Counted cross: embroidery technique, calculation features, recommendations and schemes

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:47

There are many types of embroidery. It is divided mainly into two varieties - satin stitch embroidery and cross stitch. Although there is still embroidery with ribbons for example. Counted cross - one of the types of embroidery on the cells.

Embroidery embroidery strife

The counted cross is the oldest of all types of embroidery, in which the main element is a crosshair of threads. Today, needlewomen can also talk about printed cross-stitch or uncountable embroidery. This type of needlework came into being as a result of a desire to help needlewomen - why bother with the count, if you can just work on a canvas with a pattern applied to it. Change the thread to a different shade in time - and you do not need to constantly recalculate the elements in the diagram, and then compare them according to the work done. But the true counting cross is real pride in the result. And it is expensive. Moreover, for those who are truly passionate about embroidery, it is the counted cross that is real creativity, but embroidery based on a printed pattern on canvas is just pampering.

Where to start? From theory

Counted cross stitch is based on the absolute precision of the embroiderer: one incorrectly stitched cross - and the work can go onawry if the error is not found and corrected in time. This, of course, will cause large losses in time. Therefore, an important element of embroidery in the technique of counting cross - schemes. The drawing that makes you want to work is transferred to the scheme - multi-colored cells indicating piece crosses of a certain color. Such schemes were developed in abundance by embroiderers both independently and with the help of special computer programs.

Cross stitch technique

Counted cross-stitch, the schemes of which can be the simplest, mono-color, or may contain many color shades, involves working with only one technical element - a cross. Most often, a simple cross is used, although there are several techniques for performing such an element. A simple cross is the most convenient way to work with an account. It is done like this:

• base - square;
• the first stitch is laid from one corner of the square to the diagonally opposite corner;
• second stitch picks up next pair of diagonal corners, returning needle to start side.

In order for the result to be of high quality and look as neat as possible, all crosses must be done in the same way. For example, first the diagonals are sewn from the upper left corner to the lower right, and then the diagonals from the upper right corner to the lower left. Each embroiderer decides for herself how it is more convenient for her to work - from right to left and from top to bottom or vice versa, it does not matter. Important,to make all the crosses look the same.

How to fill in the picture field?

Embroidery using the counted cross technique allows you to fill the body of the pattern with one color in the required areas without breaking the thread.

This is convenient for those who are very attentive to the count of stitches and know how to navigate the change of color on an empty pattern field. But it is much easier, according to many who have already mastered this type of needlework, to use the so-called row method. What is its essence? With a thread of the same color, crosses of one row are completely stitched, that is, both in the forward and in the opposite direction, in a row. The thread changes to the next color, and the same row is stitched with the required number of crosses of a different color. If the distance between two separate sections of a row of the same color is small, then the thread can not be broken, but by counting the number of cells of a different color, continue working with the color of the thread that started the row. So, stitching row after row, they embroider a counted cross. The technique of cross-stitching using the row method is more convenient and simpler, it allows you to make fewer mistakes than if you first filled in areas of the same color on the entire field, then another, then the third, and so on.

So that the thread does not slip out

Any work with threads requires their fastening so that the thread does not slip during operation or operation of the product. For this, knots are made. But in this kind of needlework, like embroidery, knots are not made. Well, how to embroider countingcross? The description of the beginning of work for those who are just getting acquainted with this type of needlework will begin with the rules for attaching a working thread. There are two of them:

• no knots;
• no ponytails.

This seems to be a completely impossible requirement. But in fact, everything is very simple. The working thread is held precisely by its "tail", but it must be hidden. And you can hide the tail of the working thread either from the inside of the work, or from the front side. On the “face”, it is convenient to hide the tip of the thread when the skein for embroidery is thick enough, then the tail is brought to the front side from the first stitch and, during work, is placed under several subsequent stitches until it disappears completely behind them. On the wrong side, things happen in exactly the same way, but the tail of the thread is hidden under the transition stitches. The wrong side as a place for attaching the working thread is most suitable when the skein is not too thick in relation to the size of the canvas cell, on the front side it will be visible through the stitches. But even a thick skein will give excessive volume to the stitches, so the wrong side for attaching the thread in this way is still more preferable than the front. Some embroiderers secure the end of the thread by tightening a loop on the canvas thread. What method is more convenient and practical to attach the working "tail" - the embroiderer decides.

