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If you are just starting a new project, we recommend making the centre stitch of the design your first stitch, at the centre point of the fabric, to centre the work on the cloth. The centre of the design is normally marked on the chart with arrows at the top, bottom and sides of the chart. You can easily locate the centre point of the fabric by lightly folding it in four. There are 3 common methods of starting off a new length of thread, so that it is firmly secured to the fabric and will not come loose: the traditional method, the waste knot method, and the thread loop method.Bring your needle up through the hole you have selected for your first stitch, leaving a tail of about two inches of loose thread at the back of the fabric. Hold this tail with your finger and work over it with your first few stitches. This will secure the thread in place.Once you have completed a number of stitches, you can start off any new thread length by first running it under several of the existing stitches on the back of the fabric to secure it. If you wish, you can loop around one of the stitches on the back as you run your thread under. This anchors the thread very securely.To use this method, thread your needle and tie a knot at the end of the threads. Take the needle down through the fabric about an inch from where you are going to make your first stitch and in the direction in which you will be stitching.Then bring your needle up through your chosen hole for the first stitch. This will leave an inch tail of thread along the back of the fabric. Carry on cross stitching as normal, which will cover and secure the tail on the back as you stitch.Finally cut off the waste knot very carefully. Note 1: Some stitchers simply leave a tail of thread out at the front of the fabric (without a knot), which can be pulled through to the back of the fabric later and run under a few stitches. But this is rather a waste of thread and can cause the back of the work to become rather congested.Note 2: It is not good to leave permanent knots on the back of the work and this will make the finished piece look lumpy.Take a single strand of cotton 30 inches long and fold it in half. Thread the needle, with the thread loop furthest from the needle. Bring the needle up through the correct hole for the first stitch, leaving a two inch loop of thread hanging at the back of the fabric.Take the needle back down through the fabric as normal to form the bottom half of the cross stitch. Then take the needle through the thread loop on the back and gently pull tight. The thread is now secured and you can carry on cross stitching.Note 1: This method can be useful when you are working isolated stitches on the design.Note 2: This method only works when you are stitching a design worked with an even number of strands, for example 2 or 4 strands of cotton.When it comes to finishing off the length of thread, simply run it under several stitches on the back of the work to secure it, in a similar way to starting off. | |
