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Sorry, should have specified that I meant embroidery! But thanks for the recommendations, I'll take a look.  HelloIAmYourHeart posted:I will often use my laptop screen as a lightbox and trace images on fabric with a blue disappearing pen, or use carbon paper if I have a printed image to copy. There are some decent light boxes/pads on Amazon that make tracing so much easier than "taping to the window" or "tracing on laptop screen". I think the one I got was $20? Definitely worth the upgrade. I did buy some of that DMC "magic paper", but I haven't used it yet. I think I'm saving it for a sufficiently complex design I don't want to trace. Either that or I keep forgetting about it...
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Jan 19, 2022 15:06
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Skutter posted:Does anyone here design their own patterns? I am fine with designing embroidery designs but for some reason, absolutely hopeless at designing cross stitch! Anyway, mostly it's nice to see this thread (hahaha) moving but also got lucky on Facebook marketplace and found this for £30... 
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Jan 20, 2022 09:35
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Every time my mother sees a big pack of embroidery floss at a thrift store she buys it for me, which means I have a lot of floss, and yet somehow never the floss I need. I also have a lot of questions, such as: what was the original owner planning to do with fifteen skeins of DMC 917 and another twenty of DMC 744? What project was this for.
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Jan 20, 2022 16:34
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Thanks everyone for the feedback! I do use Thread Magic conditioner but it didn't help much. Maybe my strands were just too long! I ended up just doing a grid using some DMC metallic and am happy with it. It'll go in my cubicle when I return to the office.    I definitely think I'll switch to three threads for the 14 count aida. I'd love to score some floss at a yard sale or thrift store! Edited to add: anyone have recs for those embroidery reinforcement sheets? I'd like it to be water-soluble, press-on, and transparent enough to trace a design on. The sheets I'm seeing are kinda pricey to me, so I'm wondering if I should just get the water-soluble kind that isn't sticky and just tack as needed. I'd like to do a relatively big embroidery for a friend who's having a baby in August, and I'm not trusting myself if it's kinda big and will be taken in and out of a hoop at night. Betazoid fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Feb 2, 2022 |
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Feb 2, 2022 03:04
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I'm doing this pattern as a surprise for a pregnant friend. My husband helped me trace it to muslin using pencil on a computer monitor, which is working great so far! https://www.dmc.com/us/doves-embroidery-9011407.html I chose pink flowers, green vines, and gray doves, rather than monochrome.  I am slowwwww, but thankfully she's not due until August. Once she announces the name, I'll do the baby's name in the middle.
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Mar 4, 2022 20:53
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Has anyone here done temari? I just started in with it using internet tutorials, and it's fun but I got a lot to learn. So far I have a ball with plenty of mistakes, yet some how looks vaguely like a quick ball from pokemon on accident? I dunno, I'm using up scraps on this project. 
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May 5, 2022 01:35
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I'm doing a cross-stitch and I got to the backstitching and how am I supposed to tell these apart? You may suggest context, but the entire project is variable shades of brown. 
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Oct 22, 2022 22:41
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Oof that's a tough one, the colors are different but extremely close. If you have the pattern on your computer you can use photoshop or GIMP to replace or highlight all of the 3770 backstitching.
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Oct 22, 2022 22:52
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I’m guessing the pattern creator didn’t provide a finished sample picture? Sometimes those are helpful with close colors. Or if they are on Etsy or something you can always send them a message. Most creators I have bought from have been good about that. Or you can post the name of the pattern or a link and maybe someone else can take a look.
