How to…

CHOOSE YOUR ESSENTIALS…

Start with these must-have items

FABRICS

Most stitchers start off using aida – a block-weave fabric, which is divided into squares by a grid of holes, making it an ideal fabric for beginners. Each cross stitch is worked over one square.

Or you may prefer evenweave, which is also woven in a grid but in a finer count. Each cross stitch is usually worked over two threads of the fabric (shown below), making it the equivalent size to stitching on aida (eg. 28-count evenweave would produce the same size finish as 14-count aida). Fractional stitches are easier to work on evenweave, as there’s a central hole spare so you don’t need to split a block as you do for aida.

THREADS

You’ll need – this coloured thread comes in 8m skeins