Cross Stitch - Blog Posts
I have recently received another ask about my canvas pulling and since I've been thinking about making a serious tutorial for a while now, I took the opportunity to take some pics and vids while finishing the tree. Do please enjoy :3
1. Why pulling out canvas at all?
Primarily, this is a fantastic technique to apply cross stitch patterns directly to the item you want OR to make patches from old jeans, like this one:
With small patterns I usually don't bother to sew the canvas prior to embroidering, like with the pupper above. In case of the bigger patterns, I usually sew it lightly on the edges just to keep the canvas in one place. The more stretchy the material type is, the more important it's going to be to keep it in place.
2. Why not use a soluble canvas?
I'm sure you can and that they'll be as successful as the regular one 😁 However, as I mentioned in my previous posts here and here, I prefer to err on the side of cheaper, hence the tutorial.
3. Okay. I'm convinced - I even have a pattern embroidered on! What's next?
With small patterns (like the doggo earlier) it's going to be pretty easy. You just pull the threads one by one - preferably starting on the thinnest part of the pattern - and you may not even need the pliers. The fun (?) is with the large pieces, because the canvas has on average quite fragile threads and they like to break. Note - the canvas I'm using and I suppose most of the existing canvas types, will have four threads per one embroidery row. It's usually easier to pull one first and then the other three, bit that may vary when, for example, you managed to pierce the thread during stitching phase earlier 😉
If you were already careful during the stitching, you paid extra attention to embroider EXACTLY between the canvas threads and avoid piercing them at all. There are two benefits to that being extra careful: one, it's easier to pull it out later; two, the stitching gains an extra precision to it (and it looks great!). I recently discover that the round tip needle is making it much easier and if you're interested, there's a separate post about it as well!
On to the process! You can see from the pictures how I started with cutting out a piece of canvas that I can later reuse for something small (recycling is my hobby 🤷🏻♀️). I also pulled loose threads from around the tree:
Next part was to clean up the trunk and the grass on the right:
I then cut off the excess to avoid the threads tangling and slowly moved to the sides of the leaves on right and left:
You'll notice that the last photo has the thread pulled halfway through the pattern. That's because on this stage it's usually impossible to simply pull the thread out - even with the pliers it is just going to break off. I use a needle to pluck it from between the embroidery like this:
If you're more of the visual learner, I made this vid that I hope explains the process in more detail. You'll notice that I'm using my fingers and not the pliers here, because it's faster than to switch between tools.
And finally, when you're left with single direction threads like these, it's just a matter of pulling them out one by one.
And that's it! The final product looks clean and neat, AND you will notice that without the canvas beneath it's also getting a bit of volume that looks cool (and helps even out small mistakes you may have made along the way).
Thanks for reading this far! Let me know if there's something else I forgot to explain 😊
Major shout-out to men that craft. Dudes that knit. Fellows that felt. Bros that bind books. Cobbers that cross-stitch. Y'all are wonderful and I appreciate you.
Finished my mother's day gift. Gotta say I'm kinda proud of myself. I started cross stitching and sewing less than a year ago, so she's rough around the edges but she's done.
This is my new obsession/hobby. Made it in 2 days, I only learned how to cross stitch 6 days ago! Based on the RB20 and the logos are done in block colours, cause this shit is small (25×125 mm).
I love the way seemingly unrelated, random things connect on tumblr. A couple of weeks ago, a Series of Unfortunate Events blog I follow reblogged a cat meme regarding a cat named Snicket from Cat Suggest. I wound up scrolling through the Cat Suggest tumblr until I happened upon a lovely sampler pattern which this tumblr had made from one of their posts, and now I’m considering getting back into cross-stitch (”back into” I say as though I’ve ever finished anything) just because I went on a funky tumblr walkabout. It has its pros and cons, but it’s a pretty neat site that way :)
5k GIVEAWAY?!
We genuinely can’t believe it. You guys are so amazing and we’re so happy to be on this journey with all of you, absurd blue hellsite and all. The folks who have told us that they rekindled a hobby, or those that have started new, the wild submissions, and the sheer quantity of people who have made the absurd electrical impulses from our brains into a thing you can hold in your hand brings us joy on a daily basis.
So what are we giving away?
1. A pattern commission from us. It will be around our standard size and complexity, in .pdf form
2. A mystery needle minder! Prism has been practicing construction in anticipation of the Nat 20′s we’re going to get in, so she’s got a small array of tests that came out very nicely.
3. A mystery kit! So many mysteries. We’re just getting started creating kits, so you can get your hands on one before they become available.
4. A gorgeous pattern from @mathysphere. If you haven’t taken a look at their patterns, you should! Right here! The entire pride planet series is amazing. We went with the first of the series for our giveaway:
Fun Fact: Mathy was the very first blog that ever followed us. We were mildly intimidated because their stuff is so dang cool.
What are the rules?