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Oct 22, 2022 23:58
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Fru Fru posted:I’m guessing the pattern creator didn’t provide a finished sample picture? Sometimes those are helpful with close colors. Or if they are on Etsy or something you can always send them a message. Most creators I have bought from have been good about that. The finished sample picture is very small in comparison to the final product and can be misleading with the colors (at least it was with the standard x-stitching). It's only about 4" x 6" and it looks like the picture was oversaturated so the colors look washed out. If you go online and look up the kit, what you'll see is likely as good or better that what I'm working with on paper. (e: amazon has a really nice picture of this that I'll probably reference if I can't find anything else that will help) Here's what it looks like pre-backstitching to give some context, there is a lot of back-stitching to add:  It's a physical kit so I don't have any  One of the main locations I'd have to figure out was bordering the tail, but the color is used throughout the scaling and pretty much every page. The stitch-on pattern may have provided a distinction. I'd remove the hoop to check if it weren't moot due to the pattern backstitching being covered now. Hindsight is a bitch. Note the stitch on pattern was distinct from the on paper pattern. The stitch-on used contrast colors while the paper pattern looks fairly matched to color with the exception of the back-stitching lmfao. Jelly fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Oct 23, 2022 |
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Oct 23, 2022 01:13
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Well that is a conundrum. I see the amazon pattern and I think the colors look kinda different but maybe just try a color and if it looks wrong try the other. I think as long as the backstitching stands out, it will still look good. Also that is a cool pattern and you are doing an awesome job on it. Fru Fru fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Oct 23, 2022 |
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Oct 23, 2022 03:56
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Jelly posted:The pattern is "Girl on a Dragon Reading a Book". Just wanted to say your cross-stitch looks awesome! I’m really impressed. Do you know how long it’s taken so far?
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Oct 23, 2022 13:58
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Thanks for the compliments I'm not really sure how long it's taken me. I received it on June 6th. If you were holding a gun to my head I'd guess like 300 hours, but I honestly have no idea. I appreciate the replies, I'll show you guys the end result when I reach it.
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Oct 23, 2022 18:24
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Hello again embroidery thread! I've finally gotten back into cross stitch again and picked up an abandoned kit of mine last month. It's been sitting around for a couple years so it was about this far complete:  Now I'm about two thirds of the way done or so:  And of course I've thought about a million other cross stitch project I can do, but for now I've been experimenting with gluing small projects to bristol card stock in an attempt to make artist trading cards that can be easily mailed.  The left (with the black smudge from stupidly trying to write on it after the fact) has been glued and sealed with mod podge and the right was glued with sobo fabric and craft glue, with the bottom half sealed with an acrylic paint sealer. I'm surprised how much better the sobo + acrylic sealer looks and held up in the initial glue stage. The only down side I can think of is sobo does lightly yellow over time, though it takes years. Who knows how long it will last?
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Oct 23, 2022 19:27
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Variegated DMC 51 (burnt orange) WIP I used the Pixel Stitch app to make a simple 5"x5" pattern from clip art:  Why didn't I try variegated floss before?!  aaaahhhh I love how cool it looks, but I can just sit and stitch mindlessly while watching 1960s Star Trek!Edit: I'm stitching Danish method, not English. Examples are here for anyone else who wants to try! It takes a moment for me to pause changing threads because my little piece will have white space, but super cool product to me! Betazoid fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Nov 16, 2022 |
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Nov 16, 2022 04:06
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That looks really cool! I have also never used variegated floss even though I have some patterns that suggest it. Maybe time to try it after I finish all the gift stitching I am doing for xmas. Also love that I am not the only one who just throws on old TV for mindless background noise. Lately I started watching Murder She Wrote while stitching. I am grandmacore.
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Nov 16, 2022 14:21
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Variegated is really fun! You can also change your stitching direction to make the stripes change direction.
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Nov 16, 2022 14:36
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Oh god this has served to point out how all over the place I am with stitching! I wind up using both methods as I'm always looking for the most efficient path through areas of the same color. I'm only getting away with it because I haven't used variegated thread for anything really. As an aside I'm hoping soon to finally finish this loving lilac kit from a few years ago. I'm like three quarters of the way through it but ready to move on, especially after dealing with the frequent color changes in it. Doesn't help that I have a billion other things I want to cross stitch too.
