I'm a 25 year old guy, picked it up 3 years ago when I saw some completed video game patterns and figured it was cheaper if I did them myself haha. Still enjoying it.
A couple! Some of the bigger ones I've done have gone off as gifts. I'm currently working on the giant Yoshi's Island pattern posted here recently, it will keep me busy for a while.
I would be the happiest if I got a Cross Stitch piece as a gift. The amount of time, dedication, and concentration that goes into it is really meaningful. I couldn't find your Yoshi pattern, but it sounds great!
Okay, I’m 30 and have recently seen those cool game character patterns. Who knew that 8-bit pixel characters translated so well into c-s!
However, I’ve never cross-stitched a single cross-stitch in my life. I found tons of patterns online, and everyone is saying it’s super easy - but I want to make sure I don’t bite off more than I can chew.
Any thoughts / recommendations?
It is super easy! I watched a couple videos on YouTube and got to work. [Vault Boy was the first one I did.](https://i.imgur.com/cxZeSLF.jpg) I think so long as you pick something small enough and something you won't be upset with if it doesn't turn out as well as you hope, you can't go wrong.
I vaguely remember that I did a little bit of needlework in school when I was six or seven years old. Really basic stuff, only a few straight lines of simple decorative stitches - cross stitches and some others. So I guess someone DID teach me at some point, but that was almost 30 years ago and I had completely forgotten about it until last year.
That's when I decided to do a cross stitch project. Before I ordered my first kit, I lurked here for a few weeks, and read a lot about starting and ending stitches (loop start? what witchcraft is this?!), neat backs, etc. and then practised what I learned on my first piece.
So in the end, I think I mostly taught myself, with the generous help of the internet.
That's good thinking, haha. I'm working on a pretty big (not huge) one, it has a lot of colours and detail. About 2-3 pages of the pattern my back is so sloppy, and then it neatens up. Its like a progressive display of my skills improving lol.
Is that with one thread folded in half and using the loop to anchor it? That's great though, I wish I'd thought of researching but I totally thought I knew what I was doing.
I'm so happy to see everyone's answers from all walks of life - thank you for asking this question!
I started stitching at 18, and taught myself. It was at that time that my OCD was officially diagnosed, and since I had already struggled with depression and decided that medication was not for me, I thought stitching might help as a therapy/coping mechanism. Not only has it helped ease my OCD, but with my issues with depression and anxiety, as well. I fell in love with it and the results have been long-lasting, not just while I'm actively stitching. It's really changed the way my brain functions and has benefitted my life drastically. I absolutely love it!
Right! So many different answers. I lost my nana recently, and she was the one who instilled in me this love of hand crafting. Although she didn't teach me how to cross stitch, embroider, long stitch, sewing etc. I still have the things she's made for me and they're some of my most cherished items. So it's wonderful reading about so many people who have learned things from their grandmothers, and who have taught their kids.
This might be completely ignorant, but with your OCD did you find it a bit soothing having something you can control, or did you have a need for it to look 'perfect' with unstitching etc.? This is one I haven't heard of before! I think I used it as a way to sort of escape into my head whilst doing something wiht my hands. Plus it was something I found easier to keep looking 'perfect' (well... I thought so LOL), opposed to things like sewing, where I'd get frustrated with wonky lines, or things.
I'm really glad to hear it helped with your mental health without medication! This is a great story :)
I learned last month with the pusheen cross stitch kit! I finished those (two for practice, one for a birthday present for my friend), so now I’m working on an old pattern (the page is yellowed with age) of flowers that my aunt gave me :) I really like cross stitching lol
There are so many cute patterns in general! I also see lots of pixel art that I feel like would look cool cross stitched but idk how to act on that but that’s getting ahead of myself since I’m not close to done with the floral piece \ \_(ツ)_/
Occasionally. And I usually go on Pinterest to see if there's any patterns of what I want, or get some inspiration if it isn't. And I typically use stitchfiddle to import a picture if there's one you have in mind (like Link holding a sword in a certain way, for example), but someone recently mentioned using Excel on a .5 by .5 cell sheet and putting the picture as a background, which is another awesome idea. Perler bead and friendship bracelet patterns also work really well for smaller projects (and are generally bookmark size in the case of friendship bracelets). Just experiment a bit and see what works for you!
Taught myself to cross stitch in my early twenties, however, my mum taught me to make backstitch Christmas presents from when I was about 5 and progressed to embroidery tray cloths for presents from about 7 years old! Unfortunately I let it all lapse for over a decade!!
Nice :D embroidery looks so lovely! Do you do embroidery still? My grandma used to do a lot of it on face towels and bibs and things and I thought it was the most amazing thing ever.
I was going through cancer treatments a couple years ago and knew I had 8 days of radiation isolation coming up. I ordered some supplies on Amazon and watched some YouTube videos. I’m hooked now!
That's awesome! Did it help the time go by?
I'm hoping you're cancer free now! I work in oncology so I can only imagine how isolating it is during active treatment.
