Tag: full coverage

Full Coverage Cross Stitch – Part Two

sweetpurlsLeave a comment

First post about this project can be found: here.

I finished stitching “Bicycle Afternoon” a Dimensions Gold Petit kit. What is left is to add the back stitch to improve the definition of the piece.

A few notes:

  • Some stitchers recommend doing the backstitch along with the full cross stitch. Once you finish with the full crosses, it takes a lot of will to continue working with the backstitch. Agreed!
  • I ran out of several colors due to (a) changing the fabric to a higher count and (b) doing all full crosses. I substituted with stash DMC threads and do not think it adversely impacted the final look of the project.
  • I am a fan of the parking method. It helped me keep track of the project and made it more manageable.

I will be back to show the fully finished piece (hopefully sooner than later).

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Full Coverage Cross Stitch

sweetpurlsLeave a comment

I have done some research on full coverage cross stitch methods. What follows is what is functioning for me. Sharing is caring. Hope this helps if you are new to full coverage!

The Parking Method

This YouTube video served as a good introduction of the parking method. I am stitching bottom up; from left to right and then right to left in the following row.

This other video gave me the idea to park “leftover” threads. With this, the ends are trapped in the back as new stitches are put in. I then cut any thread excess on the front side. It is a time saver!

Tracking

I use the “Notes” application to keep track of my stitching. First, I take a picture of the chart. Then I move said picture to the “Notes” application on my iPad where I can zoom in and also highlight what I had stitched. On the same note, I keep a log of the stitches; not too complicated since I work on 100 stitches increments. As of now, I have 69% of the chart completed (7,300 of the total 10,560 stitches). I have not started any of the backstitching.

Project Details

  • Kit: Dimensions Gold Collection “Bicycle Afternoon” Item No. 65077.
  • Cloth: Changed to Aida 14 count. The kit comes with a very stiff Aida 18 count.
  • Threads: Using two threads for the entire piece deviating from the instructions where additional threads are worked on some areas of the chart.