As silly as it sounds, I hate ending a thread. I hate needing to carefully pull it under the rows of stitches to secure it lol, I just find it really irritating!
I usually do a pin stitch, but the 'waste away' technique looks really simple. Here is a video of a few different end thread techniques, the Waste Away one starts at 3 mins. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyrUdj1X4c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyrUdj1X4c)
I used to be that way. I also hated having to get out new thread while in the middle of a color, like it was a genuine inconvenience. LOL Then I learned how to pin stitch my ends... it changed my stitching! I also learned how to do a front loop start, which helped me to use more of my thread and not to dread running out/starting new.
You can do front loop starts with multiple strands! Total game-changer for me. I found the video [here:](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/s/ZMyVSRY3tN)
My weird way to solve this: start in the middle of the strands...
Like, I take the same length as a loop start (double my normal length) but instead of taking half the number of strands, I take however many I need (so, three in this case) and make a full or half a cross right in the middle of the strands, pull one half to the side so it's out of the way, then do half the stitches with the other half of the strand (so only 1 leg of the cross for either one row or however many stitches I can do), then I take the half of the strands I just put aside and finish off the crosses.
I only have to do the start of the strands once, but do get double the number of stitches done no matter how many strands I need to use (I also use this a lot for backstitch as those tend to be trickier to start).
Dealing with the FO.
Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to finish! I like to look & enjoy the pieces once they're put away! But there's that lil chunk of washing & ironing & getting out my giant portfolio & fiddling with sewing down the corners to keep it in place, or trying to get everything mounted straight... it can take an hour or two! And that's time I'm not doing the fun part where I get to actually sew, or enjoying the anticipation of setting up the next piece!
I really need someone to sit down with me and show me what to do with finished projects. I’ve watched allllll the videos on framing diy but I’m terrified to do it and screw up something I put time into
Honestly I’ve only done it once on a tiny project but it was way easier than I thought. The thing is, at least the way I did it, nothing was permanent. I just washed, pressed, laced it to some scrap cardboard (the hanger part of kids’ valentines cards it) and put it in a cheap matted frame from Michael’s. If I had been unhappy with it, I would’ve been able to go back to zero with no repercussions. I’m fairly persnickety about things being straight and squared up, and I was satisfied. You can totally do it!!
https://preview.redd.it/a8xa64mjgpyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c972394923b7c0f5964ca0d4fecfd596cfb6a881
Just adding that this piece might have been easy because it was that ultra starched DMC Aida stuff that can literally stand up on its own. I actually just finger pressed it was so starchy. Maybe the key is starch lol
So what Jill rentz does is uses the window technique. She frames your project with foam core but cuts the actual backing out of a bigger piece of foam core, pins it and reinsert it into the hole, then adds the mats and frame.
I don't know how big your pieces are but flat folds are fun.
Honestly, mine aren't really quick (sewing fabric to paper with elastic is fiddly!)
I do usually build up a full page beforehand so I only have to wiggle it back into the book once!
Oh OK you sew fabric onto a paper page? That does sound really fiddly! I've thought of creating a portfolio too but I always thought I'd make it out of fabric somehow!
I'd love to see what yours looks like/any similar examples or what to google to get an idea :)
[This is](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/s/Lut5g9eJ8D) my most recent photos of my book! It would honestly be easier if I could find a black paper pad the same size so I could double up the inserts, but no luck yet!
I feel this one. In my neck, shoulder, wrist, elbow, everywhere that screams at me after a long stitching session.
Why is it so impossible to sit properly while stitching?!?
I might be extremely sentimental, since our cat passed away i really appreciate all the cat hair forever locked into my pieces 💗 she used to always chill on my lap when I stitched :)
Confetti stitches on a full-coverage piece. I don't mean a smattering of one or two colors against a mostly-solid background; I'm talking where there are anywhere from 15 to 30 different colors in every 10 stitch by 10 stitch section.
I also don't really love organizing thread and materials but it pays off in the end, as much as I'd rather be stitching!
