Assorted tips from fellow Stitchers

Subject Stitcher Advice
Charts Karen Bushouse  I have found that I don't lose my place on a chart if I use a highlighter pen on a working copy.  (Put the original chart away for safekeeping and throw away the marked copy when project is completed.) I mark in all of the completed stitches so when I come back to my project several minutes or even hours later I know just where I left off.  For color charts that are not easily copied, clear contact paper and a dry erase marker are the choice.  When done, all marks erase easily.
Charts

 

 Michael Wasson, USA

One tip that I like to tell beginners is to make an enlarged copy  of their pattern. This is easier for the beginner to count and some use a high lighter pen to mark off the areas they have done.
Loop Start #1

 

 

 

Loop Start #2

 Pat Porter of East Anglian Xstitch Designs

I've got one tip I only found out after five years of Cross stitching - instead of using two normal sized strands, use ONE DOUBLE LENGTH, thread ENDS through your needle. bring the needle up from the back of the work, back down through, and pass the needle through the loop made by doubling the two ends together - this makes casting on easier and the back has one less end to tidy up!
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A variation on the "loop start" - thread a long single strand by doubling it and putting both cut ends through the needle as usual, then go down through the TOP of the work, leaving the loop end just showing, then bring the needle up in the diagonal hole and through the loop then back down through the hole you just came up through, pull tight, and you are away!  Much easier than the previous method - and so much easier if you are using a very short length of thread. I saw it on RCTN and tried it, and its brilliant!
stitching a difficult pattern Lynda Reed, USA

A tip: When stitching a difficult pattern, maybe one just a little beyond your ability, mark the pattern off in 10x10 stitch grids with a see through marker and work each grid then move onto the next works great!!
Charts

 

 Linda Fischbach, USA If my chart is black and white, I enlarge it.

I use a metal copy holder. (The kind a typist would use--can be bought in most office supply stores.) It clamps onto the table next to my chair and can hold many sheets of paper or charts. I can pull it closer when I need it, and push it away when not in use. Also, because it is metal, a magnetic strip can be attached to it to hold needles and needle threaders.
Charts Stacey Prica, UK

As a beginner I found your tips very useful.  One I find very helpful is to photocopy and enlarge the original pattern.  As I do my work I then colour it in with different coloured fine markers.
stitching on dark coloured fabrics Sandie Leadley My hint is that when stitching on dark coloured fabrics and using a floor frame to place a low wattage light behind the fabric. This allows the holes in the fabric to be easily seen.
adia cloth Kathy K The tip I have is to take your adia cloth and fold it in half , and run a basting stitch in a color not used in the pattern, then fold in the other direction and do the same thing. Using a colored pencil, I do the same with the pattern, it is very easy to make sure you are in the correct place when you get back to the stitching after a break. Also if you make a mistake it helps to find out where
     
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