Cross Stitch Anchors

One of my favorite hobbies is cross stitching. 

Learning how to anchor those stitches at the beginning and end of each series of stitches is very important to the process. 99 times out of 100, you're going to either be cross stitching or backstitching. And since hobbies are supposed to be relaxing, knowing the simple basics is important in order to maximize the relaxation experience. 

So, I've created this post to help minimize the stress of those first anchors of cross stitches or backstitches on a blank canvas. First, I'll start with the easiest one - the cross stitch anchor.

1 inch tail on back of fabric

Row of first legs of cross stitch

Back stitches of first leg of cross stitch hold tail in place to anchor them

Front of cross stitched fabric after second leg of stitching has been placed

Back of fabric with second layer of anchoring from placement of second leg

Next, I'll show you how to anchor the tail of a group of backstitches, which is a little more difficult. I like to use what I call the "weaving" technique when I anchor backstitches.

Best to start with about a 2 inch tail with backstitches

Go up from the back on 1 side of the tail

Come down from the front on the opposite side of the tail

Front of single-square backstitch

Anchored tail of single backstitch using my "weaving" technique

Longer backstitches have a loose weave so the stitches will be loose

Front of longer backstitch crosses more squares and holes

Wrap the floss around the loose weave a couple of times to assure the anchored tail stays in place

Better anchor on longer backstitch after wrapping the floss

Front of longer backstitch after tail has been anchored better by wrapping 

Once you have stitches in place, you can anchor new stitches and completed stitches by pulling about an inch of floss under the existing stitches. Thus, anchoring is much simpler once you have stitches on your Aida cloth. 

Other tidbits: It's important to anchor lighter colored floss under darker colored floss. So, start by stitching with darker colors first. Also, never cross bare sections of the cloth as the floss crossing the back section will likely show on the front.

I hope you have found this post to be helpful. Please feel free to leave a comment or contact me to let me know what I'm doing right or what needs more explanation. I'm always happy to help.

Have a blessed day,

Patricia

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