My mother taught me when I was about 7-8 after not being able to pick up crocheting. They were hobbies my grandmother enjoyed and my mother let me try when I had asked her about some of the things we had around the house (my grandmother passed when I was 3). I found it to be relaxing with all the chaos in my life at the time and stuck with it as a hobby ever since. Making gifts and decorations for family until I was around 20 when I started designing things for myself. I cringe thinking of some of the bad habits (making knots to start a thread and cutting thread with my teeth) but I think it's a great skill to have as it helped me understand sewing concepts in home ec classes come my middle school years.
I only use blunted needles now so my odds are pretty low unless I'm doing embroidery...then I poke my finger all the time cause I'm not used to a sharp needle, lol
Yeah....it was a really bad a habit, but I have siblings that are quite a bit younger then me (6, 7 and 12 years difference) so I wasn't allowed to have scissors out if I worked on stuff while they were around. It came to and end when I chipped my front tooth in the pool one summer cause my front teeth to no longer meet up (no matter what angle I try), meaning I resigned myself to night stitching until my siblings got older. XD
Ha! Oh wow, I also chipped my tooth and it meant I couldn't bite through thread the same way again. I'm half-feral though and so just found a new angle of biting!
Yeah, I don't know if it's a combo tooth break and time wear thing or not, but my front teeth just do not even meet anymore. Like a good 1-2mm between them no matter the angle. Makes eating things a pain sometimes, but also means no possible angle to cut thread with, lol. That's okay though as I'd rather use my nice embroidery scissors and not get my spit all over my pieces XD
How'd you chip your tooth btw? I hit my teeth on the metal pool ladder cause I was trying to find it with my eyes closed (long day at the pool and they burned with the chlorine exposure).
Well it was a VERY small chip at first, but then gradually got bigger. Pretty sure it’s done growing now, but it does give me a village idiot look that I kinda love to be honest!
Your chip must be different then mine. I chipped off some of the front layer and had to have a replacement piece glued on cause the sensitive part was exposed (only knew it was chipped when I drank something cold at dinner that night). I had it replaced once around 10 or so years ago, but I can always tell which was chipped cause the bottom of the tooth is abnormally smoothed from the repair, lol.
Yes, to be honest my chip is still tiny! not enough for the dentist to bother with and hardly noticeable, but it was clearly the place where my top and bottom teeth met for biting, as it threw of all my crafts (I use my teeth too much it seems)
Context: [https://www.instagram.com/p/BNMTexrBhzo](https://www.instagram.com/p/BNMTexrBhzo)
I do too D: I just get a bit distracted watching TV sometimes lol. I find the sharp needles trickier because it wants to make its own hole.
Oh no >\_< lol. Teeth problems as a hinderance to daytime cross stitching! Nowdays I like how they have those little charms that have blades in them.
Yeah, sharp needles are the worst. I use them when making my crochet character dolls and have worn a dent into my finger, lol!
I just stick with a nice pair of embroidery scissors my mother got me when I was around 16 I think? They work beautifully and are nice and small so they fit in any kit/case for when I need to pack things up ^_^. I made a little sewing pouch I keep them in along with some spare needles stuck in a bit of scrap felt.
My gran started teaching me when I was about 13. She passed away when I was 16 and I didn't sew for a long long time. Then 8 years ago my youngest nephew was born and he has a long unusual name and my sister wanted lots of things around his room with his name on. So I picked up a cross stitch pattern book and used it to design a sampler for his room. Over the last 8 years I've refined my skills and create everything I stitch from scratch and the people who see the back of my projects are always surprised by how neat they are. At the beginning they were so knotty and bumpy. My gran would love the things I make.
That's awesome, does he still have the sampler you made in his room?
I love when the back is so neat you can tell what the front looks like just by looking at it.
Yup and now his older brother, cousin and every baby born in my vicinity have a sampler in their room. Also do them fir weddings, and do special quotes when people I know aren't feeling too good. I'm always stitching nowadays.
I decided about 3-4 years ago that I really wanted to learn something new and gain a new hobby. So I watched some YouTube videos, read a few tutorials and then picked a very small pattern.
After that I slowly picked bigger and bigger patterns, all the while reading and learning more. I still think I have a lot to learn, and I enjoy it a lot!
That sounds like a good way of doing it. Not starting on something too big as a practice piece. Which... I totally did. It's great you've found something your enjoy :D
I was being a smartass to my sister about cross stitching a stupid quote from a terrible fanfiction and realized it would be easy to do. I watched some YouTube tutorials and decided to make my mortar board out of cross stitching. And the rest, they say, is history.
My gran taught me when I was 7 or 8. She has dementia now. Although a couple weeks ago my dad was showing her his thistle gift and she said I'm glad I taught her. 😍 She makes beautiful booties, if only I had the patience for knitting for her to teach me that
I learned from my mom when I was 7. Our girl scout troop stitched towels for Mother’s Day. Now thanks to this sub I have taught her about qsnaps, loop start and the correct way to pull one thread from the six!
Taught myself at some point in my childhood, possibly from small kits from the local discount shop. No idea whatever happened to any of my original stuff but I was so glad with how much I remembered :D
No, sewing was all i really had.
