I have been out of the cross-stitch game for a long time. I want to get back to doing it again. I brought a light with a magnifier b/c my eyes are getting older.
Are there any other tools you like for your cross stitching?
4 Likes
That’s great news! You should join the Lettuce Craft Stitchalong
It hasn’t been really active lately with all the other things going on, but I have three or four projects going and will be posting soon.
I have magnifying lighted glasses and also a white cloth to put on my lap when stitching on black so I can see through the holes. My favorite tool is probably my needle minder. I have a needlebook with only cross stitch needles as well.
3 Likes
I know not everyone uses a hoop for cross stitch, but I like to have the fabric “wrangled” and really like a Q-snap style “hoop.” My patterns have all been purchased a digital files, and it helps me a lot to print it out and then cross out the areas that I have completed with a pen.
3 Likes
Good idea about the white cloth. I’ll look into the needle book bc my ADDHD will have me losing needles
1 Like
Thanks, I like the hoop too helps me hold the project better. Will look into the Q hoop
2 Likes
I make copies of all patterns and even blow them up so I can see better. I also cross off what I have done as counting sometimes gets away from me. I have learned to fudge mistakes a lot!
2 Likes
Yes I always have copies bc again the way my ADDHD is set up I loose things
1 Like
Oh yes, love the Q-snap! For larger projects I use a frame that my dad made for me gajillion years ago.
Current project is a Christmas stocking for my Son in law.
3 Likes
A magnet wand is an absolute lifesaver for us needle misplacement magicians! Second only to a needle minder.
I make a mess of fabric, a small bit of flannel cloth to place under my resting hand keeps oils or dirt from transferring to the aida. I rinse in dishsoap solution at the end & block the piece to dry it square as well.
2 Likes
Oh! A thing I have found helpful is to use a washable pen used in sewing to mark the cloth for where to stop on a row with color I am using. I have only cross stitched on Aida, so I count the 17 stitches or whatever before starting and make a blue dot. On dark Aida, I use a washable white pencil. I can mark multiple rows for one color at the same time and then settle in to stitch for awhile. In both cases the mark was small enough that the floss covered it anyway,
3 Likes
Yes!! I bought heat sensitive marking pens in white, navy, red and black. They really do work and I do mark my cloth when I have large areas to do so I don’t have to recount.
I did read that the marks can come back, but only if you put your piece in the freezer…which, uh, I don’t plan to do! 
3 Likes
Just a little word of warning, sometimes the marks don’t come off as they should! Somewhere on this site is a piece of embroidery I made (for a swap too 
) where the pen marks didn’t go away as they should. I started googling when that happened and apparantly it’s not unheard of. It wouldn’t be an issue when you’re cross stitching and will cover the fabric anyway, but I decided to change my embroidery pattern a bit while I was stitching, and the old lines remained visible. They did change colour so they were much less visible than before, but still, they weren’t completely gone.
There’s aida fabric available that has a grid pattern on it, similar to the grid on cross stitch patterns, that can be washed out (Zweigart brand Easy Count). I have a few pieces of it thanks to a lucky dip bag at the Wool Warehouse, but I haven’t tried it yet so I don’t know for sure if it washes out. But Zweigart is a reputable brand so I’m sure they’ve tested it.
I should be posting in the Stitchalong thread but I’ve had issues posting pictures, which is why I haven’t been active in a while. Today I figured out a workaround but it’s labour intensive (e-mailing pictures to myself and downloading them on my laptop).
3 Likes
I definitely test all my markers on scraps of the cloth I am using. The ones I have now definitely disappear completely with heat from an iron or a dryer. I have been using them for two years now and won’t use any other ones. I just buy the refills now.
2 Likes
I saw a video of someone testing in the freezer & marks coming back!
1 Like
This happened when I used Frixxion markers and every other time I used them, they disappeared. I can’t explain why they didn’t disappear that one time.
@Magpie I think I read a story online somewhere from someone who lived in one of those places in the US or Canada that gets extremely cold in winter, and the marks on their garment came back when they wore it outdoors!
1 Like
Good to know there is a fabric with grid
1 Like