Cross-stitched picture: what should be taken into account while working?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Needlework is a great way to keep your hands busy and pass the time at the same time. In this article, we will talk about embroidery, namely, how to cross-stitch pictures.

What do you need to have?

If you want to create a masterpiece with your own hands, you need to have a certain supply of aids. So, to get a picture embroidered with a cross, you need to stock up on the following elements:

1. Canva. This is the fabric on which the pattern will be embroidered. It should be said that it can be completely different (dark or light, the cell on the canvas can be small or large). Its choice depends on what exactly you want to get in the end. If the picture is completely sewn up, i.e. even the background will be embroidered with a cross, it is better to take an ordinary white canvas (besides, it will be cheaper), otherwise you can take a fabric of any suitable color. The most common variant of quality canvas is "Aida" of the 14th count.
2. Threads. This is also an important nuance, because the appearance of the finished work depends on their quality. The floss should not be cheap (in this case, it will most likely be a fake), the color should not fade fromwashing or fading in the sun. You can also embroider with acrylic threads (they are much cheaper), but their color range is much narrower than in floss. And, of course, the quality is several levels lower.
3. Needle. It can be both ordinary and special, embroidery (it differs in that it does not have such a sharp tip as the usual one).
4. Scheme. A very important element on which embroidery will be created.
5. Hoop. This auxiliary element may not be used, but there are people who are much more comfortable working with it. Its purpose is to stretch the canvas for more comfortable work.
6. Frame. It will already be needed at the stage of designing the picture. You need to select a baguette taking into account what is shown on the canvas. It is also good to order glass with an anti-reflective effect, so when viewed from any point in the room, the image will be clear, and the rays of the sun will not reflect.

About sets

If you don't want to buy it all separately (choose thread color, choose canvas), you can buy everything in one set. From this, the picture embroidered with a cross will not change at all. Moreover, often the craftsmen who prepare sets for sale more accurately and competently select the colors of the threads with which the work will be embroidered.

Things to consider

Before you sit down for embroidery, you need to decide what kind of picture should be, embroidered with a cross. You need to think about more than just drawing. It is important to decide what size the finished work should be. Larger paintings are correspondingly longerare embroidered. You also need to take into account the number of thread colors - the more there are, the more difficult it is to embroider. The embroidery of details, which consist of many different shades, will greatly complicate the work. If there is no ready-made kit, and all elements for embroidery are selected independently, you must first also correctly calculate the size of the canvas (for this, you just need to use the fabric calculator), iron it so that the fabric shrinks. The edges of the canvas also need to be pre-treated so that they do not crumble (to do this, just run a brush dipped in PVA glue over them).

Rules

In order for a picture embroidered with a cross to look perfect, you need to follow simple rules.

1. Forget knots. The tip of the thread is hidden under the finished stitches. At the same time, you can’t hide dark threads under light ones, on the contrary, you can.
2. You can start work in different ways: from the center; from the place where the largest number of threads of the same color; from the place where the darkest threads are used, gradually moving to lighter tones.
3. The craftswoman's place of work should be well lit. In the evening, it is better to use several fluorescent lamps.
4. The working length of the thread should not exceed a maximum of 50 cm, ideally if it is 25-30 cm. So the thread will not be tangled. No wonder there is a saying: a lazy seamstress has a long thread.
5. If a large picture is embroidered, and the work is not done every day, it is better to spread the canvas into squares. For this, a special water-washable marker is useful.
6. How can you speed up the work process if you are preparing embroideredcross stitch pictures? Schemes in this version can be crossed out. More precisely, those squares that are already embroidered. This will significantly speed up the process of finding the place where the work was completed.
7. For those who work on the hoop: after work, the picture must be removed from the hoop so that the canvas at the fixing points does not stretch or deform.
8. The wrong side of the picture should be perfect: you need to avoid long broaches, properly hide the ends of the threads.

This is not a complete list of all the rules, but if they are observed, it can be said with confidence that the work will never be spoiled in the final version.

The algorithm of work on the example of a simple painting "Cherry"

So, how to embroider pictures? Where is it better to start and what sequence of actions would be appropriate? So, first of all, you need to work with the canvas. Before embroidery, it must be ironed, you can also steam it. The fabric in this case will shrink, and the finished picture will not deform after ironing. In this case, you need three colors: green, red and yellow. If you want, the background can be sewn up with white, in which case you will also need white threads. Next, we proceed to the process itself. On the canvas, you need to find the center and start working from it. If there is no drawing in the center according to the scheme, we start work from a nearby object (having previously counted the required number of crosses from the center of the canvas in the appropriate direction). Since it is better to embroider from top to bottom,We will work first with leaves. Next, a branch is embroidered, only then - cherries. It is worth remembering that all the crosses should “lay down” in one direction, in which case the drawing will turn out beautiful. After the work is ready, it must be ironed and framed.

How to rate a painting?

If a craftswoman makes work to order, she also needs to know how to properly evaluate her work. What determines the price when embroidered cross-stitch paintings are sold? And the schemes (i.e., their complexity), and the number of crosses, and the color scheme - all this must be taken into account. There is also a certain formula that will help calculate the cost of work. So, for this you need to add several elements:

1. Number of crosses multiplied by the price for one (approximate calculation for today: 50-70 Russian kopecks for one embroidered cross).
2. Amount spent on materials (canvas, threads).
3. Additional data (scatter of crosses, running time, circuit complexity).