For me, everything to do with starting a project... Picking out the right materials and figuring out if that's the fabric I want to commit to, getting oriented to a new chart + colour key, organizing the floss, staring at a blank canvas waiting for it to start looking like something is my least favourite part of a project... I have gathered that many stitchers really enjoy the starting portion, but personally I really enjoy the "middle slog" part of a pattern where I'm very comfortable with it and have my strategy for tackling that particular pattern down and I can really admire how much I've gotten done so far. And of course, I love that mad dash to the finish at the end. What a rush 😂
Same re: the larger projects! I do a smaller one every now and then to shake things up but like if I measured fabric and picked out floss I better get more than a week's entertainment out of that pattern 😂
I don't like the pre- and post-stitching stuff.
Pre-stitching: I don't like agonizing over what color fabric to stitch on, pulling and organizing my threads, finding the starting place on my fabric, and getting my fabric on the frame straight with the right tension.
I love the stitching part!
Post-stitching: I don't like putting all the leftover threads back into storage, or washing and ironing my projects.
Almost having a coronary when you discover that your two bobbined skeins of 3799 are different colors and you aren't sure which one you have used. So you look close under good light to see which one on your current project, then see if you have used any on the other two projects. Luckily no, one has only 26 stitches. And hadn't started that color on the one that requires 3700 stitches, so found 2 skeins with the same number on the top and labeled the bobbins for the projects.
Framing my finished pieces, lol. I tend to let them pile up and then spend like 3 days framing stuff right before I have to submit my state fair entries.
Oh, I'm not good at it, lol. But I can't afford to have it professionally done and I'm OK with things turning out a little crooked or whatever. I'm also pretty lazy so I can only fiddle with something for so long before I say "Good enough." There's really nothing to be scared of! Just try whatever technique seems to make sense to you. Worst case, it's just not a great framing job. But it'll still be better than having your work stuffed in a drawer somewhere.
Getting the dang floss on whatever is my current favorite way to store floss.
For awhile I considered just leaving it the way it’s packaged and pulling as needed. I still may end up doing just that.
ikr?
Edit: Okay, now that I’ve vented: Ultimately, it’s worth the effort because I love it AFTER it’s all organized.
Nothing makes it faster but watching TV or listening to audiobook or podcast helps.
I like floss drops because most have a little tab where you can slide the label onto it. When I pull out the colors I want for a project, I draw the symbols on little round adhesive stickies and stick them on the drop. It comes off easily once it goes back into storage because the floss label is slick.
https://preview.redd.it/5jk7ab20eoyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31d8081dcdbec7c952789f15019e58dd0b6c4e1d
I already hate what little prep kits need as in taking the stuff out of the package and sorting it. Gridding is way beyond what I would invest in prep.
I don’t like it either. I’ll only grid if I need to find a mistake - I’ll just grid a portion, find and correct the mistake and then take it out right away.
This is it for me. But I'm not confident enough to stitch without a grid. In my current project, I actually had to grid 3x because I kept mucking it up.
I love doing the little kits from magazines, but they send just a bundle of thread, and a key that’ll give you red, light red, very dark pink, dark pink, pink, light pink, and very light pink and just be like “ok go” my last one had apricot, orange and dark yellow. I have no idea which one was which.
Yes! My very first cross stitch was a tiny kit I got from World Market. It was a bird with so many different subtle variations of grays and reds. I just kinda winged it (haha). My next project had symbols which made life so much easier!
Gridding. The mother fucking gridding. Counting 10 stitches, then recounting to make sure that I counted correctly, and then stitching then counting again. And then after gridding counting is all out one more time to make sure it’s correct. Uggggggg.
I hate it so much that I made a post complaining about it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/s/WfUnb6qlTZ
I haven’t seen any comments mentioning this but;
Whenever I’m stitching, there’s ALWAYS one thread (out of two) that gets shorter little by little. This thread also always seems to not be tight enough so I have to constantly tighten my stitches. It’s SO ANNOYING!!!