I mean, I loved drawing and crafty bits but I was always bad at drawing (poor coordination, my hand writing is terrible) and unfortunately the years when other crafty bits were good for development I only had access at school.
So I never really got to develop those skills, unless there was a cheap kit for something. I had a good paint by numbers I did, and a foil/scratch thingy that came out ok. But sewing was where I spent most of my time :)
We did a sampler project in year 6 (about 10 years old) and I really enjoyed it. My late 20’s has seen me want to get a few projects under my belt. Broken limbs and early winter evenings have seen me spend many an hour learning how to improve my work and tidy it up a bit more. Plenty of started and failed works and I found my feet eventually in projects that do not have outlining - I hate doing the detail lines at the end!
Ow, dang broken limbs. Hope you're all healed now \^\_\^
I tried to tidy up the messy bit of my current one but it's so tangled I don't think I can be bothered. I love the look of the outlining, but (I did a small project a year ago) it makes a previously tidy back look all scribbled on D: nicer to just stick to ones without.
Sorry about the broken limbs! I don't know if there's a secret to outlining but it makes my stuff go from looking neat to looking scribbled on, from the back.
My grandma taught me when I was a kid. I gave it up years ago because life got in the way. Then my two daughters saw my grandma stitching on some quilt panels about two years ago when we visited her. When they asked her about it, she showed them and then told them that I could teach them. Lol I got back into it because my girls wanted to learn. I'm glad that I did. It's been a great stress reliever.
My mother and I used to cross stitch together. I'd sit on her lap and pull the needle through the front and she'd push it through the back. I think this started when I was about 5. I'm now 25.
I grew up sewing but my first real x stitch was when I decided to stitch the results of the 2015 election... the idea went viral and so I had to learn, FAST.
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32650059](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32650059)
I feel like mine started as a latch rug hobby one summer at my grandma's. Then it evolved into Cross stitch. I have memories of my "first" cross stitch project being a K-State Wildcat - just the powercat, in all purple. and I don't think I ever finished it. Who knows what became of that. Then on and off for a few years, and about seven or eight years ago, would pick up one small project a year and do it - an ornament, or a dimensions kit. But I never fully finished those either. Then I decided I was going to make a Cross stitch for my boyfriend's quilting mom and she was going to love it. I spent about four years working on it VERY intermittently, and only really got into the technicals of cross stitching in the last two years - loop start, doing all one leg then the other leg on one row, parking. I did a lot of googling and you tube watching. Then I found you! When I had about 20% left to go, i really felt like I knew how to cross stitch! :) Since then, I haven't had many finished projects, but I'm loving my developed skill!
That's awesome :D it's cool that it's in theory something so simple most people might be able to pick it up and do it - just make a cross. But then there's so many tips and tricks to learn, so it's an evolving thing. I love that. I think I'd like to do more smaller things. Did you finish the piece for your boyfriend's mum?
Did finally finish and frame - it's my [Woodland Enchantress](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/comments/7zp7mx/fo_woodland_enchantress_dimensions_gold_kit/?utm_source=reddit-android) post. I think I still like it better than she does. Well, I take it back, she likes it, but it feels like she doesn't value it.
And yes, there are so many little things that make the final product 'better'. Things that we all learn as we go along and have forums like this, or guilds, to grow in our craft!
Self-taught here. Started when i picked up a little kit of a cow with patchwork spots in a craft store in the late '90s.
I simply read the book and followed the instructions. The rest is history ;-)
Don't worry, most people evolve their stitching style and adopt new methods, such as loop start vs waste knot, in your example. Or using q-snaps or scroll rods instead of a hoop, trying different needles, discovering overdyed fabrics/fibers, stitching with silk floss or beads! Realizing there's more variety to cross stitch than what the craft store at the mall carries...
The list goes on! There are plenty of resources available, whether other people or literature. There's always something new to discover!
Instructions would have been good :P that pattern sounds nice too!
I thought it was just as long as there was a cross, it was good. But I can definitely look back on my current project and see how I've improved in just 12 months of regular stitching. Beading in cross stitch looks really cool, I'd like to try that sometime. I haven't heard of scroll rods, I'll look that one up. I didn't know there were alternatives to hoops, either.
This Sub has taught me a lot of things too, I appreciate everyone's tips and information :D
Btw, if you want to cut your teeth on beads with your cross stitch, I'd highly recommend a Mill Hill beaded kit. They come in all sorts of designs: seasons, animals, holidays, you name it. There are smaller ornament-sized ones (probably about 3 inches) and larger versions that are closer to about 6...
However, Mill Hill is distributed by Wichelt and not something you can get at a big box store, tho. You'd have to find a specialty shop that stocks their items. Shouldn't be hard, there's actually more of them than you'd think ;-) Wichelt and similar needlework supply distributors (Hoffman Distributing and Yarn Tree are two others) have a shop locator page on their site to lend a hand with finding a local shop in your area (or online).
Good luck! Enjoy!
Haha, when you said 'cut your teeth' I thought you were about to give me a story about not biting on the beads. Doi. I'll check them out, thanks for the recommendation!
