Now that we have decided what sort of design we want to stitch and we have our chart, the next step is to gather the materials we will need. Cross-stitch charts always list the exact materials needed to complete the project and often tell you exactly how much you will need provided you are stitching on the recommended fabric count-more on that in a bit. You can see in photograph below our Angel of Christmas chart has the materials printed on the chart itself but often the list will be on a separate page.

The first item on the materials list is fabric. Fabric is to cross-stitch what canvas is to painting: a foundation on which a piece of art comes to life. It may not be the star of the show, but choosing the right fabric is imperative if you want to produce the best work possible.

This chart calls for 32 Count Raw Linen (2 over 2) from Zweigart.

What on Earth does all that mean? Let’s break it down.

32 Count = Fabric Count

Raw= Fabric Colour

Linen= Fabric Type

2 Over 2= How many threads we will be using and over how many threads of the fabric we will be stitching

Zweigart= Fabric Brand

 

That’s cleared everything up, hasn’t it? No? Didn’t think so. Let’s delve a little deeper and discuss what all these terms mean.  

 

Fabric Count

Perhaps the most confusing consideration when choosing your needlecraft fabric is what count to use. What do those numbers mean beside your fabric listing? Fabric count refers to how many how many holes there are per square inch of fabric. 14 count will have 14 holes per square each, 28 count will have 28 holes per square inch and so on. The holes are important as they dictate where we place our stitches. Basically, the higher the fabric count, the closer together the holes and the finer the threads- or blocks of threads in the case of aida- that separate the holes.  Higher counts usually result in smaller stitchers and a smaller finished piece. A design stitched on 40 count linen will work out smaller than a design stitched on 28 count linen as each individual stitch will be smaller. This rule applies only in cases where the stitches are made over the same number of threads- more on that later.

Our Angel of Christmas chart calls for 32 count linen which is a popular choice with these kind of fancy lady designs. If I wanted the finished piece to be bigger, I could stitch it on 28 count, and if I wanted it to be smaller I could stitch it on 36 count. However, I would be very reluctant to stitch this type of design on a fabric count different to what is called for. Why? Because the designer put a lot of consideration into which fabric would work best for this design. She knew that stitching on 32 count would allow for the correct spacing of beads and would allow the threads to provide enough coverage without becoming too bulky. An experienced stitcher might play around with different fabric counts, but for those starting out I would recommend sticking to the recommended fabric count.

 

Fabric Colour

Needlecraft fabric comes in lots of colours and, though your chart will probably recommend a colour to use, the final decision is yours alone. I would advise sticking to a shade fairly close to the recommended colour as you want your stitched piece to really pop against the background and the designer will have taken this into consideration when choosing the called-for fabric. If you think a different colour would look better though, then you go for it. I will say that it is often slightly more difficult to stitch on very dark fabrics than it is on very pale ones as the holes can be harder to see, so you might want to bear this in mind when making your decision.

For Angel of Christmas the recommended fabric colour is ‘Raw’ which is an undyed, natural colour

 

Hand-Dyed Fabric

Many stitchers prefer to stitch their piece on a hand-dyed fabric which can be purchased from independent dyers or through certain needlecraft stores. These fabrics have often have several layers of colours and patterns and have greater depth and complexity than your standard, solid-coloured fabric. A word of warning: hand-dyed fabrics are not always colourfast, so if you are planning to wash your finished piece, double-check with the hand-dyer that it is safe to do so. Also, hand-dying can sometimes cause the fabric to shrink slightly, so a piece of 28 count may end up closer to a 30 count and so on. If this is the case, the dyer/retailer will usually make this clear in the product listing.

 

Fabric Type

There are many types of needlecraft fabrics, and we could sit here all day discussing them. However, 99% of the time you will be stitching on either aida, evenweave or linen. What’s the difference between the three types and which is best for your project? Let’s have a look.

 

Aida

Many cross-stitchers probably stitched their first project on 14-count white aida. It is an incredibly popular choice and a wonderful fabric to start with due to its ease of use. Aida fabric is usually made of cotton and consists of little square blocks of thread with holes in between. Those distinctive blocks, not found in evenweave or linen, give aida its wonderful stability and structural integrity. They also make it easier for you to find the holes with the tip of your needle. It’s no wonder that stitcher who struggle with their vision often prefer to work with aida. Aida is far less likely to warp that evenweave or linen and may suit stitchers who prefer to use half-stitch- which we’ll talk about later-, or those who want to stitch full-coverage pieces. My personal preference for stitching full-coverage is 18-count Easy Count Aida from Zweigart. 

