Last year I tackled the Olivine kit as my first ever cross stitch. I was just so drawn to the pattern. I quickly became overwhelmed and put it down. Yesterday I finally got up the nerve to pick it back up and give it another try.
My biggest problem is figuring out the rhythm of what to work on when. When I started last year I did that little corner with all the colors and then freaked out and quit. This time I’m trying to work more generally left to right, top to bottom, but by element rather than row to row.
Oh, and I just figured out that I think I’m working on 30 count Legacy Linen, which surprises me because I thought it was 26 count ground cloth. No wonder the stitches are so tiny!
If any experienced stitchers have any advice about how they figure out what part of the pattern to work on when, I’m all ears.
Hopefully you have figured something out that works for you. I am a total beginner but I have already noticed what a few people have said, that figuring out the best path to stitch is an exercise in logic. I noticed this right away and I really liked it.
I personally have taken all of the advice that the basic kit instructions say (various manufacturers), and I begin to stitch from the middle of the design (found by folding the fabric in half one way and then in half the other way), because if you start from the center of the design and work outward from there, it's very easy to count, and your design is centered.
Once the design is centered, I think it is easy to decide what elements to work on and what path to take in your stitching, because you have to make a decision based on the length of your thread. If you want to do all of your left to right stitches before you cross them with your right to left stitches, then that informs the path you stitch, whereas if you decide that you want to work your length of thread into as many completed Xs as possible, then your stitching path will be a bit different, and shorter.
I certainly am looking at my pattern and deciding on the path I want to stitch before I stitch it. I am all for completing as much of the pattern in one area with one color before switching the color.
Based on a quick glance at the photo for this pattern, I would have started in the center, and then gone from there, most likely completing sections of the bands (gold, then teal, then gold, then teal, and so on) from center to top, and then from center to bottom, before moving onto the red diamonds. Then I would have stitched the red diamond outline in its entirety before moving onto the next red diamond outline (doing the little green line first) and so forth, from center to top and then center to bottom. Then I would have filled in the diamonds in the same pattern of movement, and then I would be back to stitching the bands of gold and teal.
Hope that makes sense and helps either for this project or your next one, or that you've already figured it out for yourself. You can always start something new and then go back to it with fresh eyes and more experience and practice. :)
Mine should be arriving soon
This is a good question! When working the Pascha basket cover ( photo of progress posted on another post), I found I had the same dilemma: how to establish the pattern so it becomes rhythmic. I decided to outline the geometry and then go back and fill in. It’s definitely a brain teaser to see the repeating element. This was very helpful video.
What a blessing--a sunroom for stitching!
I do not have any advice beyond slow and steady. Leave perfectionism behind.
Yes, I tend to work one or two elements of the pattern to "set up" the pattern and then I go back and fill in. This way, you don't get all the way to the end and realize you're off by one thread/stitch.
I didn't realize this was a unique method--I've got a new border design I'm working on that in doing in this fashion so I'll post photos of it in process.
I was so intrigued by this video, Krista. You seem to be saying that you try as much as possible to minmise the need to 'count' a lot of cross stitches or gaps, instead placing elements relative to eachother and infilling gaps as much as possible? If that is so, I see how it makes sense to start in the corner and place elements relative to each other across the whole width of the cloth. Very interesting!
Oh, good! I forgot to mention--figuring out the best path to stitch is actually a big part of why embroidery is so good for your brain! That problem-solving helps prevent cognitive decline, so when you get frustrated, just remember you're keeping your brain healthy!
Thank you so much, Krista! That was very helpful.
Here's a short video showing how I would work it. Let me know if you have any questions!