A friend who is working a large complex portrait in cross stitch mentioned she is trying the Easy-Count Guideline to make keeping track of areas easier. Since this seems of interest to all my friends who do counted thread projects from charts, I looked into what this is (link one) and how it works (link two's video).
http://crossstitch.about.com/od/optionaltools/p/rseasycountguid.htm
http://www.rseasycount.com/
I haven't used this myself but the next time I lose my mind and decide to work a counted project with a lot of detail, I will. Thanks for the tip, Wendy!
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
6 comments:
What a coincidence, Jane. I just ordered a DMC fabric which is pre-printed with 10- or 20-count blocks in various fabric counts. So far I think this is only sold in the UK; I found my source through ebay. I'll be using the fabric to stitch one of those complex Heaven and Earth Designs, which completely cover the fabric, so I have no need to be overly concerned with fabric color or texture. And best of all, I can just open the package and begin stitching! Here's the DMC web site info on the product:
http://forum.dmc.com/majic/pageServer/1v010002cw/en/Magic-Guide-Fabric.html
Lenor
Morning, Lenor! That is odd! Great minds think alike, huh? Well, I'm not one of the great minds. It's my friend W who told me about this stuff. She is stitching a huge portrait of Audrey Hepburn all in blacks, charcoals and grays with the help of this thing. I would sooner spend weeks on end at the dentist than do a huge cross stitch piece but she seems to be enjoying it with the help of the Guideline stuff. I am sure it really comes in handy with the right project. Can't wait to see how yours turns out!
Hi, Jane. Lots of my cross-stitching friends rely on gridding, especially those who do Heaven And Earth Designs & others similar, which are huge and solidly stitched. They kind of snickered when this product came out, as they had already been buying it in the fishing tackle aisle. I'm not really "up" on sizes, but believe it might be 6# test weight.
I tried it once. Putting the grid in is time-consuming & boring, but not hard. For those who can discipline themselves to stitching within that 10x10 box, keeping to the corresponding 10x10 box on the chart, then parking the threads, it works very well. I just couldn't do it - those 2 or 3 stitches in the next box below & to the right just HAD to be stitched, lol. The line got in my way at intersections & I cut it out, which defeated the whole purpose. It was worth a try, though. I'll be interested to know how it works with counted needlepoint.
I've used this Easy Count on two projects - one on linen and one on canvas. I appreciate how easily it slips out when I decide to remove it, yet it stays put till then.
I'm not normally one who bastes a project for counting purposes, but I am beginning to see the usefulness of proper preparation on certain projects!
Counted projects are not my favorite but I can see gridding is useful in a lot of projects. I can't wait to hear how well it works on NP canvas either!
I started my Audrey Hepburn project before I had the Easy Stitch, and boy, I can tell you that it's a LOT easier once I got the grid lines in. I only basted the Easy Stitch onto one quadrant at a time, b/c as Cindy commented, it's time-consuming and boring, so I didn't want to grid the entire fabric in one sitting, and I was itching to see how it worked out. I don't find that the grid lines get in the way, as the needle was able to maneuver around the nylon lines. Holes that are shared by the stitching thread and the Easy Stitch are a bit of a problem but not insurmountable. I bought the Easy Stitch very inexpensively from a destashing site, but when I run out, I'll look for fishing line. Thanks for the tip, Cindy! -- Wendy
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