Cross Stitch Instructions
All my Cross Stitch Patterns contain full information on how to cross stitch with all DMC thread colour requirements. However I thought it would be useful to add some instructions here too.
If this is your first time cross stitching I recommend you chose 14 count Aida as your material. The count of a material is the number of holes per inch. ie. 14 count has 14 holes per inch, 22 count has 22 holes per inch. The higher the count, the smaller the cross stitch (unless you stitch over 2 – see here for more instructions on this. )
To make a row of cross stitch:
- Bring the needle up at point 1
- Then go down at point 2
- Up at 3
- Down at 4
- Continue for the number of stitches required
- When you have the number of stitches you need come up at 7
- Go back in at 8
- Continue until complete
Fractional Stitches
Fractionals are 'less than whole' cross stitches. Some of my charts contain fractional stitches.
The fractionals are indicated on the chart by the smaller numbers in the corner of the squares.
These should be stitched as follows; The red stitch indicates the stitch that should be made with Colour 3, the purple stitches indicate colour 5 and the green line is the Backstitching.
If stitching over two, you can either do as above, or like this:
People have their own preferred way of stitching (eg. some may do down strokes first then up strokes) so find a routine that suits you the best, but just ensure you do every stitch the same so that the top of the cross always goes in the same direction.