Cross Stitch Guide by Kathleen M Dyer

Commercial charts suggest which type and colour of thread to use. Kits even supply the thread for you. However, there are times when you want to select the thread yourself. Situation: The floss supplied in a kit is of poor quality. If you are lucky, the chart supplied with the kit lists colour numbers and a brand name. This doesn't happen very often, at least with kits that supply ugly floss. If there is no list, try to get a colour card for one of the big-name brands of floss such as DMC or Anchor. Look for one which includes...

Floss is generally colourfast, but some people like to be very cautious when using dark or intense colours in heirloom quality projects. If you choose to be this cautious, do the following. Remove the floss from the paper wrapper. Place each skein of floss in a separate glass container containing cool or room temperature distilled water. Some people recommend adding vinegar or salt to the water, but the usefulness of the vinegar or salt varies with the type of dye and may even cause damage. Rinse the floss in the distilled water. If the water does not remain clear, replace...

You can carry thread over if there is no stitching between two areas of the design, but only for short distances. This means three or four squares on Aida, or four threads on linen. The thread can be carried farther if the region between the two areas has been (or will be) filled in with other stitches. How far? This depends on the relative darkness of the colours. The carried thread should be woven under the existing stitches, but sometimes dark colours show through when woven under lighter colours. Check to make sure this isn't happening. Even under the best...

Not surprisingly, the techniques for ending the thread resemble those for starting the thread. And now for a strong suggestion--do not knot the thread. An exception might be made for a special case, such as an isolated stitch with no other stitches near it in the design. One good method is to run the thread under four or five of the stitches on the back. You may choose to whip stitch around one of the stitches as you are running under. This helps to lock the thread in. Sometimes dark colours show through when woven under lighter colours. Check to...

You may have read posts which talked about "the right end," or "the direction" of the thread. Let's talk about what it means and why you should or shouldn't care. Yes, this is another of those issues where the professionals disagree. Here are condensed comments from the different schools of thought. School 1: Floss has a right end, and the end matters. The needle should be threaded with the right end. The stitches lie better, and knots are less likely to happen. It is bad form to stitch without paying attention to thread direction. Some people find it easier to...

For you folks who like to know the details, here is how the chart was derived. As you will see, there was a fair amount of approximating going on. A skein of floss is approximately 8-1/2 yards long. Assume most people stitch with an 18" length of floss. This gives 17 segments of 18" each per skein. Most of the time, people stitch with more than one strand. There are 6 strands of floss per skein. So 6/strands_used is the number of pieces per segment. Allow 3" per 18" length for securing the beginning and ending, and for general waste....