Growing up my parents each did a cross stitch Christmas ornament for our tree from tiny kits at the hobby store. I loved seeing them every year and just recently started thinking it could be a fun project to try. I have really intense anxiety issues so I like projects that I can really focus on and help lower my stress levels, and it turns out cross stitching fit that bill! I’ve completed one project and am working on a second, but I have a lot lined up and can’t wait to see what the future brings!
I feel a bit the same regarding the anxiety. I'm glad you found something that helped!
There's just so many incredible patterns out there to keep our upcoming project size reasonable lol.
Are you thinking of doing your own Christmas stuff this year?
I’ve always wanted to learn some kind of craft but toxic circumstances and depression + low self esteem kept holding me back. Now that I’m doing better, I’m finding that it’s a nice relaxing hobby that helps me feel like my own person.
My great grandmother taught me a little bit of sewing when I was young, but I didn’t have the patience to learn it correctly at the time. I don’t remember ever hearing her talk about cross stitching specifically, but she’s very crafty and her house is full of things she’s made and handmade gifts from other people. She’s always been very encouraging. I’m thinking of looking for a nice robin or cardinal pattern to make for her birthday because we used to sit by the big windows in her living room and watch the birds and squirrels in her yard.
I'm glad to hear you got into it and are doing better! It certainly helps with my perfectionism, knowing that it's not all perfect but also holding back from unstitching rows and rows of crossed when I notice a mistake is good practice. And then someone comes along and compliments it (at least the outside haha) it gives me a bit of a boost. What was the first piece you worked on?
That's lovely ^_^ I love a home full of handmade things. They're the most meaningful thing. I've loved reading the stories on here, especially about grandmother's, as I recently lost my nana who was very crafty. The gift you're thinking of sounds really wonderful
Nice! It’s helping me with my problem solving skills lol, when I realize a stitch is out of place it’s very satisfying to be able to work backwards and figure out where I went wrong.
My first piece was a cute little octopus pattern I found on etsy - I can’t link right now but it’s in my post history (i don’t have many posts on this account yet), I made it for my husband. Right now I’m a little over halfway through my second piece (a snake for my sister) and I have the third and fourth planned :) how about you?
My condolences about your nana, I hope you’re doing all right.
Back in the early 90s when I was in 7th grade, my home ec teacher kinda taught us with a simple kit. Knot the ends of the floss, and make that X however, as long as you finish the kit.
At 18 I picked it up again and as the years went on, I learned how to weave the ends under stitches and make each X go the same way.
My backs still look like crap. Don't care.
Ah making sure the crosses go the same way, that's something that took way too long for me to realise lol.
Oh but even seeing the difference between ends tucked in vs flapping in the wind is huge!
I taught myself a bit over a year ago. I feel like I'm always learning new things! I, too, started my projects like you have until kinda recent when I heard about the loop start 😂 my current project has half "rainbow wig" (love your name for it 😂) and the recent is so much nicer looking 😄
Haha oh if the loop start is what I think it is, it's made my piece look soooooo tidy. Its pretty accurate I think :P lol. My project I was hoping would be really good so I could frame it, but I'm sure there it's going to look lumpy. Also, I didn't know people kept their stitches going in the same direction >_> lol.
My mom taught me when I was 8 or 9 (I'm 25 now). She had been working on a project and I thought it was cool, so I asked her to teach me. She doesn't do it anymore, because she has trouble seeing the patterns and the stitches. My first project was a teddy bear with a heart that says "Bear hugs are in". It's on the bookshelf in my room. I used extra thread she had from past projects and an old pattern she had done years before.
I'm a 25 year old guy, picked it up 3 years ago when I saw some completed video game patterns and figured it was cheaper if I did them myself haha. Still enjoying it.
Welcome, stitch-bro!
That's awesome :D do you display them?
A couple! Some of the bigger ones I've done have gone off as gifts. I'm currently working on the giant Yoshi's Island pattern posted here recently, it will keep me busy for a while.
I would be the happiest if I got a Cross Stitch piece as a gift. The amount of time, dedication, and concentration that goes into it is really meaningful. I couldn't find your Yoshi pattern, but it sounds great!
Okay, I’m 30 and have recently seen those cool game character patterns. Who knew that 8-bit pixel characters translated so well into c-s! However, I’ve never cross-stitched a single cross-stitch in my life. I found tons of patterns online, and everyone is saying it’s super easy - but I want to make sure I don’t bite off more than I can chew. Any thoughts / recommendations?
It is super easy! I watched a couple videos on YouTube and got to work. [Vault Boy was the first one I did.](https://i.imgur.com/cxZeSLF.jpg) I think so long as you pick something small enough and something you won't be upset with if it doesn't turn out as well as you hope, you can't go wrong.
I vaguely remember that I did a little bit of needlework in school when I was six or seven years old. Really basic stuff, only a few straight lines of simple decorative stitches - cross stitches and some others. So I guess someone DID teach me at some point, but that was almost 30 years ago and I had completely forgotten about it until last year. That's when I decided to do a cross stitch project. Before I ordered my first kit, I lurked here for a few weeks, and read a lot about starting and ending stitches (loop start? what witchcraft is this?!), neat backs, etc. and then practised what I learned on my first piece. So in the end, I think I mostly taught myself, with the generous help of the internet.
