↓
 

My Needle's Song – Neulani laulu

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Galleries
    • 2016 Finishes
    • Canada Stitches Gallery
    • Cole’s Quilts Gallery
    • Personal Gallery
    • Q4OC Gallery
    • RCMP Honour Quilts Gallery
    • Shelter Project Gallery
  • Services Offered
Home→Categories How-Tos

Category Archives: How-Tos

Information on various needlework techniques

S-L-O-W-L-Y

My Needle's Song - Neulani laulu
A couple of tough days here… must be spring fever! Everything is in bloom and starting to come back to life after the sleepy winter months. Even Jessie is running around like a crazy little kitty these days. I almost think we need a traffic light here in the house so we know when it is safe to cross the room! You don’t really want to collide with a full grown cat racing through the house at top speed, do you?
 
cgeese1I worked on something different yesterday, and I did promise a progress picture on the geese for the RCMP detachment in British Columbia. You can scroll down to the previous post for the reference picture, or simply click here. 
I know, it really does not look like much of anything. This is the lighter silhouetted goose on the left, and I am using DMC 3813 for this one. When we work on squares for these quilts, we often are given a minimum-maximum size range along with any other special instructions. For these hand cross-stitched quilts, we are told between 6 and 8 inches for the design size, but we are not told what fabric size to choose. That is really up to us to figure out.
The chart on this says the design is about 130 stitches wide by 90 stitches tall. I can either break out my calculator or use a fabric size calculator on websites like Cyberstitchers (I use theirs because it is easy and they have a simply fantastic website with tons of useful stitching information).
fabsize

When you click on their Fabric Size Calculator, all you have to do is put in the dimensions from the chart and you can easily see how big the stitched piece will be on different sized fabrics. I like it because I can compare the size outcomes side by side. Looking at the sizes, if I went with 14 or 16 count Aida, it would simply be too large. Ah, but look at what that gives us on 18 count Aida! A very nice 7 inches wide by 5 inches high! This should give a nice sized square PLUS I will be using only a fraction of the floss that I would stitching this with 2 strands of floss on 14 count.

I am actually finding this faster to stitch than it would be with 2 threads because I don’t have to worry about trying to keep the threads laying flat (I will do more about that later!). With good lighting, it really isn’t that much different from stitching on the other counts. It just takes a bit of patience, but that is true with all needlework, right?

Will update again in a few days – probably over the weekend.
Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Don’t Be Afraid of Evenweave

My Needle's Song - Neulani laulu

aidaMany cross stitchers will stitch on nothing but Aida because it is easy to find and easy to work with. It comes in a lot of sizes and colors and you can find it in many shops. Aida can have a “chunky” look to it because of the way it is made. Here’s an example of 14 count Aida, and you can readily see where your needle should go.

luganaEvenweave, on the other hand is harder to figure out in the beginning. Here’s an example of a 25 count Lugana. The holes are not as obvious as this (and all evenweaves) are made up of one thread running vertically and one thread running horizontally. By way of comparison, Aida has clusters of 4 threads.

 

Evenweave comes in so many different styles and counts it can be very confusing. Linen is probably the best known but is the hardest to work with. It can have uneven slubs because it is a natural plant fiber. I know, uneven spots in evenweave sounds like an oxymoron but it is really not. Evenweave means the loom has been set for so many stitches per inch in both directions. My recommendations for a first project are Jubilee, Monaco, or Lugana. All have nice rounded threads, come in lots of pretty colors and counts, and are very easy to work on. If you are used to 14 count Aida, look for 28 count evenweave.

For your first project, I will suggest 25 count Lugana as it is a little bit larger. You are stitching over 2 threads, so you take the thread count and divide by 2 to get how many stitches per inch.But why torture yourself for something that is supposed to be relaxing? For one, fractional stitches are a breeze on evenweave. For two, your work looks so much more elegant on it. If you are stitching that is fully covered by stitches and doesn’t have a lot of fractionals, Aida is a great way to go. But, if you are on the curious side, give it a go.

To start cross stitching, locate your starting point on your chart. Everyone starts in a different place. Some always start in the upper corner, which is fine but it means you will have to count both vertically and horzontally to find the correct spot to start. I usually like my work to be centered so that I have enough excess for framing or mounting. tutorial_evenweaveFind the spot closest to your starting point where the vertical thread is on top of the horizontal one. This is where your needle goes. Check this blowup of evenweave. I have a red dot just to the right of the hole where your needle will go for the first stitch. See it? Just remember, you want to ride on TOP of the bridge to enjoy the view.

lavbutterflyDoing the magnets for the Finland Handcrafters Team gave me a chance to do a side by side. Here’s the same exact design done on 32 count Lugana (left) and also on 16 count Aida (right). Personally, I think the one on Lugana is just a bit more special. This is the one that will be going into the special promotion basket. (For more information, check my earlier post!!) These have not yet been blocked, sorry!!

completedbutterflyAnd here are the finished magnets. The evenweave magnet is on the left.

See how much more delicate the butterfly looks when stitched on evenweave? It’s really all about using the materials at hand to make our creations come out the way we see them in our mind. There are just so many lovely lovely fabrics to choose from these days. Don’t limit yourself to just working with Aida!

If you are still lost, there are tons of videos out there that show you exactly where to start. Take an easy design, a piece of evenweave, grab a cup of coffee and spend some quiet time bonding with your fabric. I can guarantee that once you try it, you will be hooked and actually look forward to stitching on these exciting fabrics.

Categories

  • Charities
  • How-Tos
  • Orts
  • Shop News

Find Me

  • MNS on Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr

Recent Posts

  • Chart Conversions
  • Input Needed!
  • December??? Already???
  • Finishes and New Beginnings
  • Creeping Ever Closer!

Archives

  • February 2018
  • December 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
©2023 - My Needle's Song - Neulani laulu - Weaver Xtreme Theme
↑