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WHAT IS
GRIDDING?
This is a
method some stitchers use to mark every 10th grid line
(bold lines on chart) onto their fabric. By doing this,
many have found that they don't miscount as often and if
they do, they catch the mistake quicker. Although I
don't personally grid my fabric, I can see the pros for
doing so. Below is an explanation of gridding your
fabric:
IS GRIDDING WORTHWHILE? HOW LONG DOES IT
TAKE?
You will have
to decide for yourself if gridding is worthwhile to you.
It may take up to 6 hours to grid a large chart like an
MLI Angel, depending on how meticulous you are with your
gridding. Marking the gridding with a marking pen
(listed below) would be somewhat quicker. You may save
this amount of time by not having to frog as much if you
have gridded and it helps you to avoid
miscounting.
If you are a
stitcher that likes to skip around and stitch in
different areas of the design that are far apart, then
gridding could definitely help you not to make a
counting mistake.
What
type/color of thread to grid with?
There are
many different methods. Here are a few recommended
ones:
Contrasting
color of floss (1 or 2 strands)
Good quality
polyester sewing thread in contrasting color
Roxanne's
Marking Pencils (a quilting tool) - with this you would
draw the gridding onto the fabric instead of stitching
it on.
HINT: Stay
away from blue and purple disappearing ink pens or
sewing markers made to wash out. Apparently, the color
sometimes comes back on humid days! And, some can be
hard to wash out.
HINT: Avoid
using bright, dark colors to grid on light colored
fabrics, so their won't be 'fuzz' left behind when the
gridding is pulled out.
HOW TO
GRID?
Mark the
center of your fabric by folding the fabric in half
lengthwise and creasing with your thumb. Then, fold in
half again widthwise and crease with your thumb. Where
the two creases meet is the center of your fabric. Mark
this spot with a pin, needle, or a tiny cross
stitch.
Find the
center of the design on your chart by following the
center arrows at the top and side of the design until
they meet in the center of the design.
Count how
many stitches over and down (or up) from the center mark
on your fabric to where the closest bold lines
intersect. Now, count the same amount over and down (or
up) from the center on your fabric.
Check your
fabric to be sure that the intersection is where a
vertical thread crosses over a horizontal thread and
start with your needle to the left of the vertical
thread. Now, go under two threads and over two threads,
following the vertical and horizontal bold lines on the
chart. In the end, your fabric will be gridded and the
bold lines every 10th square on the chart will match up
with the gridded lines on your fabric.
HINT: To make the
job less tedious, you can go under 4 and over 4 threads
to work the gridding, or whatever suits
you.
HINT: Another way
to make the job less tedious, is to stitch your gridding
every 20 squares (every other bold line on your chart)
instead of stitching every 10 squares.
HINT: When you are
cross stitching the pattern, pull out the gridded line
in that area just before you reach it with your cross
stitches. This will avoid getting the gridding 'stuck'
in the cross stitches and making it hard to remove
later.
A
2nd Method of Gridding:
I
recently saw where someone gridded by only marking the
intersections of each of the bold lines (every 10 grid
squares in both directions) on their fabric. They marked
each of these with an upright cross to indicate the
line in either direction. Below is an example - the
long lines would not be stitched - they are only here
to show spacing.
+__________+__________+
+__________+__________+
ANOTHER METHOD
OF GRIDDING:
This method
of gridding was recommended by a fellow member of a
cross stitch egroup I belong to. She
writes:
The easiest
way for me to grid is to start at the bottom of my
fabric.
I stitch a cross stitch and then 9 half
stitches. The tenth stitch is
always a complete
cross.
Example:
X/////////X/////////X/////////X/////////X/////////X
Then
I stitch the bottom to top, using the same
method.
Example:
X
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
X
etc.
Once that
is finished, I actually start the grid with basting
stitches.
I use the "X" lines to keep my lines
straight.
Example:
X________|________|________|
/
|________|________|________|
/
|________|________|________|
/
|________|________|________|
/
|________|________|________|
X////////X////////X////////X
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