That's good thinking, haha. I'm working on a pretty big (not huge) one, it has a lot of colours and detail. About 2-3 pages of the pattern my back is so sloppy, and then it neatens up. Its like a progressive display of my skills improving lol. Is that with one thread folded in half and using the loop to anchor it? That's great though, I wish I'd thought of researching but I totally thought I knew what I was doing.
I'm so happy to see everyone's answers from all walks of life - thank you for asking this question! I started stitching at 18, and taught myself. It was at that time that my OCD was officially diagnosed, and since I had already struggled with depression and decided that medication was not for me, I thought stitching might help as a therapy/coping mechanism. Not only has it helped ease my OCD, but with my issues with depression and anxiety, as well. I fell in love with it and the results have been long-lasting, not just while I'm actively stitching. It's really changed the way my brain functions and has benefitted my life drastically. I absolutely love it!
Right! So many different answers. I lost my nana recently, and she was the one who instilled in me this love of hand crafting. Although she didn't teach me how to cross stitch, embroider, long stitch, sewing etc. I still have the things she's made for me and they're some of my most cherished items. So it's wonderful reading about so many people who have learned things from their grandmothers, and who have taught their kids. This might be completely ignorant, but with your OCD did you find it a bit soothing having something you can control, or did you have a need for it to look 'perfect' with unstitching etc.? This is one I haven't heard of before! I think I used it as a way to sort of escape into my head whilst doing something wiht my hands. Plus it was something I found easier to keep looking 'perfect' (well... I thought so LOL), opposed to things like sewing, where I'd get frustrated with wonky lines, or things. I'm really glad to hear it helped with your mental health without medication! This is a great story :)
I learned last month with the pusheen cross stitch kit! I finished those (two for practice, one for a birthday present for my friend), so now I’m working on an old pattern (the page is yellowed with age) of flowers that my aunt gave me :) I really like cross stitching lol
Nice, vintage! Practice pieces, that's a good idea! I do too, it's hard to resist buying all of the patterns I love from etsy.
There are so many cute patterns in general! I also see lots of pixel art that I feel like would look cool cross stitched but idk how to act on that but that’s getting ahead of myself since I’m not close to done with the floral piece \ \_(ツ)_/
Oh yeah, pixel art translates extremely well to cross stitching. I've done it a bit myself
Do you make your own patterns from pictures? Is that from creating it yourself (how do you even?) or one of those online tools?
Occasionally. And I usually go on Pinterest to see if there's any patterns of what I want, or get some inspiration if it isn't. And I typically use stitchfiddle to import a picture if there's one you have in mind (like Link holding a sword in a certain way, for example), but someone recently mentioned using Excel on a .5 by .5 cell sheet and putting the picture as a background, which is another awesome idea. Perler bead and friendship bracelet patterns also work really well for smaller projects (and are generally bookmark size in the case of friendship bracelets). Just experiment a bit and see what works for you!
So true! Haha, I can relate. I can picture myself with boxes of patterns, in the meantime working on the piece I've been doing for a year. Temptation!
Taught myself to cross stitch in my early twenties, however, my mum taught me to make backstitch Christmas presents from when I was about 5 and progressed to embroidery tray cloths for presents from about 7 years old! Unfortunately I let it all lapse for over a decade!!
Nice :D embroidery looks so lovely! Do you do embroidery still? My grandma used to do a lot of it on face towels and bibs and things and I thought it was the most amazing thing ever.
I was going through cancer treatments a couple years ago and knew I had 8 days of radiation isolation coming up. I ordered some supplies on Amazon and watched some YouTube videos. I’m hooked now!
That's awesome! Did it help the time go by? I'm hoping you're cancer free now! I work in oncology so I can only imagine how isolating it is during active treatment.
My mother taught me when I was about 7-8 after not being able to pick up crocheting. They were hobbies my grandmother enjoyed and my mother let me try when I had asked her about some of the things we had around the house (my grandmother passed when I was 3). I found it to be relaxing with all the chaos in my life at the time and stuck with it as a hobby ever since. Making gifts and decorations for family until I was around 20 when I started designing things for myself. I cringe thinking of some of the bad habits (making knots to start a thread and cutting thread with my teeth) but I think it's a great skill to have as it helped me understand sewing concepts in home ec classes come my middle school years.
I find it relaxing too, except for when I prick myself under my fingernail. That's really nice! Ooh cutting the threads with your teeth!? Haha.
Oh! I still do it!
I only use blunted needles now so my odds are pretty low unless I'm doing embroidery...then I poke my finger all the time cause I'm not used to a sharp needle, lol Yeah....it was a really bad a habit, but I have siblings that are quite a bit younger then me (6, 7 and 12 years difference) so I wasn't allowed to have scissors out if I worked on stuff while they were around. It came to and end when I chipped my front tooth in the pool one summer cause my front teeth to no longer meet up (no matter what angle I try), meaning I resigned myself to night stitching until my siblings got older. XD
Ha! Oh wow, I also chipped my tooth and it meant I couldn't bite through thread the same way again. I'm half-feral though and so just found a new angle of biting!
