Rescue me, I need linen help!

Hi all!

I will admit, upfront, that I have made a mistake. My husband has learned quite a bit about stitching and is usually fairly competent in the sewing shop....which is good, because I don't speak Norwegian and cannot always talk directly to the shopowners. I made the error of not requesting a running translation from him during today's trip to an unfamiliar LNS to buy some evenweave for a new project.

So instead of receiving 28ct mid-weight cotton evenweave, I ended up with 30ct lightweight linen. And (but, of course) once the fabric is cut...that's it. It breaks my heart that he was so proud of himself for buying the material for me all by himself...and it's completely the wrong thing! Compounding this is that I have no cash to spare, and have just parted with an ungodly amount of $$ for something I don't want and can't return! *tears hair out*

Argh! The words "frustrated" and "depressed" don't even begin to describe how I feel. I feel like such a piece of crap for being unhappy at DH, too. Like a puppy, he knows when he's done something wrong even if he doesn't know exactly what.

Since I can't afford to buy new fabric, have no friends to trade with here in Norway, and don't wish to hurt my DH's feelings (he's such a gentle soul)...I need to know how to salvage a project that I haven't even started. The pattern (Janlynn's Vegetable Wreath, recharted to use quarter stitches) is 194x194 stitches and is the biggest I've tried to date. I've got a 6" Q-snap at my disposal, so I'll be plenty busy moving it around.

I've only recently delved into stitching on evenweave, and as such have never worked with linen. What do I need to know to work with it? How do I bind the edges? Do I have to handle it differently than an equally huge piece of cotton evenweave?

Any linen tips from the collective fount of stitching wizardry? Becky A.

Really, I don't think there'll be any difference whatsoever from the fabric you intended to buy, except that it's be a tiny bit smaller. I think you can just forge ahead however you were planning to with the cotton. As far as binding the edges, you can serge them or zig-zag over them or do whatever else you like. Or, if you're super lazy like me and if you've got plenty of room around the edges, you don't do anything ;-)

Best wishes, Ericka

Absolutely. And be consistent about the starting point for your Xs. As in try to start at the lower left corner - imagine a tic-tac-toe grid. If you start in the lower left, such that the vertical thread is on top of the horizontal thread, and you're coming up in the hole just to the left of that vertical, below the horizontal - then that hole is usually slightly larger, and it will be easy to count spaces consistently, and the stitch is nicely supported. This link, from Carol, who posts here, will help.

do the zig-zag thing, or if you don't have a machine, you could alwayshem stitch, or just use some fraycheck. Also, since the piece you're stitching is large, you may want to grid it. That is baste through a marking thread every 10 stitches (use contrasting sewing thread) - it will help you enormously as you're going to be moving your Q-snap all over. Can you order a larger one - it may be worth getting the 11" size one at least.

Ellice

I think all of us have been forced to do something different because of mistakes like this. In my case, I can think of two that turned out BETTER than the way I had envisioned it. I've never looked at stitching "mistakes" the same way, since.

Give it a chance on the new/different stuff and you may find that what you had in mind wouldn't have lived up to what blossoms with what you have.

The only thing I would add to the good advice already given is, if you can spare it, try using a strip off the fabric as a doodle cloth and practice stitching a little just as practice. Depending on what type of stitches you are doing, you might find you want to use 2 strands of floss instead of three for instance. This way, you can see what you get and can make adjustments before you have to do a whole lot of ripping.

Hi Becky, (Nice name by the way, it is my daughter's)

If you haven't worked with linen before you may notice that some of the fabric threads are thicker than others. You may also have "slubs" lumps on certain threads. Don't worry about these, they are part of the beauty of linen.

Remember that if you are using 30 count rather than 28 the design will turn out slightly smaller. Not a problem that way round! My daughter did the reverse once and found the design didn't fit! Not good.

Most of all, have fun doing something new.

Regards,

Carol Leather

Becky, everyone has given you excellent advice. Much better than I could have, but I'll add this... just breath. Relax. If you've done anything on evenweave, you can do this. The "oddness" of linen threads may throw you for a bit, but you'll get used to it and do just fine. By oddness, I mean the way one thread may be skinny and the one next to it will be fat. It does change the outcome a wee bit, but not so much that it's really noticable overall.

You'll do fine, I have faith. Tegan

Becky,

Another thought. If you are using silk thread you may only need one strand of thread. Best to try some of the stitches on the side of the fabric to test the number of strand that look best to you. On some 30 count linen I have needed to use 2 strands of Needlepoint Silk Inc. thread and Gloriana I needed only one. Just try some stitches and see what you like.

Let us know how you are doing.

Alice

I'm using plain, ordinary DMC. With the exception of two or three skeins of Gentle Arts floss that somebody kindly sent when I was sick last year, don't have anything other than my carefully wound bobbins of DMC. Well, that's a lie...I momentarily forgot about the little box of assorted Kreinik filaments that I've got. Those came in handy when I did a little portrait of my goldfishies!

It looks like it's going to be a couple of days before I can put needle to fabric, though. I've fallen way behind in the housework, and my father and grandmother are arriving Tuesday for a two week visit! EEEK!!!

Thank god for multi-packs of vacuum bags... Becky A.

Snerk! The piece I got from the store was cut to size assuming it was

28ct, so I've got gigantic margins. I know it's a major sin, but since the sewing machine is being temperamental and has gone on strike...I got out the trusty masking tape. I usually just cut the tape-cootied edges off when I'm done anyways.

Ewwww...tape cooties! Becky A.

Ah, see that is part of my difficulty. I know that I'm supposed to look for a vertical thread and then bring my needle up somewhere in relation to it. I'm not really sure where to bring it up. The thing that confuses me is that compared to most people, I stitch backwards.

Rather than making a / and then a \ over it, I make the opposite: a \ with a / on top.

I'm guessing that this will change where I should bring the needle up to begin the first leg of the cross. Is it as simple as bringing it up just to the right of the vertical thread?

I've never figured out a method of gridding that worked for me. My eye tends to be drawn to the grid thread and I can't focus on the stitching I'm doing. A less bright thread isn't different enough from the fabric for it to help. I suppose I'm just too much of a spaz.

I would dearly like to order a bigger Q-snap (or two!), but with the added cost of shipping to Norway, it's beyond my current means. Unexpected guests and a $3,000 dress (which is mandatory) are taking their toll. I've had to put off obtaining this year's JCS Ornie issue. Hopefully, things will sort themselves out soon. The linen is gonna be my last stitching purchase for a while.

That'll just mean that I can work on my project without being distracted by shiny new kits and patterns. I might even get around to better sorting the bits and bobs that already have.

Always nice to have a silver lining... Becky A.

Brcky , you can see it as an adventure to start your own creative idea ,, either do what people here suggest go along with same pattern , or try making and constructing your own pattern , you might use snippets and details from other xst you worked on before .. best wishes for the new adventure , you can do it !!!!! mirjam

Hmm, I think that what I would do is come upin the same hole and just go left. \ instead of right. Then the / crossing thread would be on the top. With regular floss, the support issue isn't a big deal. But, the holes in the linen because of the way it's woven, are slightly larger in this position. So, if it were me, then I'd go for the slightly larger hole, as this will make the stitching and counting a little easier vs the vertical thread being on the top for the most support. Someone else may have a different opinion.

Hey, we all have our spaz moments. I don't grid much, myself, but with big pieces it does seem to help. I've done some classes where one of the first steps is to grid, at least a few lines.

Good luck on that. I know the dress must be stunnning. Could you find a not so expensive scroll or the like in Norway?

Absolutely.

Ellice