Current followers and folks who follow us before April 5th (12:00PM Central US time) will be automatically entered into the contest.
For other entries like or reblog this post. Multiple reblogs are allowed within reason and our discretion. Don’t annoy your spacemates. Giveaway specific blogs will be disqualified. We’ll post updates if we think of any. Good luck!
It’s finished! Now to frame it.
WIP #3
Didn’t make as much progress as in days before, but with for good reasons! I got blood drawn for my endocrinology appointment, I made a few calls that needed to be made, got coffee with the wife and got her “minter”, and other things I can’t remember that needed done.
And! The husband found a holographic snowflake light to put in the front yard so our house isn’t so dismal against the rest of the neighborhood and their lights.
Today didn’t suck.
The Mother of All Snowflakes WIP #1
Pattern by Mary Corbet of Needle ‘n Thread
Link
I’ve been itching to get back to cross stitching for a while now. I have one all planned out for a friend, but I can’t find my white aida cloth to start. At least, I think it’s big enough for what I need. Not working makes things challenging when needing to purchase supplies. The black aida I purchased earlier this year was just a bit to narrow for what I need, so I decided to repurpose it. To snowflakes, of course! Did a little Google search, found this free pattern and here I am. Also, black aida is a bitch to work on. it feels like a miniature litebrite. I’m a quarter done with it after starting on Friday, which is weird to think. It’s been good for keeping my hands and mind busy, especially with the wife having seizures off and on all day. She was supposed to have an ambulatory EEG this weekend, but our outlets in our 1950s house are too small to accommodate what the tech needed to plug the camera into. Now we get to schedule a 72 hour EEG at the hospital in the middle of respiratory disease hell season. Weeee!
In better news, our plumbing is getting replaced tomorrow. Or rather, the plumbing replacement process starts tomorrow. Jackhammering at 8 am! Who doesn’t love getting woken up to jackhammering right next to the bedroom? Although I just thought of something. Wife’s seizures have been sound triggered as well; this could get really messy.
WIP #2
No plumbing started yet because two of the guys on the crew got Covid. Maybe next week? I’m so ready to have a shower that works again.
The Mother of All Snowflakes WIP #1
Pattern by Mary Corbet of Needle ‘n Thread
Link
I’ve been itching to get back to cross stitching for a while now. I have one all planned out for a friend, but I can’t find my white aida cloth to start. At least, I think it’s big enough for what I need. Not working makes things challenging when needing to purchase supplies. The black aida I purchased earlier this year was just a bit to narrow for what I need, so I decided to repurpose it. To snowflakes, of course! Did a little Google search, found this free pattern and here I am. Also, black aida is a bitch to work on. it feels like a miniature litebrite. I’m a quarter done with it after starting on Friday, which is weird to think. It’s been good for keeping my hands and mind busy, especially with the wife having seizures off and on all day. She was supposed to have an ambulatory EEG this weekend, but our outlets in our 1950s house are too small to accommodate what the tech needed to plug the camera into. Now we get to schedule a 72 hour EEG at the hospital in the middle of respiratory disease hell season. Weeee!
In better news, our plumbing is getting replaced tomorrow. Or rather, the plumbing replacement process starts tomorrow. Jackhammering at 8 am! Who doesn’t love getting woken up to jackhammering right next to the bedroom? Although I just thought of something. Wife’s seizures have been sound triggered as well; this could get really messy.
The Mother of All Snowflakes WIP #1
Pattern by Mary Corbet of Needle ‘n Thread
Link
I’ve been itching to get back to cross stitching for a while now. I have one all planned out for a friend, but I can’t find my white aida cloth to start. At least, I think it’s big enough for what I need. Not working makes things challenging when needing to purchase supplies. The black aida I purchased earlier this year was just a bit to narrow for what I need, so I decided to repurpose it. To snowflakes, of course! Did a little Google search, found this free pattern and here I am. Also, black aida is a bitch to work on. it feels like a miniature litebrite. I’m a quarter done with it after starting on Friday, which is weird to think. It’s been good for keeping my hands and mind busy, especially with the wife having seizures off and on all day. She was supposed to have an ambulatory EEG this weekend, but our outlets in our 1950s house are too small to accommodate what the tech needed to plug the camera into. Now we get to schedule a 72 hour EEG at the hospital in the middle of respiratory disease hell season. Weeee!
In better news, our plumbing is getting replaced tomorrow. Or rather, the plumbing replacement process starts tomorrow. Jackhammering at 8 am! Who doesn’t love getting woken up to jackhammering right next to the bedroom? Although I just thought of something. Wife’s seizures have been sound triggered as well; this could get really messy.
I think I might need to make this for a phlebotomist friend of mine.
Fun fact, I am a phlebotomist. I guess I just really like needles? by itsLenAgain
Wind waker cloth napkin 40 x 50 cm cotton
Patch version!
Medusa
Embroidery and bookmark of Tomie.
Ghost picnic
Pink house.