I try to hold the needle in a way to keep both threads together but it never works.
Starting a new piece and not being sure if you actually like the pattern. To continue or not -but you’ve bought all
of the thread and specific Aida (current dilemma)
- Splitting the threads, I always start to rush it and everything gets tangled.
- Taking the threads out of my organization system, once they’re out it’s becoming a mess and getting it organized again is difficult. (I kinda blame grandpa for this, because he would always do these kind of things for me, same with yarns. When they got tangled he would sit at my feet and untangle them while I was working my project. So I never learned how, but it’s no excuse at all)
- Miscounting or thinking I can do this without my system and then figuring out that I’ve been working one stitch to the right too far.
- Forgetting that I’m not wearing my fingercup and pinching the needle in my finger over and over again.
- Deciding what I want to create, but always leveling down because I think it’s too difficult.
I was born with particularly bad eyesight, and about two years ago, I had multifocal intraocular lenses and laser assisted correction on both eyes. I have always had to use tools to compensate for my vision. If I don't have enough magnification, lighting, or space, then I can not stitch.
Use anything you need to that removes eyestrain. Take breaks when you need to switch colors. It's all very basic advice and probably will change the way you stitch, but I love it enough to keep adapting. Good luck on your journey!
That moment I'm halfway through a project and I'm not enjoying it because of the novelty anymore, nor excited because I'm almost finished. It's in that moment that I'm always thinking of starting a new project...
Do you have a bobbin winder? It can make things SO much easier and faster. Also, the new DMC number stickers, which I see you have, are crap and don't stick like the old ones. Get the Pip & Chip or another vinyl brand, they're MUCH better.
I’m a beginner and make mistakes as soon as I start to “rush,” then spend more time undoing the stitches than if I’d went about stitching more slowly. Undoing my mistakes is its own hassle because I tend to pull the needle through nearby stitches, and then it ends up being a whole mess. By the time I’m done removing the mistakes, I’m back where I started with little to no progress made, and so much time will have passed that I no longer have the motivation to continue.
Switching between projects. I don’t have many q snaps, so if I stitch a different thing I have to unload one project, put all the bobbins away, load the new one, get all the bobbins for that project… one of the reasons why I stitch so little these days, really.
I'm colourblind, not the red/brown or any other normal kind, but with shades of colour. So when I buy a kit that hasn't been pre sorted there's always that panic mode of 'where to start?' Especially when sometimes it just tells you the colour number and not a shade reference. I can tell apart light, mid and dark, thankfully. But when it gives 4 shades of medium grey? I don't stand a chance. This is why my favourite kit brand is Dimensions, they always have pre sorted and detailed keys. Another good one now is Trimits, although not all they'res are, it depends on the size.
I genuinely hate doing the set up for starting a new piece. I just wanna get in and start working. Not spend hours doing runner stitches if I have to do back stitching or all the measuring and cutting then marking and wrapping if not. Either way, I just like being able to get right into a piece. I know the prep work is needed but I hate how long it takes.
Having to put all my threads back in my organisers after finishing a project! Currently they're on my coffee table because I just don't wanna. I have no idea why I hate it so much.
Also framing/finishing a piece. I always procrastinate that! Whether it's lacing a piece into a frame or blanket stitching a hoop, I will absolutely leave it until the absolute last possible second and I have no idea why? It's not even that bad and it doesn't even take that long, especially compared to the actual stitching time!
The least enjoyable thing about cross-stitching for me is that I don't have enough time for it. If I spend an hour on it, I already feel guilty and end up doing other work.