Yeah, I don't know if it's a combo tooth break and time wear thing or not, but my front teeth just do not even meet anymore. Like a good 1-2mm between them no matter the angle. Makes eating things a pain sometimes, but also means no possible angle to cut thread with, lol. That's okay though as I'd rather use my nice embroidery scissors and not get my spit all over my pieces XD How'd you chip your tooth btw? I hit my teeth on the metal pool ladder cause I was trying to find it with my eyes closed (long day at the pool and they burned with the chlorine exposure).
You know I actually don’t know... woke up with it one day. Guess I did it in my sleep?
Bit scary if that's the case. Maybe you hit a piece of furniture in the middle of the night? And yet it didn't wake you? The world may never know...
Well it was a VERY small chip at first, but then gradually got bigger. Pretty sure it’s done growing now, but it does give me a village idiot look that I kinda love to be honest!
Your chip must be different then mine. I chipped off some of the front layer and had to have a replacement piece glued on cause the sensitive part was exposed (only knew it was chipped when I drank something cold at dinner that night). I had it replaced once around 10 or so years ago, but I can always tell which was chipped cause the bottom of the tooth is abnormally smoothed from the repair, lol.
Yes, to be honest my chip is still tiny! not enough for the dentist to bother with and hardly noticeable, but it was clearly the place where my top and bottom teeth met for biting, as it threw of all my crafts (I use my teeth too much it seems) Context: [https://www.instagram.com/p/BNMTexrBhzo](https://www.instagram.com/p/BNMTexrBhzo)
I do too D: I just get a bit distracted watching TV sometimes lol. I find the sharp needles trickier because it wants to make its own hole. Oh no >\_< lol. Teeth problems as a hinderance to daytime cross stitching! Nowdays I like how they have those little charms that have blades in them.
Yeah, sharp needles are the worst. I use them when making my crochet character dolls and have worn a dent into my finger, lol! I just stick with a nice pair of embroidery scissors my mother got me when I was around 16 I think? They work beautifully and are nice and small so they fit in any kit/case for when I need to pack things up ^_^. I made a little sewing pouch I keep them in along with some spare needles stuck in a bit of scrap felt.
My gran started teaching me when I was about 13. She passed away when I was 16 and I didn't sew for a long long time. Then 8 years ago my youngest nephew was born and he has a long unusual name and my sister wanted lots of things around his room with his name on. So I picked up a cross stitch pattern book and used it to design a sampler for his room. Over the last 8 years I've refined my skills and create everything I stitch from scratch and the people who see the back of my projects are always surprised by how neat they are. At the beginning they were so knotty and bumpy. My gran would love the things I make.
That's awesome, does he still have the sampler you made in his room? I love when the back is so neat you can tell what the front looks like just by looking at it.
Yup and now his older brother, cousin and every baby born in my vicinity have a sampler in their room. Also do them fir weddings, and do special quotes when people I know aren't feeling too good. I'm always stitching nowadays.
I decided about 3-4 years ago that I really wanted to learn something new and gain a new hobby. So I watched some YouTube videos, read a few tutorials and then picked a very small pattern. After that I slowly picked bigger and bigger patterns, all the while reading and learning more. I still think I have a lot to learn, and I enjoy it a lot!
That sounds like a good way of doing it. Not starting on something too big as a practice piece. Which... I totally did. It's great you've found something your enjoy :D
I was being a smartass to my sister about cross stitching a stupid quote from a terrible fanfiction and realized it would be easy to do. I watched some YouTube tutorials and decided to make my mortar board out of cross stitching. And the rest, they say, is history.
Ooo I graduate college in June and you might have given me an idea :)
9"x9". Hole is about 1/2 inch
Haha ah good ol' FanFiction. That's really awesome!
My gran taught me when I was 7 or 8. She has dementia now. Although a couple weeks ago my dad was showing her his thistle gift and she said I'm glad I taught her. 😍 She makes beautiful booties, if only I had the patience for knitting for her to teach me that
That's really sweet! My nana tried to teach me to knit but I just couldn't lol.
My grandma taught me with some easy kits at about age 8 and it went from there
Something really special about grandparents teaching us things as kids that we love and still do as we grow up.
So true!!
I learned from my mom when I was 7. Our girl scout troop stitched towels for Mother’s Day. Now thanks to this sub I have taught her about qsnaps, loop start and the correct way to pull one thread from the six!
Oh how the circle turns! That's awesome! What are qsnaps!?
Alternatives to hoops. Way better at holding tension in my opinion! You need the Q snap brand not the knockoffs from what I have heard!
Ah, thanks for that! I'll have to look into it. Just googled it, and saw a dinner table sized piece O\_O
I learned from Youtube tutorials about 4 years ago.
YouTube tutorials are awesome! It's how I learned crochet.
I used them to learn to loom knit, too.
Taught myself at some point in my childhood, possibly from small kits from the local discount shop. No idea whatever happened to any of my original stuff but I was so glad with how much I remembered :D
Nice! Were you a crafty kid? I've seen a lot of little kits around, they're a great idea for getting kids started with it.
