Starting my first large cross stitch project. Any tips?

[Kayzr]

I got a great kit to make a cut-thru pirate ship. I have done loads of little cross stitch projects but this is my first big one.

I have a floor standing roller frame which I am going to use as I thought a ring would be impossible to use.

Are there any hints and tips that will make it easier and maybe a bit quicker to get finished?

Thank you.

1.Keep the back neat, right from the beginning

1. Don't move from one area to another without finishing off properly; it will show if you trail it across the back.
2. If you make a mistake, go back & unpick straight away, the longer you leave it, the bigger the mistake will get and the more noticeable it will be

Enjoy!

Photocopy your chart, and then use a coloured highlighter to colour in the areas you have done. It makes it much easier to see where there are stitches still to do.

Thank you. I will get them photocopied on the school run.

I had a metal board and magneuc rulers to hold the pattern, you could use magnetic markers to make it clear as to where you are, it also never hurts to enlarge the pattern when photocopying.

A good light really helps see what you are doing. I bought a second hand OTT floor standing lamp and bought the special bulbs too, makes any project so much easier.

Neat back is very essential for framing.

I always fold a copy of the pattern up and clip in to top of frame so I'm just looking at the bit I'm doing.

laminate your pattern
Get a mightybrite light... you can buy a clip on one from Hobbycraft for about 15 quid, essential if you're going to stitch at night.
keep your threads in plastic / or sewing box and wash your hands before touching anything. It's really annoying to look at dirty patches.
Post some pics for us to look at those cut thro's are really good aren't they.

Use a loop when starting a new thread, it helps to keep the back more tidy.

This is a guide to loop starts

Of course, loops are not always possible, as I found when stitching a pattern that required me to blend two threads of different colours together.

Today is my Dad's birthday, and I'm presenting him with a framed cross stitch, which has only taken 15 years to do.......

In my defence, it was a bastard of a pattern to do, so fiddly that I think most experienced stitchers would have long given up the ghost. I kept putting it aside and doing other stuff. But it's now done and I burned the pattern on completion.

Be organised.
Use a thread organiser.
Dont rush the setting up - you might regret it when you have to keep reattaching your material to the frame.

Try griding your material. it helps you keep track of your picture.

It is usually easier if you start in the middle and work outwards. It prevents you miscounting and getting too close to one of the edges. Most charts have the middle marked. I mark the centre of my fabric with two lots of running stitch in sewing thread, which I remove once I have worked enough to be able to see where I am. If you work from the middle downwards, then turn the frame and chart and work from the centre upwards, it stops you rubbing your hands as much over the bit you have stitched, so it stays cleaner.

Take the time to put in marker threads. After rough hemming edges, I always put in the middle lines (top - bottom, side-side) on larger pieces I put in every 20 stitches. It takes time but it is good to help focus what stitch should go where. Oh and I photocopy patterns so that they are enlarged because often the pattern symbols are tiny and hard to see at a glance.

Good luck.