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| KNOW-HOW |
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Stranded cotton is the thread most widely used for cross stitch. It is available in hundreds of different colours and stocked by retailers nationwide. If you look at a length you will see it is made up of six strands twisted together. You can pull out as many strands as you need, but you are most likely to use one or two strands in a cross stitch design.
Stranded cotton is made from pure cotton which is treated to give it a lovely silky sheen. It is a soft, yet strong thread that is unlikely to snap or fluff and will last for years. Just what you need to stitch a treasured sampler.
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Anchor, DMC and Madeira are the three brands of stranded cotton quoted in most cross stitch kits and charts.
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Six Tips For Using Stranded Cotton
1. Cut your thread lengths between 40-45cm (16-18in). Any longer and it is likely to get in a knot while you are stitching.
2. Pull the strands you need one by one from a cut length instead of all at once to prevent it tangling. Then smooth together the number of strands ready to thread your needle. This will remove any twists before you start.
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3. Finish off a length of thread before you get down to the last 5cm (2in). You won't find it easy to stitch this close to the end and it will probably be a little worn here anyway, so you won't produce the best stitches.
4. Let your thread hang down under your fabric and allow the thread to slowly untwist itself when you need to. Stitches worked with twisted thread will look thin. If you have a bad twisting problem, try running your thread through beeswax before you start.
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5. Pull the thread through the fabric as smoothly as you can. Jerking it is likely to result in a knot.
6. Store your thread carefully on bobbins or in an organiser file to keep it clean and prevent it from picking up fluff from other thread colours.
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More Tips
Although you can often find a DMC or Madeira match for, say, an Anchor colour, there is not always an exact equivalent. So it is not advisable to stitch a chart (especially if it is a complicated one) in a mixture of DMC, Anchor and Madeira threads. It's ok on a simple card that uses only a handful of different colours. Where the designer has used several shades of the same colour you may distort the effect by mixing threads from different brands.
Anchor, DMC and Madeira all state that their stranded cotton is colourfast and can be washed at 95 degrees and ironed on a high setting. Remember to check, too, how the fabric you have used should be treated before you wash your finished work.
If you are unlucky enough to find the colours do run when you are washing your work, don't panic! Keep rinsing with cold water until the water runs clear again and no harm will be done. The most common mistake is to give up too soon. Just keep rinsing - it will clear eventually.
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How many strands to use
For the best coverage of the fabric stick to the following:
11-count aida - 3 strands
14-count aida (or 28-count evenweave over 2 threads) - 2 or 3 strands
16-count aida - 2 strands
18-count aida - 1 strands
22-count hardanger - 1 strands
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