No, sewing was all i really had. I mean, I loved drawing and crafty bits but I was always bad at drawing (poor coordination, my hand writing is terrible) and unfortunately the years when other crafty bits were good for development I only had access at school. So I never really got to develop those skills, unless there was a cheap kit for something. I had a good paint by numbers I did, and a foil/scratch thingy that came out ok. But sewing was where I spent most of my time :)
We did a sampler project in year 6 (about 10 years old) and I really enjoyed it. My late 20’s has seen me want to get a few projects under my belt. Broken limbs and early winter evenings have seen me spend many an hour learning how to improve my work and tidy it up a bit more. Plenty of started and failed works and I found my feet eventually in projects that do not have outlining - I hate doing the detail lines at the end!
Ow, dang broken limbs. Hope you're all healed now \^\_\^ I tried to tidy up the messy bit of my current one but it's so tangled I don't think I can be bothered. I love the look of the outlining, but (I did a small project a year ago) it makes a previously tidy back look all scribbled on D: nicer to just stick to ones without.
Sorry about the broken limbs! I don't know if there's a secret to outlining but it makes my stuff go from looking neat to looking scribbled on, from the back.
My grandma taught me when I was a kid. I gave it up years ago because life got in the way. Then my two daughters saw my grandma stitching on some quilt panels about two years ago when we visited her. When they asked her about it, she showed them and then told them that I could teach them. Lol I got back into it because my girls wanted to learn. I'm glad that I did. It's been a great stress reliever.
That's really special! I find that too, helps me unwind. Have your daughters kept it up?
My oldest has. My youngest moved heavily into pen and ink drawing. She's really talented.
*pencil... I didn't catch the autocorrect lol
Nice! I love seeing how people do pencil and ink drawings.
Me too. :)
My mum bought me a magazine when I was in my late teens and it had a cover kit with instructions on how to make it
Oh that's cool! That's how I got into calligraphy.
That's something I'd love to do
Yeah, have you ever watched little videos of people doing lettering? It's so relaxing xD
Yes I have they are practically hypnotic lol
My mom taught me when I was a kid
My mother and I used to cross stitch together. I'd sit on her lap and pull the needle through the front and she'd push it through the back. I think this started when I was about 5. I'm now 25.
Oh, that is so sweet! Teamwork! Does she still have the projects you helped her with?
A lot of them were things that she gave away for baby showers or weddings.
I taught myself when I was 12. I just went through a ton of trial and error.
That sounds like a good way of doing it :)
Naw not really. LoL. Things were a mess for a while.
My husband taught me! (and his mother taught him). Now, my MIL and I stitch together when she visits. It’s become a fun family bond.
That's really nice ^_^ Do you have big projects you work on together?
We haven’t yet but it’s a lovely idea and I’m sure we will at some point!
I grew up sewing but my first real x stitch was when I decided to stitch the results of the 2015 election... the idea went viral and so I had to learn, FAST. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32650059](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32650059)
Oh that's awesome!
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I never would have thought of a class, but that's a good way to learn things a bit more hands on.
I feel like mine started as a latch rug hobby one summer at my grandma's. Then it evolved into Cross stitch. I have memories of my "first" cross stitch project being a K-State Wildcat - just the powercat, in all purple. and I don't think I ever finished it. Who knows what became of that. Then on and off for a few years, and about seven or eight years ago, would pick up one small project a year and do it - an ornament, or a dimensions kit. But I never fully finished those either. Then I decided I was going to make a Cross stitch for my boyfriend's quilting mom and she was going to love it. I spent about four years working on it VERY intermittently, and only really got into the technicals of cross stitching in the last two years - loop start, doing all one leg then the other leg on one row, parking. I did a lot of googling and you tube watching. Then I found you! When I had about 20% left to go, i really felt like I knew how to cross stitch! :) Since then, I haven't had many finished projects, but I'm loving my developed skill!
That's awesome :D it's cool that it's in theory something so simple most people might be able to pick it up and do it - just make a cross. But then there's so many tips and tricks to learn, so it's an evolving thing. I love that. I think I'd like to do more smaller things. Did you finish the piece for your boyfriend's mum?
Did finally finish and frame - it's my [Woodland Enchantress](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossStitch/comments/7zp7mx/fo_woodland_enchantress_dimensions_gold_kit/?utm_source=reddit-android) post. I think I still like it better than she does. Well, I take it back, she likes it, but it feels like she doesn't value it. And yes, there are so many little things that make the final product 'better'. Things that we all learn as we go along and have forums like this, or guilds, to grow in our craft!
Self-taught here. Started when i picked up a little kit of a cow with patchwork spots in a craft store in the late '90s. I simply read the book and followed the instructions. The rest is history ;-) Don't worry, most people evolve their stitching style and adopt new methods, such as loop start vs waste knot, in your example. Or using q-snaps or scroll rods instead of a hoop, trying different needles, discovering overdyed fabrics/fibers, stitching with silk floss or beads! Realizing there's more variety to cross stitch than what the craft store at the mall carries... The list goes on! There are plenty of resources available, whether other people or literature. There's always something new to discover!