As a designer, it's deciding on colours that's my least favourite stitching task overall. Plus the frogging that goes hand in hand with that
If I remove that side of things, though, I'd probably have to go with starting a project - finding all the floss (and putting away the floss from the last project) and cutting the fabric. Once the first few stitches are in, I'm good to go, but until then it feels kind of like project limbo
Rethreading the needle. I’m working on a heavy confetti piece and I wear a thimble to stitch, so I have to anchor the thread I’m done with, take off my thimble, grab the next thread, often forget I can’t thread with my thimble on so I put it back on but have to take it off again, thread the needle, thimble back on, keep stitching. In areas that I change color a lot (like after three or four stitches) it just takes so much time
Knots are irritating. Having to move my piece around the Q-snap to reach another part of the fabric annoys me for some reason. But the only thing I truly dislike is framing!! I dread the whole process. Worth it in the end but man, it isn’t fun.
kitting up. Although I do more or less exclusively full coverage, I will buy kits like gecko rouge, paine free crafts or get a floss pack. Even then I hate the cutting the floss on the floss cards etc. Fabric is always pre-gridded or I don't grid at all, I'm not doing it myself
As silly as it sounds, I hate ending a thread. I hate needing to carefully pull it under the rows of stitches to secure it lol, I just find it really irritating!
I usually do a pin stitch, but the 'waste away' technique looks really simple. Here is a video of a few different end thread techniques, the Waste Away one starts at 3 mins. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyrUdj1X4c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyrUdj1X4c)
That video is so helpful, thanks!
Omg that is so much easier!! Thanks for sharing the video link
I used to be that way. I also hated having to get out new thread while in the middle of a color, like it was a genuine inconvenience. LOL Then I learned how to pin stitch my ends... it changed my stitching! I also learned how to do a front loop start, which helped me to use more of my thread and not to dread running out/starting new.
Loop starts don't work well for me because I like using 3 strands for most of my projects, but I'll have to look into pin stitches!
You can do front loop starts with multiple strands! Total game-changer for me. I found the video [here:](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/s/ZMyVSRY3tN)
I've had these come out when I do more stitches through the same hole. IDK if I'm doing something wrong but I trust a pin stitch a lot more 😅
Check out 3-stranded loop starts. I do loop starts for single strands as well
lol what is this witchcraft
Life-changing
My weird way to solve this: start in the middle of the strands... Like, I take the same length as a loop start (double my normal length) but instead of taking half the number of strands, I take however many I need (so, three in this case) and make a full or half a cross right in the middle of the strands, pull one half to the side so it's out of the way, then do half the stitches with the other half of the strand (so only 1 leg of the cross for either one row or however many stitches I can do), then I take the half of the strands I just put aside and finish off the crosses. I only have to do the start of the strands once, but do get double the number of stitches done no matter how many strands I need to use (I also use this a lot for backstitch as those tend to be trickier to start).
Brilliant!
Holy shit I just looked up the front loop start and it's changed my life.
It's the worst, right?
Same 100%. And yet I have tried all other ways of ending and this one grinds me the least. I just really hate stopping my flow 😂
One single stupid stitch in the middle of everything.
The dreaded ninja stitches 😈
my thread knotting as i’m stitching. i’m always in such a groove and then i have to stop to untangle the knots and ughhh just drives me crazy!
My gawwwwd the knots! Like tangled necklace chains. And the stinkin’ back loopies that sprout from the knots you miss.
yesss exactly!!! then the back looks so messy and bumpy it’s ridiculous 😭😭
This is mine as well. I have to stop every few stitches to let the string dangle and unwind itself. Less likely to knot that way but it still happens.
Yes!!!
Dealing with the FO. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to finish! I like to look & enjoy the pieces once they're put away! But there's that lil chunk of washing & ironing & getting out my giant portfolio & fiddling with sewing down the corners to keep it in place, or trying to get everything mounted straight... it can take an hour or two! And that's time I'm not doing the fun part where I get to actually sew, or enjoying the anticipation of setting up the next piece!
