Cross Stitch Wins Again
Cross stitch can be a very easy craft to conquer – all you need is a wide weave piece of material, a big needle with embroidery floss and away you go. Now you don’t really need the embroidery floss as you can use wool or even thread to achieve the same results.
Cross Stitch wins because it is easy to plan a simple design without having to know a lot of drawing skills. The best way is to take a piece of graph paper, measure out the dimensions of the project you want to work on – say 12″ x 12″ then fill in the squares with your design.
Let’s look at an example:
Graph Paper Downloadable
Here is some graph paper images you can download and use in your project. All you need to do is right-click and save the image as. These images are from Pixabay.com and unsplash.com
Make sure you visit each of these sites to see if there are other graph papers you can use. These are for personal use only
Free Cross Stitch Patterns to Try
If you are at the beginning stages of working with cross stitch then think about starting with the alphabet patterns above. You can right-click the image and download it for your personal use.
Here is a more complicated pattern if you are up to trying something a little more challenging.
How To Cross Stitch
To start cross stitching, you can simple begin with an open weave piece of material. Because you will be working with a pattern, you will need to count the holes in the fabric – this way you will be able to tell where your first stitches will go.
If you buy a beginners kit, the pattern will already be marked out for you and you will not need to worry about this step. The local dollar store usually has cross stitch kits.
I think the best way to learn cross stitching is to do some reading and watch some of the videos I have put together for you. See below for my book resources and video resources.
Book Resources
Finding just the right books for cross stitch does not need to be a challenge. Here are a few that I have chosen just for you. These are books I really love. If you search through these links, you may be able to find some used copies that are much less expensive.
Cross-Stitching Guide for Beginners
Ultimate Cross-Stitch Projects
Videos To Help You Along the Way
This first video is a great place to get started. It will give you all the steps you need.
Learn How: Cross Stitching 101
Cross Stitching for Beginners
Cross Stitch Tutorial for Beginners #2 – Stitching a Cross Stitch
Last Word
If you really want to do a lot more with cross stitch, think about buying nesting hoops to secure your material – that way it won’t slip around as much. You do not need to buy one but it sure makes the process so much easier!
I do hope you will give cross stitch a try!
Until tomorrow…
Bette