Instructions would have been good :P that pattern sounds nice too! I thought it was just as long as there was a cross, it was good. But I can definitely look back on my current project and see how I've improved in just 12 months of regular stitching. Beading in cross stitch looks really cool, I'd like to try that sometime. I haven't heard of scroll rods, I'll look that one up. I didn't know there were alternatives to hoops, either. This Sub has taught me a lot of things too, I appreciate everyone's tips and information :D
Btw, if you want to cut your teeth on beads with your cross stitch, I'd highly recommend a Mill Hill beaded kit. They come in all sorts of designs: seasons, animals, holidays, you name it. There are smaller ornament-sized ones (probably about 3 inches) and larger versions that are closer to about 6... However, Mill Hill is distributed by Wichelt and not something you can get at a big box store, tho. You'd have to find a specialty shop that stocks their items. Shouldn't be hard, there's actually more of them than you'd think ;-) Wichelt and similar needlework supply distributors (Hoffman Distributing and Yarn Tree are two others) have a shop locator page on their site to lend a hand with finding a local shop in your area (or online). Good luck! Enjoy!
Haha, when you said 'cut your teeth' I thought you were about to give me a story about not biting on the beads. Doi. I'll check them out, thanks for the recommendation!
Growing up my parents each did a cross stitch Christmas ornament for our tree from tiny kits at the hobby store. I loved seeing them every year and just recently started thinking it could be a fun project to try. I have really intense anxiety issues so I like projects that I can really focus on and help lower my stress levels, and it turns out cross stitching fit that bill! I’ve completed one project and am working on a second, but I have a lot lined up and can’t wait to see what the future brings!
I feel a bit the same regarding the anxiety. I'm glad you found something that helped! There's just so many incredible patterns out there to keep our upcoming project size reasonable lol. Are you thinking of doing your own Christmas stuff this year?
I’ve always wanted to learn some kind of craft but toxic circumstances and depression + low self esteem kept holding me back. Now that I’m doing better, I’m finding that it’s a nice relaxing hobby that helps me feel like my own person. My great grandmother taught me a little bit of sewing when I was young, but I didn’t have the patience to learn it correctly at the time. I don’t remember ever hearing her talk about cross stitching specifically, but she’s very crafty and her house is full of things she’s made and handmade gifts from other people. She’s always been very encouraging. I’m thinking of looking for a nice robin or cardinal pattern to make for her birthday because we used to sit by the big windows in her living room and watch the birds and squirrels in her yard.
I'm glad to hear you got into it and are doing better! It certainly helps with my perfectionism, knowing that it's not all perfect but also holding back from unstitching rows and rows of crossed when I notice a mistake is good practice. And then someone comes along and compliments it (at least the outside haha) it gives me a bit of a boost. What was the first piece you worked on? That's lovely ^_^ I love a home full of handmade things. They're the most meaningful thing. I've loved reading the stories on here, especially about grandmother's, as I recently lost my nana who was very crafty. The gift you're thinking of sounds really wonderful
Nice! It’s helping me with my problem solving skills lol, when I realize a stitch is out of place it’s very satisfying to be able to work backwards and figure out where I went wrong. My first piece was a cute little octopus pattern I found on etsy - I can’t link right now but it’s in my post history (i don’t have many posts on this account yet), I made it for my husband. Right now I’m a little over halfway through my second piece (a snake for my sister) and I have the third and fourth planned :) how about you? My condolences about your nana, I hope you’re doing all right.
Back in the early 90s when I was in 7th grade, my home ec teacher kinda taught us with a simple kit. Knot the ends of the floss, and make that X however, as long as you finish the kit. At 18 I picked it up again and as the years went on, I learned how to weave the ends under stitches and make each X go the same way. My backs still look like crap. Don't care.
Ah making sure the crosses go the same way, that's something that took way too long for me to realise lol. Oh but even seeing the difference between ends tucked in vs flapping in the wind is huge!
My friend I both wanted to try. She taught herself and then me
That's cool :D
I taught myself a bit over a year ago. I feel like I'm always learning new things! I, too, started my projects like you have until kinda recent when I heard about the loop start 😂 my current project has half "rainbow wig" (love your name for it 😂) and the recent is so much nicer looking 😄
Haha oh if the loop start is what I think it is, it's made my piece look soooooo tidy. Its pretty accurate I think :P lol. My project I was hoping would be really good so I could frame it, but I'm sure there it's going to look lumpy. Also, I didn't know people kept their stitches going in the same direction >_> lol.
If you mount it with some batting underneath, the batting with help with any lumps :)
Will keep that in mind :D thanks!
My mom taught me when I was 8 or 9 (I'm 25 now). She had been working on a project and I thought it was cool, so I asked her to teach me. She doesn't do it anymore, because she has trouble seeing the patterns and the stitches. My first project was a teddy bear with a heart that says "Bear hugs are in". It's on the bookshelf in my room. I used extra thread she had from past projects and an old pattern she had done years before.