After ages of wanting to learn how to cross stitch this weekend I finally found the time to hit up
Michaels for supplies, and then head to
YouTube for some trusty tips. I'd been seeing a ton of fun patterns on
etsy, but considering I am brand new to cross stitch I thought it'd be best to start off small and simple. On
Pinterest I saw a cute "home sweet home" cross stitch and I thought it looked easy enough to recreate, but the problem was there was no pattern associated with the pin.
I thought to myself that there must be an easy enough way to figure out the pattern on my own. The first thing I reached for was graph paper as the tiny squares on the paper are perfect for making a pattern. To start I google searched free heart patterns; and copied down a small heart that was fitting for what I wanted.
Now that I had a portion of my pattern I decided it was time to prep my materials and try out cross stitch.
Materials Checklist:
14 Count Aida Fabric
Tapestry Needle
Wooden Hoop
Embroidery thread
Here's what I did:
1. I placed the hoop over/under the Aida fabric and tightened the tension
2. threaded the tapestry needle with 3 strands of embroidery thread (note: the thread comes in 6 strands)
3. Found the center of my fabric and pattern
4. Began sewing following the pattern (note: when threading the needle in for the first stitch make sure you leave a tail, do NOT make any knots)
Now, for the second portion of the pattern I needed to create letters. For this I was actually able to copy down the pattern by just looking at the picture I had for inspiration; to save you the work, the pattern is below:
Then, the only thing I had left to do was frame it! I cut the fabric to the size of the frame and that was it!