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Nov 16, 2022 17:48
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Turbinosamente posted:Oh god this has served to point out how all over the place I am with stitching! I wind up using both methods as I'm always looking for the most efficient path through areas of the same color. I do this too! Especially to minimize how much I'm "carrying" threads between areas because I worry about darker colors showing through. But it does also make the back of the work look pretty tidy, too, aside from the annoyance of weaving ends in. (I seem to do best in that regard using an away waste knot, then using one of those cheapo wire needle threaders to weave the end under my stitching later.)
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Nov 17, 2022 00:16
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taiyoko posted:I do this too! Especially to minimize how much I'm "carrying" threads between areas because I worry about darker colors showing through. But it does also make the back of the work look pretty tidy, too, aside from the annoyance of weaving ends in. (I seem to do best in that regard using an away waste knot, then using one of those cheapo wire needle threaders to weave the end under my stitching later.) Ok, I had to google what this waste knot thing is because I never thought to do something like that (this is what happens when you were taught once in girl scouts and then mainly self taught). It seems like a waste of thread for regular stitching, but I think I may start using it for backstitching which is sometimes harder to anchor.
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Nov 17, 2022 16:15
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"Why isn't this sitting in the center of the mat like it should? Let me measure... yeah there's 1" of fabric to the edge where I pinned it so it should be centered. What's going on here 1.5" margins to the cutout on the top and bottom and on the sides it is... poo poo." Well if I can manage to be consistent enough with my measurements I should be able to pop the already pinned middle bit of foam board right into a new, correctly centered, cutout in another piece.
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Nov 17, 2022 19:12
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I can't get used to quilting rules either; I'm perpetually checking and double checking whenever I borrow my mother's for something.
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Nov 17, 2022 19:52
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Ok I wanted to get people's opinions on mat colors. These are all temporary:   I think the first looks great with a white mat. The second maybe a hunter green with an oval opening to make it look like you're peeking through the woods? The final I don't really know. The white seems ok, a grey wouldn't work with the fabric, no idea what else would go.
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Nov 21, 2022 04:35
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omg those projects are so beautiful  for the first and second I agree, for the third maybe a brown/orange to bring out the color? it seems like it would look nice with a darker mat
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Nov 21, 2022 04:47
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Oh yeah a dark burnt orange could really work there. Maybe a color close to what is used in the ankles of the front paws and back of the ears? That's DMC 400.
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Nov 21, 2022 04:51
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Agreed on a darker mat for the third, a dark navy would complement the orange.
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Nov 21, 2022 19:37
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Gosh those are so adorable!
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Nov 22, 2022 02:00
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Betazoid posted:Variegated DMC 51 (burnt orange) WIP Matted, framed, and ready for gifting!   I liked the variegated so much I'm doing a simple baby gift next for a sweet baby with a mercifully short name:  Only the C has been outlined so far.
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Dec 13, 2022 02:18
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Today I had to cut the stitches out of about 1/5th of a floral border in a cross-stitch because I tried to be clever and finish all the green without stitching out the red bits between them. And then I miscounted. And then everything I stitched in around the misplaced leaf was wrong. Someday I will learn my lesson about this. Anyway when I'm not doing Etsy patterns I sometimes like to steal blackwork patterns from the Antique Pattern Library and use an english stitch with rainbow floss. It looks very impressive for bookmarks based on very little effort. I don't think I've ever actually cross-stitched with color changing thread besides rainbow, I end up using it to wrap around hoops when I'm finishing them instead.
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Dec 13, 2022 05:32
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Betazoid posted:Matted, framed, and ready for gifting! It turned out beautiful! Well done!
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Dec 13, 2022 15:02
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 I finished a thing.
