The main reason I started this blog was because none of my offline friends are into stitching. I wanted a place to share my work, admire others’, and learn and grow as a stitcher. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve already seen so many interesting projects and techniques I want to try.
One thing I’ve found intriguing as I look at others’ work is the variety of choices people make about the order in which they stitch. Some people work in blocks of a certain size (for example 10×10), others work in horizontal rows or vertical columns and still others work through their color chart one at a time. I’ve seen beautiful examples of all these techniques. Personally, I’m not so structured. I love to hop around a bit as I stitch. For me, part of the fun is to look at the pattern and decide where I’ll go next. I love to strategize to try to keep the back of the work as neat as possible, and have the fewest spots where I hop the thread from one place to another. I don’t use knots at all, so I also have to strategize where I’ll start and stop each thread so it can be tucked under. And all of this while trying to waste as little thread as possible. For me, this is huge part of the fun.
Having said that, I have an update on Heart of Christmas where this hopping is evident. I do tend to work roughly upper left to lower right, but within that framework, I “jump around” to my heart’s content 🙂
“Heart of Christmas” Can you see the snowman starting to emerge? Love his colorful scarf!
Now off to tuck in the littles and pull out my project binder. Happy stitching!
Floss, Hoop & Love 
I am also in the same boat as you none of my real life friends and none of my family stitch.
I tend to hop around as well. I like to fill in areas that I like first and then get back on track with the less interesting parts. I thought I was crazy to be thinking of how can I go about stitching area with the least amount of thread, but now that I know at least you do it too I feel a little better.
I also just started to not put knots in at the ends of my floss. I can already tell the difference. Not knots to try to go through and it’s laying much flatter as well, and for some reason my thread doesn’t get tangled as much anymore.
Great progress have a stitch filled night.
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Hi. Thanks! Glad I’m not the only one who does this! 🙂
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There’s a top when it comes to saving thread. If you are stitching with an even number of threads, e.g. Two, cut one longer thread and fold in half. Thread the cut end thru the needle and make the first half cross, leaving the folded end on the back of your fabric. Thread the needle thru the loop, pull tight and carry on stiching. No knot or loose end 😉
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Hi Paula. Thanks for your comment. I just hopped over to your blog and it has some cool stuff – very nice! I use the same trick for starting a thread for the first time. Once I’ve cut it once and am restarting it without the “loop” end, I just tuck it under. 🙂
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Yes I have heard of this but I am currently working on a project that I am only using one thread.
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When I’m using odd #, I weave it vertically in the stitches above/below – hides it better and helps keep the design flat for stretching/framing.
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That’s a great tip. I’ve always tucked them in horizontally. I’ll have to try that.
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What I have been doing is I leave a little tale in the back do the first 2-3 stich and then put the tale where I will be stitching and I just stitch it down as I go. I crochet and this is similar to what I do with the tale when I crochet.
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I think it dépends on the design ^^
I try to stitch dark colours first, when possible, as this helps me to see the shape of the design more clearly.
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Hi Claire. That makes sense to stitch darker parts first then fill in the lighter area. I do that to a certain degree as well sometimes just because it’s easier to count with a stronger contrast against the fabric. Then it’s easier to fill in the lighter colors with the darker as a guide.
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Very interesting post. It is interesting to see how other people choose to stitch. Except for very large designs, I usually start in the center and then work to the upper left hand corner of the design. Then I work down the left hand side. I start with whatever color is closest to center and finish that color in that area. I try to never carry a color over more than a couple of stitches. Rather than re-starting a color several stitches away I will switch to a color that adjoins the area I just finished. I have never used knots in 30+ years of stitching. Conserving thread is very important especially if you work from kits (which I rarely do) because you need to make sure you won’t run out of a color. I understand that some kits are rather stingy with the amount of thread provided.
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Hi. I definitely remember being taught at some point to start in the center. That way you eliminate the possibility of your design not centered on your fabric. I’m not sure at what point I started doing it differently, but there you go. 🙂 I don’t really like to work from kits, but I have heard the same about running out of a color which would be so frustrating. Honestly, I’m not sure why conserving floss would matter when just using DMC which is cheap, but it’s more about the idea of it for me. I’ve only just started to use some hand dyed and specialty threads (more on that in another post as I could definitely use some tips on working with the hand dyed thread) which is quite a bit more expensive.
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I have to admit I have never used hand dyed threads. I like the look but I haven’t made the splurge. I have a full set of DMC and a lot of other stash and am trying to refrain from buying more. The one thing I have heard about using hand dyed threads is you should complete each “x” rather than doing ///// and then back the other way. And I have also heard to never wash the piece if you use hand dyed threads because colors are likely to run. I have used metallics, blending filament, etc.
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I also started my blog as a way to keep track of my stitching, share with others and see what everyone else is doing as none of my friends are stitchers either. I typically start my stitchings in the middle and work downward. I don’t stray too far from where I am stitching, but I like to use up the strands of floss I have cut and will hop around to do that. It is fun to see the different ways people stitch.
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Hi Ginny. Yes it’s interesting to see so many ways of stitching. Something so simple and there’s no right or wrong way to do it 🙂
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I started my blog for the same reason! It’s been fun to discover all the other stitchers out there who obsess about the same things that I do!
I do use knots sometimes (hanging head down in shame) when I don’t have enough stitches to go under. My reverse sides look just terrible, so it’s something that I should definitely work on!
Love your blog!
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Hahaha no judgment here. I’m sure I do all sorts of things that aren’t ideal. I remember once when I was just starting to stitch as a little girl someone gave me a hard time about the back of my piece (it really was a mess) and I’ve been conscious of it ever since. But mine are no where near as neat as I know some people’s are 🙂 And again – your work is beautiful!!
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