Chris from Hanna, Indiana
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http://cowgirlfromhanna.multiply.com/

Make sure that you use a tall eyed embroidery needle when working with floss. Length is a personal choice – I prefer an extremely short needle.

To separate the strands most easily – cut a section of embroidery floss about 12″ long (any longer and it gets tired / dirty / worn by the end of stitching). Take out 1 thread at a time and flip the second one around so that any differences in color or thickness is not obvious. Match the two ends and smooth. Now fold these threads over the side of the needle and pinch. Use the pinched edge to thread the needle, this will keep the ends from fraying so badly and is an easier way to thread the needle. If you like – there are embroidery floss conditioners to make all of this easier – but do not use beeswax or other sewing thread conditioner on embroidery floss – it flattens, deadens, and attracts dirt to your project.

When making your stitches – try very hard to lay both threads flat – it gives maximum coverage. Some people like to use a small pointed object (like a large darning needle) to help keep the threads flat when doing each stitch.

The most important thing to do in cross stitch is to keep the direction of the stitches absolutely consistent. Whether you stitch with left over right or right over left – it really doesn’t matter — but it MUST BE THE SAME for the best possible look.

If you are able to do a run of stitches — try to make all of the bottom pieces first and then come back across and do all of the tops rather than individual stitches. This maximizes the use of your thread – and creates the most consistent look.

The only time the number of threads changes is for embroidering the fabric or if you are making the super tiny crosses for partial stitches – then you go down to one thread. Back stitching – the outlining stitch – is most typically done in one thread.

If you are making French knots – then you MIGHT go up to 3 threads – but that is only if you really want them to stand out without making a lot of winds around the needle – I usually make a 3-4 wind knot with 2 threads.

I always make it a rule of thumb to wash my hands thoroughly before ever picking up my embroidery to reduce the amount of oils transferred onto my project. And I line my hoops with tissue paper along the edges so that marks do not show on the fabric.

Good luck and have fun — a German pattern sounds like quite a challenge.

I used it to start learning Italian, and it worked well.