About

The love of cross stitch and the need to be home for health reasons is why I started Cross Stitch Pro. I was also searching for a way to make a difference in the world, even if it was a small one.

For years I balked at "computer generated" cross stitch designs, looking on them as somehow inferior to "real" designs that were hand drawn. One day I decided to try a computer generated design to prove to myself that I wouldn't like it. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it! Now I'm hooked. I find it fun, relaxing, and rewarding.

My goal is to offer a wide variety designs from paintings and nature photos at a price anyone can afford. I will do my best to keep the prices low.

I also want to give members ways to incorporate cross stitch into their lives. For example: Every time I take my glasses out of my "Sleeping Kitty" cross stitched eyeglass case, I smile at it's cuteness. My day is a little brighter. Also, I've given several Bible verse bookmarks to people who were going through hard times. Months later they tell me that the bookmarks are still cheering them and giving them hope. My hope is that the designs on this website will cheer you too.

Take care and God bless,

Lori

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About Cross Stitch:

There are many books and websites that explain what you need to get started in cross stitch. Also, just ask at your local craft store.

Below is a very basic explanation of the cross stitch that you'll need to know to stitch the designs on Cross Stitch Pro.

With your threaded needle, come up from the back of the Aida cloth at "A" and then from the front, push your needle down at "B". (This will make 1/2 of your cross stitch.) To finish the stitch, again come up from the back at "C" and back down at "D". This will make the X or "Cross" stitch.

Practice this a few times to get comfortable with stitching.

Some things to remember:

* Most experts recommend that you start stitching in the center of the design. In working with the designs on this website, it may be hard to find the center. To do this, lay the pattern pages out in order on a flat area and find the center page. Start stitching with that page as close to center as practicable.

* When cutting a length of floss, cut it about 12" long. Long pieces of floss begin to wear thin and lose their coverage resulting in Aida showing through the stitches.

* Never knot the ends of your floss. Leave a short "tail" in the back and stitch over it for the next few stitches. When finishing a length of floss, weave the end into the work in the back and trim. Making knots will make little bumps in your finished work.

* As you stitch, sometimes the floss will get twisted. To unwind, just let go of the needle and floss and hold your work so they can dangle for a few seconds.

* I use 2 or 3 strands of floss for 14-count Aida and 1 or 2 strands of floss for 18-count. If you choose to use 11-count or smaller, use 3 strands.

* Figuring out the size of a design can get confusing. Please remember the following: If using 14-count Aida, divide the number of stitches by 14. If using 18-count, divide by 18. (The results will be in inches.) For example: if a design is 70 stitches wide x 98 stitches high, and you are using 14-count Aida, 70 divided by 14 equals 5 and 98 divided by 14 equals 7. The design will be 5" x 7".

* Before you start stitching, be sure your piece of Aida is large enough for the design. For designs that you will be framing, calculate the size of the design and add at least 4" to each size. You will need this extra cloth when framing. For bookmarks and cards, figure at least 10 stitch spaces on each side. For eyeglass cases, about 1". It's always better to have extra then not enough!

* Be sure you have all the floss you need before stitching. It may be a simple tip, but I know from experience that it's an important one!

About Reading Symbols and Stitching:

When I first started stitching, all those symbols looked confusing. To make things simpler, I use the following method:

* First, I tackle only one page at a time.

* Next, I start at one corner of the page and carefully work across and down, not straying too far from the work I've already done. There's nothing more frustrating than finding out way too late that I miss-counted how many stitches down or across I was supposed to go, then having to take those stitches out and restitch the design correctly. The farthest I go is about 10 stitches away from my work.

* I invested in a set of colored pencils. Starting with the lightest color first, I mark all the symbols of one color. I stitch that color. (or as much as I can without straying to far. See hint above.) I might mark the first symbol with a circle, then using the same color, I mark the next symbol with an X. And the next symbol, I will color in the little square completely.

Next I move on to another color of pencil and in the same manner, mark more symbols. Below is an photo of an actual page that I've worked on. It's not completed yet, so you can see what I mean about marking symbols in different ways with the same colored pencil and not straying too far from where you've already stitched.

Also, I'm left-handed, so I naturally work from left to right, right-handed stitchers would probably work from right to left.