stitching stuff

My first project!

My mom had just moved to a new place and I bought a cross stitch kit on a whim - and really enjoyed it 🌸

It’s full of mistakes but I look back and can see how much I’ve learned!

Hi there! Thank you so much that’s very kind of you 🥰

So for cross stitch people generally use a type of fabric called Aida, which is a woven fabric that can be quite stiff feeling and you can see the holes, I’ll put photos in (there is also evenweave fabric that people use, I’ve never used it so I’ll focus on aida) . You *can* use any fabric, but it will be more difficult to get the crosses even , so if you’re starting out I’d definitely recommend aida instead 🪡

So as you can see, there are little holes in the fabric, and the idea is to make crosses using the holes. So to make an X, you do a stitch like this / and then the other way \ - I’ll put a photo from wikihow!

Depending on the ‘size’ of the aida, the holes will be a different length apart - this is commonly categorised by inch - so a 14” aida means there are 14 stitches per inch of fabric. The higher the number, the more stitches, so the higher the aida count, the smaller the gaps between the holes (and often the more difficult the holes are to see!)

Then in terms of other supplies, you’ll need a needle and thread - if you buy a cross stitch kit these will be included, but if you want to get needles and thread you can find specific cross stitch needles in most craft stores, and cross stitch uses embroidery thread ☺️

Some people use an embroidery hoop to cross stitch in, to keep the fabric tight, others prefer to stitch ‘in hand’ (ie. no hoop). If you want your stitches to look neat, it’s recommended to do all your stitches the same way - so rather than switching between /\/\ in your X’s, you go //// then \\\\ over the top

I hope this is helpful - it can be a difficult thing to explain over text but there’s lots of fab tutorials on youtube etc!