CROSS STITCH -advice needed

[calimommy]

I love arts and crafts and I recently bought two cross stitch stockings which I'm hoping to have done by next xmas for my children. However I made a mistake when I ordered them and they are Counted cross stitch instead of having the picture outline it's a blank canvas and very time consuming for a novice. (I've never done this before but I'm a fast learner). However I'm already feeling the weight of my task only a few nights in. My question is:
Would it look ok if I did it all as half cross stitches instead of regular CS? Between the counting and the stitches I feel I'll never have them done by next Dec. The instructions call for both but obviously more full than half.
?

Could you get yourself some graph paper and map out the picture?

I do a lot of counted cross stitch, honestly it does get easier as you get more used to counting and stitching. Personally I wouldn't to it on half full and half half cross stitches as it will look unfinished, they look quite different at a distance.

Also don't be afraid to mark off on the pattern everytime you do a stitch just so you can see at a glance what you've done /where you need to continue especially if they are big (working on a dragon a little over a foot tall myself atm)

I use one of these magnetic board to mark the row I'm doing and cross off the stitches I have done.

Hey all thanks for your replies, in the mean time I discovered my main school girl error, those bracketed numbers that I couldn't figure out on the instructions: the number of threads your suppose to use! So that was the reason the half stitch filled the entire square so nicely, and why doing the second stitch was so difficult...I was using the whole piece of thread! 😑 and now I have to rip it all out. (F£%~|£$*!~~?>$&;:)

Oops! At least you worked out what the problem was so you could sort it

I photocopy the chart, then mark that off as I go. That helps.

OP I did exactly the same the first time I tried cross stitch! It gets easier the more you do.