Cross Stitch Shop | Anchor Threads and Tapestry Wools | Following Charts
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Make it easier to read the chart by highlighting the area you are currently working. This can help a lot, especially on a large chart. There are a number of methods stitchers use do this, including the following:You can use a marker pen on the chart to highlight the squares of the shade you are about to stitch. Laminated charts have the advantage that marks can be wiped off afterwards.You can mark the chart as you complete the stitches, (using a darker colour if you have already highlighted sections), but be careful not to get ink on the fabric.You can attach magnetic strips around the area of the chart you are currently working. These strips are moved as you progress with the project. This really helps to focus on the correct part of the chart, as you move your eyes back and forward from the chart to the stitching. The chart needs to be put on a metal board for the magnets to grip. A number of companies produce these thin metal boards. When mounted on a stand or clamp, these magnetic boards are ideal for holding your chart in position so that it can be easily read. Alternatively self-adhesive “post-it notes” can be lightly attached to the chart and moved around as you progress.Consider using a “magic guide” aida type of fabric, like the one produced by DMC. This has lines on the fabric which correspond to the tenth grid lines on your chart. (The lines disappear completely when washed). But if you use this type of fabric, be careful not to use special threads which cannot be washed.The more traditional method is to baste grid lines temporarily onto your fabric with sewing thread. Basting stitches are long running stitches, which can be easily pulled out just before your cross-stitching actually reaches them.There is nothing worse than discovering you have put several stitches in the wrong place, and that this has knocked many subsequent stitches out of place. So to lessen the trouble caused by mistakes, back check regularly – counting carefully from the chart – not just from stitches already worked on the fabric, which you may have assumed (wrongly) to be in the correct place. A little time spent on this can save a lot of pain later! | |
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Cross Stitch Shop | Anchor Threads and Tapestry Wools | Following Charts
