Preparing Your Fabric For Cross Stitch – Sewing Machines Los Angeles

When you are beginning a cross stitch project, it is

necessary to prepare your fabric in certain ways. Wait, let

me rephrase that…not necessary but optional and very helpful

later. There are just a couple of things that you may choose

to do to avoid aggravation later on in your project.

First, there is the issue of pre-washing your fabric. If you

have ever sewn anything you will know that when you begin a

sewing project, the first thing you do is wash your fabric.

This is sometimes recommended for your cross stitch fabric

also. I think most stitchers would agree that this is not

necessary. When you finish the project and wash it, it will

not shrink enough to cause a problem. On the other hand, if

you are using a darker colored fabric you may want to

pre-wash the fabric to prevent the dye from running after it

is stitched. I have never personally run into a problem but

I have heard stories of others that have and I would rather

be safe than sorry. It is very simple to set the color in

your fabric. Make a solution of one part vinegar to three

parts water. Soak the fabric in this solution for about 15

minutes and the rinse the fabric under cold water until the

water runs clear.

Second, there is the issue of your fabric unraveling while

you are stitching. I know many stitchers that don’t concern

themselves with this problem. I would suggest if you are not

going to worry about the fabric unraveling, then you need to

be very certain to cut your fabric large enough to allow for

this because it will happen. There are other solutions to

this problem though.

1. Masking Tape – You can tape around the edges of your

fabric. Again you will need to cut your fabric large enough

so that you can cut off the portion that was covered with

the tape when you have finished. The adhesive on the tape

will transfer to the fabric and over time can cause the

fabric to begin rotting. The benefit to this is more control

over how much fabric you will lose to unraveling or tape

damage.

2. Fray-check – This is a fabric stiffener that you can apply to the edges of your fabric. Unfortunately, I fear

that this will have the same effect as the adhesive in the

masking tape. I am always concerned that the chemicals in

these types of products will cause stains or rotting in the

fabric eventually.

3. Sewing – I have found the best

solution to be running a zig zag stitch along the edges of

the fabric. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can

fairly quickly even hand sew a quick hem around the edges to

prevent unraveling.

After getting these two issues out of the way, you are ready

to stitch. Hopefully this will help save you some of the

aggravations of learning cross stitch.

Happy Stitching!