Pros of Aida

• Generally, more affordable than evenweave or linen
• Easy to stitch on and great for those with mild vision issues
• Structurally sound-more stable and less likely to warp

 

Cons of Aida

• Less visually attractive in some people’s opinions and may not work for projects without a stitched background
• Stiffer than evenweave or linen due to its unique structure
• Not suitable for some types of projects, especially those including lots of petit-point or quarter stitches

Evenweave

Evenweave is a bit of a blanket term used to describe fabric in which the warp thread and the weft thread are of even thickness. Though it could be argued that linen is therefore also technically an evenweave fabric, in cross-stitch the term ‘evenweave’ is very rarely used in reference to linen fabric. While linen cross-stitch fabric is- surprise, surprise- made from linen, evenweave is usually composed of either 100% cotton or, more commonly, a cotton-viscose mix. Evenweave is often seen as being a more affordable alternative to linen, but I think evenweave is a beautiful fabric in its own right and it is my first choice for many types of project. Evenweave is usually stitched 2-over-2 (don’t worry, we’ll come to what that means in just a moment), so finding the right hole in which to place your needle can be a little tricky. Those who struggle with compromised vision or who are working in low light settings may find it best to avoid working with both evenweave and linen. 

Pros of Evenweave

•       Smooth, soft and very pleasant to work with. Much less stiff than aida
•        Visually attractive. May suit projects in which a good deal of the fabric will be visible in the finished piece
•        The perfect middle-ground between aida and linen
•        Great for projects with petit-point or quarter stitches

Cons of Evenweave

• Can be trickier to work with than aida
• Not quite as authentic looking as linen
• Not always as widely available as aida or linen

Linen

In my opinion linen is one of the most beautiful fabrics in the world. Whether it’s in bedsheets or in clothes, there is just something truly special about linen. This is true of the linen we use in cross-stitch too. Nothing will elevate your special piece like being stitched on a beautiful piece of linen. For centuries, stitchers have been working on linen and, in my opinion, for us to be able to continue on this tradition in the 21^st century is a true privilege. I am a strong believer in paying respect to the heritage of this wonderful craft and I never feel more connected to the stitchers who went before me than I do when stitching on linen. Although I believe that if you can stitch on aida, you can probably also stitch on linen, there are a few extra challenges you may face when working with this gorgeous material. For example, you may find little lumps, called slubs, in your fabric. Linen can also sometimes have threads which like to clump together, and you may have to separate these with the tip of your needle in order to make your stitch. Theses issues are only minor and should not affect the final piece in any way. 

Pros of Linen

• Beautiful to look at. Perfect for pieces with unstitched backgrounds.
• 100% natural material
• The original needlecraft fabric
• Often available in a wider selection of colours than evenweave, including natural ‘undyed’ shades

Cons of Linen

• More costly than aida or evenweave
• May have slubs or uneven threads
• Linen is very prone to fraying and it is advisable to secure the raw edges of the fabric before you commence stitching.

Number of Threads Over Which We Stitch

Spend five minutes on Yoututbe watching cross-stitch videos and I can almost guarantee that you will hear a phrase like ‘I’m stitching this on one over one’ or ‘I’m stitching two over two’ or some variation. In that moment you might be so confused that you decide to give up on this cross-stitch malarky and take up a new hobby.

Though it may sound like gibberish, such phraseology is so common place in cross-stitch that it would be difficult to NOT talk about it. So what does it mean when your favourite Flosstuber starts talking about ‘one over two’, ‘two over one’ etc.? They are simply stating how many threads they are using and how many threads they are stitching over. Let’s look at it like a maths problem.

X over Y

X= number of strands of the working thread. This is the thread that’s on your needle, your DMC or whatever stranded cotton you are using.

Y= number of threads in fabric you are stitching over.

Our X-number- the number of strands we are working with- is pretty self-explanatory, I think, but the Y-number- the number of threads in the fabric we are working over- is slightly more complicated. It works differently depending on the type of fabric:

Aida: Aida is almost always stitched 'over one'. To make your cross, you take your thread across one little square block, which counts as one thread for this purpose. I have never seen aida stitched over more than one block, but that doesn't mean it's never done.

Evenweave and Linen: Do you remember earlier how we spoke about evenweave and linen comprising of threads of even thickness being woven together with little holes in between? Because of this fineness of this these threads, and the close proximity of the holes, if we were to work over just one thread- if we were to work into every single hole- our stitches would be tiny and that would result in a very small finished piece. So, most of the time, we work over two when we work with evenweave or linen. This means that when we pull out of one hole we carry it across one thread, then one hole, then another thread and then we put our needle through the next hole. Remember: When we are making cross-stitches, we work diagonally.

 

Petit Point

Part of the reason I wanted to stitch Angel of Christmas as our sample piece is because it features both over-two and over-one stitching on linen. The standard sized crosses (made over two threads) are used for the angel's body, wings, hair etc., while her face is stitched using tiny over-one stitches which are a quarter the size of standard cross-stitches. This creates a breath-taking effect as her face almost looks as though it has been painted. These tiny stitches are often referred to as 'petit point' stitches and we will take a closer look at how to achieve this technique later on in this series.