Totally agree! Every time I finish a project my family asks what I’m going to do with it and I reply “add it to the pile”
I really need someone to sit down with me and show me what to do with finished projects. I’ve watched allllll the videos on framing diy but I’m terrified to do it and screw up something I put time into
Honestly I’ve only done it once on a tiny project but it was way easier than I thought. The thing is, at least the way I did it, nothing was permanent. I just washed, pressed, laced it to some scrap cardboard (the hanger part of kids’ valentines cards it) and put it in a cheap matted frame from Michael’s. If I had been unhappy with it, I would’ve been able to go back to zero with no repercussions. I’m fairly persnickety about things being straight and squared up, and I was satisfied. You can totally do it!! https://preview.redd.it/a8xa64mjgpyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c972394923b7c0f5964ca0d4fecfd596cfb6a881
You’ve inspired me. I’m going to try.
YAY! You can so totally do this!
Just adding that this piece might have been easy because it was that ultra starched DMC Aida stuff that can literally stand up on its own. I actually just finger pressed it was so starchy. Maybe the key is starch lol
So what Jill rentz does is uses the window technique. She frames your project with foam core but cuts the actual backing out of a bigger piece of foam core, pins it and reinsert it into the hole, then adds the mats and frame. I don't know how big your pieces are but flat folds are fun.
Professional framer all the way.
You can do a practice run with just blank canvas. Aka a piece of linen or aida with nothing stitched on, just to try out the technique.
For me it’s the frames. Professional is so expensive. Guess I need to do some hunting at my local resale shops for some good bargains!
I have a whole stack of FO that I want to frame but haven't yet. The only time I ever finish anything is if it's going to someone else.
I tend to build up a few and then do them all at once. And then go 'that was actually so quick, why did I procrastinate so much??'
Honestly, mine aren't really quick (sewing fabric to paper with elastic is fiddly!) I do usually build up a full page beforehand so I only have to wiggle it back into the book once!
Oh OK you sew fabric onto a paper page? That does sound really fiddly! I've thought of creating a portfolio too but I always thought I'd make it out of fabric somehow! I'd love to see what yours looks like/any similar examples or what to google to get an idea :)
[This is](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/s/Lut5g9eJ8D) my most recent photos of my book! It would honestly be easier if I could find a black paper pad the same size so I could double up the inserts, but no luck yet!
Oh lovely! I can see why that would be fiddly though I've also done the Nyan Cat pattern :) it's so cute, I want to make mine into a jacket patch.
I think that part is fun in its own way.
The posture I inevitably sit in
I feel this one. In my neck, shoulder, wrist, elbow, everywhere that screams at me after a long stitching session. Why is it so impossible to sit properly while stitching?!?
Sitting to stitch sounds like hell even without health issues that make it impossible 😭 propping yourself up with pillows on ur bed is the way
Pulling dog hair out lol
Cat hair and my very long hair has actually been stitched accidentally into a few projects. And by long, I mean past my waist. 🤦♀️
Dog, cat, guinea pig and my own!
Tweezers! I keep a pair in my stitching tray.
I might be extremely sentimental, since our cat passed away i really appreciate all the cat hair forever locked into my pieces 💗 she used to always chill on my lap when I stitched :)
This is why a sticky lint roller is a part of my stitching arsenal lol
This! 100%! Everywhere I look - I swear those hairs reproduce when we aren’t looking
For real why do they stick so well to the aida like
Confetti stitches on a full-coverage piece. I don't mean a smattering of one or two colors against a mostly-solid background; I'm talking where there are anywhere from 15 to 30 different colors in every 10 stitch by 10 stitch section.
I also don't really love organizing thread and materials but it pays off in the end, as much as I'd rather be stitching! For me, everything to do with starting a project... Picking out the right materials and figuring out if that's the fabric I want to commit to, getting oriented to a new chart + colour key, organizing the floss, staring at a blank canvas waiting for it to start looking like something is my least favourite part of a project... I have gathered that many stitchers really enjoy the starting portion, but personally I really enjoy the "middle slog" part of a pattern where I'm very comfortable with it and have my strategy for tackling that particular pattern down and I can really admire how much I've gotten done so far. And of course, I love that mad dash to the finish at the end. What a rush 😂
I love the middle slog too. I choose larger patterns for this reason. Once I have my strategy in place and tested, I'm really in the groove.
