Stitcher Resources
Below is a collection of links, documents and some general information that you may find useful.
Floss designers/info
Suggested Conversions
- Anchor to DMC
- Classic Colorworks to DMC
- The Gentle Art to DMC
- Weeks Dye Works to DMC
- DMC to Anchor
- DMC to Classic Colorworks
- DMC to The Gentle Art
- DMC to Weeks Dye Works
How to choose a needle size for your project: The needle should slide easily through the fabric holes without stretching the hole or the needle falling out. Below are some guidelines to use but these are not hard and fast rules.
- size 24 is common for 14 count Aida and 28 count evenweave/linen
- size 26 is common for 16 count Aida and 32 count evenweave/linen
- size 28 is common for 18 count Aida and 36 count evenweave/linen
How to choose a fabric type: Many stitchers begin stitching on Aida when they are learning to stitch. After trying evenweave/linen, many swap back and forth while others never pick up Aida again. Remember that there's no right or wrong choice when it comes to fabric type, it's all about personal preference. If you've never tried evenweave/linen but are ready to venture in to trying it here are some differences that you'll see.
- With evenweave/linen you'll decide if you want to stitch over 1 thread or 2. Of course if you stitch over 1 you'll use less floss and your project will be half as big. Some stitchers find this difficult to see.
- If you stitch over 2 threads, you'll enjoy one of the biggest differences from stitching on Aida. When you have a pattern that calls for fractional stitches, you won’t have to poke your needle through the middle of the square and hope that you are in the center. There will actually be a hole there for you.
- You'll find that evenweave/linen is softer in the hand than Aida
- Evenweave/linen will give you a very different ending look than Aida
- One difference between evenweave and linen is that as the name says evenweave will have even spaces. Linen will often have slugs in the thread that will make it appear uneven. Some stitchers don't like this while others will only stitch on linen.
Things to consider when stitching with Variegated Floss
- If you are using a hand dyed, purchase enough to do the entire project. Dye lots can change over time.
- Do not use a loop start. Use an away waste knot or buried thread method. If you use a loop start, the flow of the colors will not lay the same way.
- Stitch a complete cross (English method) before moving on to the next stitch so that your colors will flow as designed. If you commonly stitch half of several stitches and go back to stitch the other half (Danish method) know that this could affect your outcome.
- If the floss is highly variegated you may want to be strategic when cutting the floss.
- If you want to tone down the variegation, use one variegated and a complementing solid color.
Free alphabet cross stitch chart from Yarn Tree