Working material

Any work, including creative work, requires material. In embroidery, a counted cross is:

• Canva. It can serve as the basis of the work, its canvas. Such a canvas has a dense texture, the weave is elastic, rather rigid, the threads do not diverge from each other, but keep the shape of the cells. But there is another canvas - as a help. Such a canvas is applied to the base fabric for the uniformity of the crosses, and at the end of the embroidery, it is pulled out of the pattern line by line.
• Threads for cross stitch. Use different threads - silk, floss, polyester. The most important thing is that they do not shed, be slippery, but do not twist into knots in work. Usually embroiderers prefer floss, as it meets all the requirements of this type of needlework, as it is created for it.
• Needles. Yes, there can be several identical needles in the work so as not to pull out the thread every time there is a transition to another color. The needles should be of good quality - strong and straight, not too long, with a good but not wide eye.
• The hoops are special hoops between which the fabric is stretched (hooped). Depending on the size of the embroidery, the hoop is selected with a suitable diameter. After work, the base is processed and used for its intended purpose. Although there are hoops that are suitable as a frame for an embroidered picture. They are textured, with a special lock with a patina - semi-antique. In them, medium-sized works look very impressive.
• Scissors - some with thin blades for thread, others are ordinary tailor's - for working with canvas.

Basic of the basics

How the artist usescanvas or sheet of paper, so the embroiderer uses the fabric. And to make it convenient to work on it, it is hooped in a hoop. How to do this so that the counted cross embroidery is organized correctly? The principle of cross stitch is the uniformity of all elements, which is achieved with the help of canvas. Therefore, the warp must be stretched evenly:

• the smaller hoop ring should be placed on a flat surface;
• fold the fabric on top of the ring, straighten;
• cover with the second ring and fasten the clip so that the rings hold tight enough, but the fabric can be pulled through;
• supporting the ends of the fabric, align its weave so that it has the correct geometric shape, and all cells are square;
• clamp the rings all the way so that the fabric does not sag or slip.

You can embroider.

Finishing touches

Counted cross involves working with only one main element - a cross. But other elements help to give the work more grace. So, in simple pictures, you can use the "back of the needle" embroidery stitch, which passes the contours of the depicted objects and their parts. Small details that you want to highlight, for example, leaf buds or flower buds, raisins on a cake are embroidered with knots, giving the work some volume. Cross stitch is not very democratic, it rarely allows you to complement the work with other techniques so that the result is amazing. Most often, contour additions are used to give moreclarity.

How beautiful

Those who evaluate the work done see only the result. And it will consist not only of the plot, but also of painstaking accuracy. If the work is done carelessly, then no matter how beautiful the scheme is, no one will praise it. Therefore, accuracy in the technique of cross-stitching is the basis of a quality result. And in order for the work to bring satisfaction, you need to know how to embroider with a counted cross according to the scheme, observing a few rules:

• Choose quality materials. If the threads in the process of work are shaggy, cling to knots, and then shed, then all the work will go down the drain. Needles should also be good - straight, so that it is convenient to work with them, with a narrow eye so as not to disturb the structure of the fabric.
• The fabric should be hooped into the hoop evenly, avoiding distortions.
• Knots in embroidery are not made! The tail of the thread is neatly hidden during operation.
• The most important thing is to accurately calculate the number of crosses in one area of the same color, the pattern depends on this.
• Absolutely all crosses should "look" in one direction. This is due not only to the rules of the counting cross, but also to the play of light on the finished work.
• The finished embroidery needs to be moistened and allowed to dry. Steam the embroidery from the wrong side without pressing the iron.

Counted cross stitch allows you to make small pictures, single items or simple patterns, but it can also become the basis for a large-scale canvas -the whole storyline. Schemes for such work, of course, are very different. If a ready-made scheme is used, then the threads should be selected in accordance with the specified ruler. If it is developed independently, then the colors are taken at will, a sense of harmony. For greater realism of the plot picture, one should not forget about halftones, because it is the shades that give liveliness and naturalness to the finished work.

Embroidery using the counted cross technique is a fascinating art accessible to people of all ages. It develops and maintains attentiveness, the ability to see the perspective of one's work, fine motor skills of the hands, which is also useful for brain activity. Well, there is no need to talk about the result of labor - high-quality embroidery will serve as a source of pride. Good luck!