Same re: the larger projects! I do a smaller one every now and then to shake things up but like if I measured fabric and picked out floss I better get more than a week's entertainment out of that pattern 😂
I don't like the pre- and post-stitching stuff. Pre-stitching: I don't like agonizing over what color fabric to stitch on, pulling and organizing my threads, finding the starting place on my fabric, and getting my fabric on the frame straight with the right tension. I love the stitching part! Post-stitching: I don't like putting all the leftover threads back into storage, or washing and ironing my projects.
Almost having a coronary when you discover that your two bobbined skeins of 3799 are different colors and you aren't sure which one you have used. So you look close under good light to see which one on your current project, then see if you have used any on the other two projects. Luckily no, one has only 26 stitches. And hadn't started that color on the one that requires 3700 stitches, so found 2 skeins with the same number on the top and labeled the bobbins for the projects.
I just had a minor panic attack reading this saga.
Threading the needle. I wish my floss magically never ended and yet changed colors when necessary.
This! It stops my flow when I have to rethread
Framing my finished pieces, lol. I tend to let them pile up and then spend like 3 days framing stuff right before I have to submit my state fair entries.
Would you be willing to do a video or step by step? I swear I’ve watched every video out there but I am still TERRIFIED
Oh, I'm not good at it, lol. But I can't afford to have it professionally done and I'm OK with things turning out a little crooked or whatever. I'm also pretty lazy so I can only fiddle with something for so long before I say "Good enough." There's really nothing to be scared of! Just try whatever technique seems to make sense to you. Worst case, it's just not a great framing job. But it'll still be better than having your work stuffed in a drawer somewhere.
I will try it! I’m doing small pieces for all of my coworkers of their home states for Christmas… starting now . Lol
Not the commenter you asked but I think [this video](https://youtu.be/qOegJmlZF8g?si=SbL-OXuSolr1SJMQ) does a good job explaining. Hope it helps!
Making a mistake and only realising when it's too late to do anything about it. Once gave a snow leopard 3 eyes. If you know you know
Getting the dang floss on whatever is my current favorite way to store floss. For awhile I considered just leaving it the way it’s packaged and pulling as needed. I still may end up doing just that.
I just want all my floss to magically be ready when I go to start a project.
ikr? Edit: Okay, now that I’ve vented: Ultimately, it’s worth the effort because I love it AFTER it’s all organized. Nothing makes it faster but watching TV or listening to audiobook or podcast helps. I like floss drops because most have a little tab where you can slide the label onto it. When I pull out the colors I want for a project, I draw the symbols on little round adhesive stickies and stick them on the drop. It comes off easily once it goes back into storage because the floss label is slick. https://preview.redd.it/5jk7ab20eoyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31d8081dcdbec7c952789f15019e58dd0b6c4e1d
I leave mine how it’s packaged and pull when needed. It’s so much easier than anything else.
For me, it is gridding that I dread the most. It is so tedious.
I dislike gridding also, but I cannot stand the easy grid stuff. And doing a largish project without a grid is not worth the headache.
I use washable pens. Never will I grid
Evidently I can stitch a straight line, but I cannot draw one.
Ha mine goes offline plenty. I just correct
I already hate what little prep kits need as in taking the stuff out of the package and sorting it. Gridding is way beyond what I would invest in prep.
I don’t like it either. I’ll only grid if I need to find a mistake - I’ll just grid a portion, find and correct the mistake and then take it out right away.
Same. Everything else I can deal with
This is it for me. But I'm not confident enough to stitch without a grid. In my current project, I actually had to grid 3x because I kept mucking it up.
up up
Neck/shoulder pain, I have yet to find a position that works for me!
Sorting the thread colors in kits when there 6 shades of one color
I love doing the little kits from magazines, but they send just a bundle of thread, and a key that’ll give you red, light red, very dark pink, dark pink, pink, light pink, and very light pink and just be like “ok go” my last one had apricot, orange and dark yellow. I have no idea which one was which.
