Gridding

Dummy question of the day: when gridding (every 10 stitches on fabric and on chart) do you mark the centers separately, or put one of the gridding lines at the center of the fabric?

thanks

I usually grid however the chart is gridded, because otherwise I tend to forget that the fabric grid doesn't align with the chart grid. Once you've gridded, though, it doesn't really matter all that much where the center is, if it doesn't happen to align with the gridlines. You've got plenty of reference points, so the precise center is of much less importance in keeping you oriented. And, if you needed to find the center, it would be easy to count it out, since it would never before than 5 stitches away from a gridline.

Best wishes, Ericka

I grid in an extra line for the centre in another color. And the edges of the chart in a third color. But then I have lots of old sewing machine thread and I like gridding.

Dora

L> Dummy question of the day: when gridding (every 10 stitches on fabric and

Whatever you do, don't let any 2 year olds near the piece after you finish all your long, hard work of gridding! Somehow those little hands know exactly how to pull out all of those threads without anyone noticing!

*sigh* Gonna have to go back and re-grid that piece before I can work on it again....

Dannielle

L> Dummy question of the day: when gridding (every 10 stitches on fabric and

No such thing as a dumb question, Linda! :)

I know others have answered but I'll tell you my experience. The first thing I ever gridded was a large (I think 17 x 20) picture of a bull elk. I didn't know much about gridding back then and just started at the center and worked my way out. When I started stitching I got *so* confused because I kept thinking the dark lines on my chart *were* the grid lines and had to go through and mark on my chart where my grid lines were. So, my suggestion is that you grid where the lines on the chart are.

HTH and good luck!

Joan

Linda F said

I rarely do counted stitching so it's 'funny' that I'm responding to this topic. Matter of fact, I'm not even answering the question, just passing along something I saw that struck me as extremely useful.

Not only did Virginia grid her fabric, she did it in colored thread. Then she made a copy of the chart and used pens/markers of the same colors to go over the existing grid so she could quickly see which section of the chart she was working on. She may have gridded the chart first but either way works ;-)

I haven't been following this thread so I'm not sure if anyone mentioned using sewing thread to do the gridding. I use all those ugly, old spools of thread I have managed to inherit from people -- LOL! Also, the really OLD thread in my stash is great for gridding since I don't dare actually sew with it -- too weak. Sewing thread doesn't leave any fuzzies on the fabric when it is removed either! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their WHISKERS! Visit my Photo albums at

Scotch tape or parcel tape does the trick for me.

Pat P

You probably could use some of the water- or air-erasable pens to mark the grid, but my experience has been that over time and with handling, the marks tend to vanish. Other types of pens or pencils might not come out. This might not be a huge problem if the entire visible area of the project is stitched, but you do have to worry about whether whatever you've used to mark will rub off on the thread as you're stitching (pencil can be a pain in this way). There's also a potential issue if you make a mistake with the gridding. If you've used thread, you can just pull the thread out. If you've used an erasable pen, you might be able to wash it out, but you'd be back at square one (and with the sizing washed out of the fabric, if that's a concern for you). If you've used a non-erasable pen or pencil, you're in trouble ;-)

Best wishes, Ericka

I'll put in a plug for using lightweight monofilament fishing line. There are some obnoxiously bright colors available and a reel of it lasts a long time. The reel is similar in size to spools of narrow ribbon so those can easily be stored together. No fishing license needed.

Let me add another idea, which I have tried, but did not think it was much help to me. However, maybe others might think differently. The idea is to stitch a scale on all four sides of the piece. This is a lot quicker to do than gridding.

I`ve done that on smaller pieces, certainly but prefer the full gridding for anything on the large side ~(which means most of what I do!) I have some ready threaded Aida, which I use a lot, for the sake of speed.

Pat P

Not. But then, I'm the dummy who doesn't grid. I gridded once, hated it, and went back to working from center, out.

I also use a hand-held hoop. I also don't have a stand with stretcher bars. I don't "get" the whole parking thing. I don't want to use both hands. I also don't get why anyone would want to race through a design unless you're being paid (and even when I was paid I stroked over each stitch).

But I'm just visceral that way. My methods are comparable to an

8-year-old's. :)

You're not alone, Elizabeth. I don't grid, I hate scroll bars, I don't have a stand. I do use qsnaps for the larger stitching area, but still use my hoops for smaller things. If it works for you, then it's a good method. Sara

Definitely not alone. I'm lazy and I don't grid, although I probably would like it if I did it. I do cross stitch in hand and put it in a q-snap or wooden hoop when I need to do any finishing, e.g. backstitch. I never used a floor or lap stand and don't particularly want to. I do always use a scroll frame for needlepoint because I think it helps to keep the fabric from getting too distorted and I always use a hoop or q-snap for crewel.

Just for the shock value I'll admit that I sometimes lick the floss and I use the loop start whenever I can.

Of course none of the above are written in stone and what works for me may or may not be right for you, and that's fine with me. I'm more interested in the end result than the road to get there.

Since the Mayo Wars fizzled out after a few exchanges last week, you're trying to start the Floss Licking War early this year?

Of course, some day, archeologists are going to determine via DNA testing that my pieces were stitched by a very talented striped cat. I may not lick my floss, but she slurps, drools, and even chews on it. (And, from time to time, I find a skein in another room that she has picked up and carried around as her newest "baby". I get the message that she wants a kitten to mother, but the last one I got her now weighs

17 pounds and isn't into being mothered any more.)

Mmmm....I'll admit to loss flicking ALLLLLL the time. Or floss licking. Whichever.

And loop start. Does floss have a grain?