So, you have chosen a design you love and have the PDF downloaded and open – now what !? The following is an explanation of how to follow a chart; I have covered both cross stitch and blackwork, however you may also find that charts have both. Please note that some of the info is specific to my charts e.g. I use red lines to indicate the centre of the design - some designers will use a different colour, or maybe not indicate it at all, so please bear this in mind when following this tutorial.
If you are new to Blackwork or Cross Stitch I recommend using what is called '14ct Aida' to learn (this just means that there are 14 stitches to 1 inch (2.54cm)) - All of my kits use this, and a kit might be a good option if you have never done this before.
When you look at your chart you will see the 'design' on a square grid background. You will also notice that your material has holes in it in a grid format - Each hole in your material represents where a horizontal and vertical line cross on the grid.
BLACKWORK / BACKSTITCH
Blackwork on a chart is indicated in the same way as Backstitch (as that is essentially what it is); by straight lines, just like the purple 'stitch' in the example above'.
On your chart you will see lots of 'lines' and these each indicate 1 stitch.
This image is an example of a 2 colour Blackwork design.
You can see that there are red intersecting lines. Where these cross is the middle of the chart - use this to start. In this example you can see that the centre has an orange diamond around it, so start with that. You will then need to count up (or down) to determine the next place to bring your needle up at for the next orange stitch.
CROSS STITCH
There are 4 main types of cross stitch pattern :
- Colour Blocks
- Symbols on Colour
- Symbols
- Colour Symbols
I will be using the Symbols on Colour Chart option for the purposes of explaining the next steps.
So we have our chart as follows:
The thicker lines are shown every 10 stitches with the count along the top line – the arrow at the top (some of my charts will have this and some will have a red line) – this is the middle of the chart and there will also be one down the side so you can find the middle of the chart easily. It is recommended to start stitching from the middle of the design and the middle of your material (fold in half each way to find the middle of the material) so that the border left around the design is equal in all directions.
You can see there are squares, with letters/symbols on – I have some letters on this chart so that I can refer to them easily, but most charts are all symbols. But what do these symbols actually mean ? Well, with each chart you will also have a Key and this has been explained below.
READING THE KEY
The Key will look something like this:
As you can see each square on the chart can be cross referenced to a square on the key in the first column.
So for example, for the pink ‘e’ in Hello indicated by a pink square with an F symbol in it, reading along the key line you can see it has
- Number: DMC 603
- Name: Pink Mauve Med
- Strands: 2
- Length: 0.1 skeins
- Stitches: 31
So what does this all mean:
F symbol
This is a random symbol. There maybe more than one pink in the pattern and maybe very close in colour, so colours are also given symbols. Any pink square with the symbol F in it should be this colour; if there is another pink with, for example, an E it it then this would be a different thread indicated on the key.
Number: DMC 603
DMC is arguably the most used brand of floss, and all of my patterns provide keys on the assumption that this is the brand you are using. All DMC thread are given numbers and this pattern requires you to use number 603 for the pink ‘e’
Name: Pink Mauve Med
This is the Name associated with the DMC colour – however, be careful, whilst this is a useful guide DMC do not officially ‘name’ their thread and you should always use the number when stocking up.
Strands: 2
Floss is often known as stranded cotton. This is because although it appears to be one long strand of thread, it is actually made up of 6 individual strands. This pattern is telling you to use just 2 of those 6 strands. Top Tip: when splitting the strands cut to the length you require, and hold it vertically in one hand, then grab the number of strands needed with the other hand and pull up. Most people try to pull to the side which often causes problems.
Length: 0.1 skeins
When you buy floss, the amount purchased is known a skein ie. if you order 1 x dmc 603, you will receive 1 skein. This is typically 8m long. The software I use to design my charts ‘estimates’ how many of these you will need for each design. For this design it has estimated 0.1 of a skein will be needed ie/ approx 80cm. Now it is obvious from looking at the design that there are so few stitches that it will not take 80cm of thread, but the software only works in increments of 0.1s. But some designs may estimate that you need, for example, 3.5 skeins…..so it will give you an indication of how many you will need to purchase. Please note though that this is just a rough estimate as it will depend on your tension, the material count etc so please just use it as a guide.
Stitches: 31
This is the number of stitches in this colour.
So you have your threads, understand the key, now what ?
Well, Each square is one cross stitch – if you are not sure how to do the actual stitch please have a look at my Cross Stitch Instructions. So, for example, for the pink ‘e’ in 'hello' you will need 3 stitches along the top of it.
WHAT IF MY CHART HAS THIS
Don't panic - this is just a combination of Blackwork and Cross Stitch.
OR THIS?