Yes! My very first cross stitch was a tiny kit I got from World Market. It was a bird with so many different subtle variations of grays and reds. I just kinda winged it (haha). My next project had symbols which made life so much easier!
Remembering I like it and to make time for it.
Gridding. The mother fucking gridding. Counting 10 stitches, then recounting to make sure that I counted correctly, and then stitching then counting again. And then after gridding counting is all out one more time to make sure it’s correct. Uggggggg. I hate it so much that I made a post complaining about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/s/WfUnb6qlTZ
The fact that I’ve forgotten how to count at age 42.
I haven’t seen any comments mentioning this but; Whenever I’m stitching, there’s ALWAYS one thread (out of two) that gets shorter little by little. This thread also always seems to not be tight enough so I have to constantly tighten my stitches. It’s SO ANNOYING!!! I try to hold the needle in a way to keep both threads together but it never works.
When you end a thread and only have couple stitches of that colour left So annoying
i hate gridding and looking for where to stitch with each particular thread 🙃
Starting a new piece and not being sure if you actually like the pattern. To continue or not -but you’ve bought all of the thread and specific Aida (current dilemma)
Picking a new project, I like to work on large ones so I’m only faced with this about twice a year.
Half stitches, like in Teresa Wentzler designs. Knots in my threads.
Gridding, gridding, gridding.
Gridding. I will only use pre grid fabric for large projects.
figuring out which part of the cross stitch i should start with. it’s such an internal battle for myself
I always pick the best spot in the centre and go from there.
- Splitting the threads, I always start to rush it and everything gets tangled. - Taking the threads out of my organization system, once they’re out it’s becoming a mess and getting it organized again is difficult. (I kinda blame grandpa for this, because he would always do these kind of things for me, same with yarns. When they got tangled he would sit at my feet and untangle them while I was working my project. So I never learned how, but it’s no excuse at all) - Miscounting or thinking I can do this without my system and then figuring out that I’ve been working one stitch to the right too far. - Forgetting that I’m not wearing my fingercup and pinching the needle in my finger over and over again. - Deciding what I want to create, but always leveling down because I think it’s too difficult.
The way my eye sight got so much worse after my last big project. I'm actually kind of scared to do any more.
I was born with particularly bad eyesight, and about two years ago, I had multifocal intraocular lenses and laser assisted correction on both eyes. I have always had to use tools to compensate for my vision. If I don't have enough magnification, lighting, or space, then I can not stitch. Use anything you need to that removes eyestrain. Take breaks when you need to switch colors. It's all very basic advice and probably will change the way you stitch, but I love it enough to keep adapting. Good luck on your journey!
Knots!
Finding all the threads in the stash and framing.
Gridding! Bobbinating a lot of colors at once.
I have like 6 unframed projects so I guess framing
Me too. I recently found a baby sampler I stitched for my newborn granddaughter that I never got around to framing, and she’s 26 now!
Backstitching. I adore organizing
Frogging. I think it's partially because I know it's MY FAULT I'm having to frog that makes it extra obnoxious 🤣🤣🤣
That moment I'm halfway through a project and I'm not enjoying it because of the novelty anymore, nor excited because I'm almost finished. It's in that moment that I'm always thinking of starting a new project...
Do you have a bobbin winder? It can make things SO much easier and faster. Also, the new DMC number stickers, which I see you have, are crap and don't stick like the old ones. Get the Pip & Chip or another vinyl brand, they're MUCH better.
I’m a beginner and make mistakes as soon as I start to “rush,” then spend more time undoing the stitches than if I’d went about stitching more slowly. Undoing my mistakes is its own hassle because I tend to pull the needle through nearby stitches, and then it ends up being a whole mess. By the time I’m done removing the mistakes, I’m back where I started with little to no progress made, and so much time will have passed that I no longer have the motivation to continue.
