3/4 needle embroidery, back stitch embroidery, long needle embroidery, double grid full needle embroidery, double-needle back stitch embroidery, Double grid long needle embroidery, as well as several special shapes of stitches.

4. Needle used for cross stitch.

The needles used in cross stitch are not the same as those used in ordinary sewing. The needles used in cross stitch are dull needles with rounder needles and larger needle holes; for different sizes of cross stitch plaid, the size of the needles used is also not the same.

5. The cloth used for cross stitching.
According to different patterns, you can choose different sizes of cross cloth, including large gingham, medium gingham, and small gingham. After selecting the cloth, choose the thread and needle according to the specifications of the cloth.

Embroidery method

Full needle embroidery
First, put on through mesh 1, then through mesh 2, then through mesh 3, then through mesh 4, then through mesh 5, then through mesh 2, then through mesh 3, then through mesh 6 Go down, and so on, embroider the entire grid.

Half Needle Embroidery (1/2X)
Half-needle embroidery is formed by a diagonal line, which is half of the full-needle embroidery, which can better highlight the sense of hierarchy.

Quarter embroidery
1/4 needle embroidery is composed of half of the diagonal line. If you want to express the remaining part of the square and express different colors, you need 1/4 needle embroidery to express it.

Three-quarter embroidery (1/2X)
3/4 embroidery is a "herringbone" shape formed by a complete diagonal line and a half diagonal line.

Backstitch method (edge ​​line)
The first stitch goes up from mesh 1, then goes down from mesh 2; the second stitch goes up from mesh 3, then goes down from mesh 2, and then goes up from mesh 4 to go back to mesh 3, except for the first stitch, every other stitch is Back stitched back to the original mesh. Backstitches are generally used for embroidering over threads, outlines, and letters.

French knot
Raise the needle to position 1 and thread it out, wrap the thread around the needle once, and insert the needle at position 2. Hold the end of the embroidery thread with your non-embroidering finger, pull the knot taut, then thread the needle through the fabric, holding the thread until you have to loosen it. If the knot is large, the number of strands of the thread can be increased appropriately, but only once.
Flat Petal Needle
Pass the needle out from position 1, rewind the thread, thread the needle in from 1 and out from 2, press the rewound thread, tighten the thread into a petal shape, and thread the needle in from 2.

There are many rules for cross stitch, the most important one is that this is a self-entertainment activity, you can embroider according to your own preferences, and there is no need to abide by any rules, including everything that will be written later.