Crafts
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Newbie at Cross-Stitch, but want to make Pillow for Baby...help!
Hello Crafty Folks! This is my first post here. I'm late-twenties, pregnant & feeling the nesting urge as it were. I would really appreciate any help I can get.
I really would like to make a pillow for Abby with her name on it.
I have done quilts, crochet & other crafts before with success. I have never done cross stitch with the aim of putting it on a pillow. I am a complete cross-stitch noob, but I would like to take a crack at it. I wanted to know if you had any suggestions as to patterns, kits (like needle kits) etc.
Thank you in advance.
Re: Newbie at Cross-Stitch, but want to make Pillow for Baby...help!
Since you are starting from scratch I would recommend a kit. The come with all the embroidery floss you need to complete the project and generally have a needle included. It would be my suggestion to choose a pattern kit that does not have every single square filled with a stitch, that may discourage you from finishing.
The other things I've learned over years of cross stitching is,
1.you will make mistakes. When you discover your mistake you have to decide if you are going to pull all your stitches back to the mistake or if you can hide it in the pattern. It's always a judgement call.
2.Try your best to keep the back of your piece as neat as possible, knots will happen so try to be attentive and pick them out before you get a rats nest.
3. Stitch all of your stitches the same way if you choose to stitch the pattern left to right, do so for the whole piece. Also if your stitches are stitched bottom left to upper right, keep doing that stitch pattern for the entire thing. It will provide a continuity of color through your work as you transition through colors. This took me a really long time to learn!
Good Luck
I agree with all of this (especially the bolded section--that makes a HUGE difference). Cross Stitching is easy--I think I learned in first grade (I'll have to ask my mom). Get yourself a good tension hoop if you are using Aida fabric (which you probably will if you use a kit). I like the tension hoops.
My Valentine Bookends (2~13~13, 2~15~09)
I've been cross-stitching for 20 years and it is a huge stress reliever for me. I love it, and I definitely do more of it when I'm stressed!
Start out with a kit that comes with everything, like PP said. If you decide you like it, you might want to invest in a Q-snap frame http://www.qsnap.com/needlework_frames.asp. I can't stand the round hoops, I have every size in the Q-snap and they're really hard for me to find locally anymore since all of my shops closed
Also, later on, you probably want to switch from Aida cloth (what will come in your kit) to linen. It looks a lot nicer, but linen is more expensive and harder on the eyes (I'm 33 and realizing that I may not be able to do the tiny linen anymore!).
If you like funny cross-stitch - obvs not appropriate for a baby pillow - check out Subversive Cross Stitch http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/howto/index.html. She actually has a really good how-to page with links that will help beginners. Her designs are fun and very simple, but most are inappropriate (which is okay for me, since I don't and won't have kids!).
Good luck! I love giving cross-stitches as gifts. It's fun and very addictive and easy to travel with if you need a hobby for road trips/vacation. Page me if you have any questions!