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Dec 19, 2022 03:16
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Turbinosamente posted:
That looks awesome! So tidy! It looks so neat and very well done. Finished my thing and mailed it to my friend. Shouldn't have done a white mat but it's loving close to Christmas y'all and she can hopefully put it in something that looks better with the cream. I need to plan better.   I do projects pretty lazily, honestly. I get my aida cloth from Goodwill and normally frames as well. It's amazing that new things get donated. I have been using actual DMC from eBay for these rainbow stitch projects, but I also do some in just cheap thread from Amazon. I just like making something, even if it's not as professional as what other goons do. Posting after taking a zzzquil, so I guess I just wanted to say that I like it all, the strange grab bag projects and the carefully planned work with the best thread. Everyone should try cross stitch! Oh, yeah, and I just remembered: my MIL and I went through her Christmas stuff to help her downsize. She found a beautiful cross stitch she started in 1987, paused on, resumed in 1989 (freehanding the greenery instead of the year), and put away. It has maybe an hour of work to go. She had two kids under five at the time, so I get it. This one:  She said she'd finish it this year maybe, and I hope she does! Never too late.
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Dec 21, 2022 05:31
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Oh god I feel that; I'm on the cusp of finally finishing the lilac kit I've posted here that's been sitting around for like 3 years untouched. I took a short break from it to do the simpler Mario one, which thanks for the compliments! Down to the last lilac bunch before I can put it away for good but alas, it's bed time for me. (I also have a cute teeny snow cottages kit still in the package for 2ish years but we'll not talk about that while I'm in the works on the next video game one.) And hey, the variegated still looks awesome I'm sure your friend will like it!
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Dec 21, 2022 05:52
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I'm so close to finishing this project I started in January of 2020 then put in a drawer a few months later until basically now. I was at about 50% when I picked it up again and I'm up to 81% now. This was the first project I tried 1 over 1 on evenweave and I've learned a lot but boy has it been a journey. What really helped was pattern maker, an app that lets you import pdf files and it highlights and keeps track as you go. Trying to follow this one on paper was giving me eye strain. It's not good for backstitch, but I can follow the chart on my own. Pattern is Jonah's whale. 
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Jan 9, 2023 19:16
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Looking good though! And I just finished my years long hell project of the lilacs, just got too lazy to post it and was keen to start the next one, which is also coincidentally on evenweave. Why I planned big blocks of monotone color for it I don't know, they are their own special brand of "fun."
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Jan 9, 2023 19:33
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I really like evenweave, if this fabric didn't feel so nice to hold I probably would have given up by now. I've had some pretty stiff fabrics. I don't remember what kind I'm using though I'm pretty sure it's 32 count and I don't think I'll ever try 1 over 1 on something this small again.
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Jan 9, 2023 21:57
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Mine's 28 count and it's tolerable. I'm on a mad dash to use up what I have hanging around and it fit my size and color requirements: white background to a 6 inch square design I plotted out for 14 count. What I don't know is why Charles Craft calls it Monaco cloth.
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Jan 9, 2023 22:32
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I do pretty much all my my projects on evenweave now, usually 32 count over 2. Of course that's partially influenced by having a stack of fabric of the months to choose from.
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Jan 10, 2023 14:00
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  Last two projects. Some stuff worked other stuff did not. And now while I finish designing something else I have started a hell kit from the 90s....  I'm gonna have to typewriter it and I think 10 x 13 inches is the largest thing I've ever embarked on? As a result it's gonna be a while before this actually looks like something. This also will technically be a Christmas present for a relative; anyone else start on Christmas gifts yet? Only 10 months to go!
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Feb 20, 2023 05:43
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Turbinosamente posted:
Very nice! I love the middle one and the warmth of the berries. Did you design the pattern? I should start on Christmas. I screen shotted the cutest loving pattern from CrossStitcher magazine. It's designed to be the front of a cushion and has Santa enjoying all these winter activities, like skiing, sledding, drinking cocoa, etc. It would be a big piece, though, and the idea of putting months into something that will realistically be displayed for 3 weeks a year puts me off it. I don't really know anyone who would appreciate cross stitch, so I just do it for myself and pick patterns I like to look at and will rotate them around as needed. I want a dedicated library / sitting room / corner where I can blow into a bubble pipe and drink sherry from those miniature glasses, so I'm doing mini masterpieces and framing them in tiny frames from Goodwill. My dream library has a little reading corner with a gallery wall of miniature Renoir, Van Gogh, Vermeer, Monet, etc. So cozy! 
Betazoid fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2023 05:59
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