 

Half Cross/ Tent Stitch

Half-cross uses the bottom leg only. You may also hear/see this stitch being referred to as ‘tent stitch’. Half cross stitches may be called for in the design or may be a choice the stitcher makes for themselves. For example, some full-coverage stitchers may choose to use half crosses in order to get through their project faster. Because they are losing the coverage that would be given by the second leg of the stitch, they will often use an extra strand of working thread.

Warning: Please be careful when using a lot of half-stitches, especially on evenweave or linen, as it can warp the factor.

 

Direction of Legs

Most stitchers have their bottom leg reaching from the bottom left to the top right (like a forward slash) and their top leg reaching from bottom right to the top left (like a back slash). There is no rule which says you have to do this, and sometimes stitchers may prefer to stitch with their legs facing the other way. What is absolutely imperative is that you REMAIN CONSISTENT with the direction of your stitch legs.

 

Another Word on Fabric Count

Now that we have talked stitching over different number of threads, I would like to briefly return to our earlier conversation about fabric count. Do you remember how we said that if we were stitching on 28-count our piece would be bigger than on 32-count and 36-count would be bigger than 32-count and so on? Well, that is true, provided you are stitching over the same number of threads.

But what about aida? Aida generally has fewer holes per square inch, so will a piece stitched on 14-count aida be twice the size of a piece stitched on 28-count aida? Probably not.

Because with evenweave and linen we are generally stitching over two threads, a design stitched over 2 on 28-count evenweave/linen will be the exact same size as the same design stitched on 14-count aida. The same is true for 16-count aida and 32-count evenweave/linen, 18-count aida and 36-count evenweave/linen and so on. This means that if your chart calls for aida and you would prefer evenweave or linen, it is an easy substitution. The reverse is true too, in theory, but I would be very careful that your piece charted for evenweave/linen has no quarter stitches/ petit point stitches as this would mean piercing the blocks of the aida which can be difficult and cumbersome.

 

Brand

Charts will usually recommend a specific brand but you can buy whatever brand you like. If you choose to stay away form the big names, I would advise doing your research. Not all needlecraft fabric is equal and I promise you that you do not want to working on stiff, poor quality fabric. 

 

Gridded/ Easy-Count Fabrics

Gridded fabric is simply white or cream aida that has been divided into squares of 1ox10 holes by means of a thin grey line woven that disappears when the fabric is washed. Gridded fabrics are idea for full-coverage stitchers as it makes the process of counting and placing stitches much easier.

Note: although the grid lines do wash out, I would personally avoid using gridded fabrics for projects where a lot of the fabric will be visible.

 

Metallic Fabrics

In order to add a little something extra to their fabrics, some manufacturers now offer some of their fabrics with threads or silver, gold or opalescent thread running through them. These fabrics are very popular for Christmas projects in particular. I would advise exercising a little extra caution when using metallic fabrics, especially if you are planning to iron them, as the metallic threads are plastic.

 

 

What Size Fabric to Buy

Now that you have decided on your fabric type, count, colour and brand, you need to know what size piece to buy. In order to figure that out we must go back to our chart. You can see it tells us that the stithched area is 13 1/8 inches x 16 3/8 inches.

These calculations are based on the recommended fabric count (32-count in this case). If we were to stitch on a different sized fabric. If we were to stitch on a different sized fabric that would affect the stitched size. 

The stitched area (sometimes called ‘the design area’) is only what’s covered by the actual picture. We also need extra fabric to go around that stitched area for a border and then more fabric again to allow for framing. Although you can do your calculations yourself, I find it easier to just use an online calculator. There are several available, but my favourite is the very popular Yarn Tree calculator (available at yarntree.com).

When I punch my numbers into the Yarn Tree calculator and add two inches around for the border and another two inches for framing, it tells me I need to buy a piece of linen 21 inches wide by 24 and a half inches long. This is approximately 53cm x 62cm. As most retailers only offer their fabrics in set sizes, I must choose between buying a piece 50cm x 70cm or 100cm x 70cm. Because I like to live on the edge, I am going to choose the smaller size and use a tighter margin when finishing my piece but you might prefer to err on the side of caution and choose the bigger piece.

 

Fraying 

When your piece of fabric arrives, you may find that it has several raw edges- how many depends on the size of the piece you have bought and what part of the fabric it was cut from. Over time, these raw edges may begin to fray and you could end up losing inches off the edge of your fabric. Therefore, I would encourage you to secure your raw edges and prevent this fraying. How do you do that? My preferred method is to get out my sewing machine and sew a zig-zag stitch over all the raw edges. If you don't have a sewing machine you can hand sew a running stitch around the edge. Anything that is going to catch the threads of the fabric and stop them pulling back should do the trick. Many stitchers prefer to secure their edges with masking tape. This is not my favourite method but many very experienced stitchers swear by it, so if that is what works for you then go for it!

 

This week's post was very heavy on the information, but there really is a lot to talk about when it comes to fabric. Next time, though, we will be talking about threads and that will be much more fun!