Hi there, I’ve dyed my Aida 14" and have had it hanging around for ages … because I’m too scared to start my new project! It’s the “Letters from Hogwards” SAL. The fabric is much bigger than what I would usually stitch… how would you prep it? Are you doing grid lines? Or just count and put marks somewhere?
I’m usually a “stitch from the middle” person, but I think going for the “stitch from the top left corner” is a better idea for this?
Any advise would be much appreciated!! Thank you.
I’ve been thinking I’ll do the grid line thing on this one. I’m afraid I’ll miss count with all of the frame otherwise and I would be SO frustrated.
I still have a bunch of that EZ Count Grid line I can weave through and use. I really like using that as a grid, even if it takes a little while longer for me to set up than just marking it. Half of the satisfaction is whipping the line out after I’ve finished. 
I know a lot of people grid. I don’t. I also don’t start from the middle. I do everything different. LOL! I always start from the left upper or lower corner and work my way over. I am doing a Universal Monster SAL and it had me start from the middle and it seriously threw my brain for a loop.
Woah. It IS a choose your own adventure stitch! I have not seen this before! And a blogger! who is still blogging!!!
It has been a while, but I always x from the lower left and go over and up. Always.
I may have jumped the shark once, and started at the top? But those were dark times.
I love how you’re all x-stitch rebels! The idea of starting from the middle always mind-boggled me. I haven’t done any x-stitch is a very long time but I am certain I wouldn’t start from the middle.
I have my supplies ready for this one also but I never grid. Where I start depends on what I’m starting on…for this one, since it’s a frame, I’ll probably start in the upper left corner measuring 3 inches down from the top of the fabric and 3 inches in from the side of the fabric because that’s the margins I prefer to allow. There’s no wrong way!
Good to see you here @Itsmereba! I agree-I usually “kit” everything for a big project. Get all the floss I need together, usually put it in a bag with the pattern and the fabric.
Grid? mark the fabric in some way? sheesh been doing cross stitch for over 40 years, never occurred to me mark the fabric. There have been a few projects that would have been helpful. I count and recount and count again and still have to pull out some stitches now and then but yeah, I doubt i will change my ways now. Add me to the never start in the middle. I count my way out from the middle to a corner and start there. Not fussy about which corner.
I used to always mark my centre and start there, but lately I just start either from the top left hand side or the bottom right hand side. Something like this would be easier to start at the top.
Just start stitching Kat, always remember that you can undo it if you don’t like how it is going 
I designed (but have not finished, its my longest WIP - so take or leave this advice! ) a pattern for a large wall hanging and used a centerline grid, both horizontal and vertical. (When finished) it won’t be a solid piece, so maybe that makes it different to use the centerline to start.
In case that last sentence didn’t make sense, the design is a tree trunk and branches which I will then stitch ancestor names on each branch, then add leaves at random. So the only actual design part is the bare tree.
I started!! Decided to start in the middle as it’s closest to the current “chapter”. The top and bottom borders can wait for “in between chapters”.
If I’d started the frame when it came out, I probably would have started too left, mind.
I realised that I need definitely some needle minders… Fandom ones… 
Happy to see that you started! Have fun with your SAL.