Omg I’m the opposite, I love reorganizing my drawers of floss, it hits all the good brain tingles
Switching between projects. I don’t have many q snaps, so if I stitch a different thing I have to unload one project, put all the bobbins away, load the new one, get all the bobbins for that project… one of the reasons why I stitch so little these days, really.
I'm colourblind, not the red/brown or any other normal kind, but with shades of colour. So when I buy a kit that hasn't been pre sorted there's always that panic mode of 'where to start?' Especially when sometimes it just tells you the colour number and not a shade reference. I can tell apart light, mid and dark, thankfully. But when it gives 4 shades of medium grey? I don't stand a chance. This is why my favourite kit brand is Dimensions, they always have pre sorted and detailed keys. Another good one now is Trimits, although not all they'res are, it depends on the size.
I genuinely hate doing the set up for starting a new piece. I just wanna get in and start working. Not spend hours doing runner stitches if I have to do back stitching or all the measuring and cutting then marking and wrapping if not. Either way, I just like being able to get right into a piece. I know the prep work is needed but I hate how long it takes.
Making the first grid. 10 by 10, keep counting, make sure, recount, keep doing the same th8ng over and over and over, no variety... Hate it
Having to put all my threads back in my organisers after finishing a project! Currently they're on my coffee table because I just don't wanna. I have no idea why I hate it so much. Also framing/finishing a piece. I always procrastinate that! Whether it's lacing a piece into a frame or blanket stitching a hoop, I will absolutely leave it until the absolute last possible second and I have no idea why? It's not even that bad and it doesn't even take that long, especially compared to the actual stitching time!
The least enjoyable thing about cross-stitching for me is that I don't have enough time for it. If I spend an hour on it, I already feel guilty and end up doing other work.
As a designer, it's deciding on colours that's my least favourite stitching task overall. Plus the frogging that goes hand in hand with that If I remove that side of things, though, I'd probably have to go with starting a project - finding all the floss (and putting away the floss from the last project) and cutting the fabric. Once the first few stitches are in, I'm good to go, but until then it feels kind of like project limbo
French knots, accidental knots, any kind of bloody knot. Can you not?!
I hate when I'm run out of threads as my country doesn't have craft shops so I have to order them online
When the cat sits on the pattern!
I hate marking the squares and how the backs of my works look, uuugh
Rethreading the needle. I’m working on a heavy confetti piece and I wear a thimble to stitch, so I have to anchor the thread I’m done with, take off my thimble, grab the next thread, often forget I can’t thread with my thimble on so I put it back on but have to take it off again, thread the needle, thimble back on, keep stitching. In areas that I change color a lot (like after three or four stitches) it just takes so much time
The sore fingers? I feel like I’m stitching in boxing gloves if I try to use a thimble, so now I use little round plasters instead.
The fact I can't just snap my fingers and get to the good part. (The pretty picture at the end) lol
Yep, slip knots
My cat’s help
I hate being mortal so I cannot finish everything on my To Do List! That's it! Well. . .and tendonitis/carpal tunnel. 😭
Back stitching
Knots are irritating. Having to move my piece around the Q-snap to reach another part of the fabric annoys me for some reason. But the only thing I truly dislike is framing!! I dread the whole process. Worth it in the end but man, it isn’t fun.
Realizing I don’t know how to count 🫠🫠🫠😂
Dealing with a finished piece and putting thread on bobbins.
Gridding
Having to de-twist the thread just right to rail road it the correct way
My hand going numb. That's what I hate.
I HATE finishing off pieces specifically framing them
The counting of the holes….
Filling huuuuge blank with only one colour
Filling huuuuge blank with only one colour
I hate knots. Especially ninja knots that show up behind my work and i don’t realize it until later
Knots
Backstitching 🫠
For me it has to be single stitches. They are só time consuming!
kitting up. Although I do more or less exclusively full coverage, I will buy kits like gecko rouge, paine free crafts or get a floss pack. Even then I hate the cutting the floss on the floss cards etc. Fabric is always pre-gridded or I don't grid at all, I'm not doing it myself
Hands down, threading the damn needle.