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Sue's Technical Tips by Sue Hawkins
Bloodstains?
If you prick your finger while you are stitching and get blood on your fabric don’t despair. Your own saliva will completely remove it. Chew a scrap of fabric and then use this to wipe away the bloodstain. You can only do this for your own blood: we are all unique so only your own saliva will remove your blood!
Samplers the American way
When starting a sampler, try the American way and begin in the top left-hand corner rather than at the centre. You do have to be very careful with the initial placing, but it seems to make more sense of the stitching. Start with the border at the top left corner and work a little of it along the top and then down the side. Then begin the first row of the sampler, work some or all of that, then a little more border down the side before starting the next row across. Continue in this way – you can check all the elements against each other as you go. Also, working a bit of this and a bit of that means that you don’t get left with the boring border to do at the end!
Separating single strands of stranded cotton
To separate one strand of stranded cotton (floss), cut the required length of thread, allow the length to hang from one end, separate the strands at the top and catch hold of one strand at the very end. Pull this single strand upwards out of the hanging length and you will find that it comes straight out easily. If you try to pull the strands apart from the middle of the length you will merely increase the twist and end up with knots above and below your hands! (How often have you tried to sort out the mess with your teeth because you can’t let go with either hand!)
Removing fabric creases
Always remove all creases from your fabric before you start to stitch. I know the fabric will get creased as you stitch, but really sharp creases are very hard to get rid of once they are stitched over. To remove the difficult crease that appears down the middle of fabric where it was folded on the bolt, lay a piece of string on your ironing board, position the outside of the crease exactly over the string and then press. The string will push out the crease.
After stitching
When you have finished stitching it is always a good idea to wash your work. This will freshen the fabric and even up the tension of your stitches.
Finishing off a thread
To finish off a length of thread, run under a few stitches on the back then cut away the ends really close to the last stitch. Don’t be tempted to leave a short length to make it safe - this will show through when mounted on a light-coloured backing for framing.
Remove your hoops and needles
Frames and hoops are entirely optional for cross stitch but if you do use a hoop never, never leave your work in it between stitching sessions. If you leave the hoop on when you put your stitching away, the pressure of the hoop will leave a shadow in the fabric that is almost impossible to remove. However, if you remove the hoop between sessions, the fabric is able to recover. Also, never be tempted to leave your needle pinned in the work – you may get sidetracked by another lovely project and, before you know it, you will have a rust mark which won’t come out.
