How to Make a Cross Stitch Routine

In this episode, I share some steps and ideas on how to make a cross stitch routine. You can listen to the episode below or keep scrolling to read the blog post.

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Step 1 Decide how many projects you want to work on

Take away any decision-making that will stop you from actually taking the time to cross stitch and decide how many and what projects you want to work on first.

Don’t forget, you have to love the project you are stitching and be excited to pull it out. If you’re not enjoying it you are much less likely to stitch it.

Think about how many projects you usually work on at a time right now. Do you stitch as much as you would like? Do you make as much progress as you would like?

If the answers were no you may need to add some more projects into your rotation or take some out. I think 3-5 is the perfect amount and I dive more into how to pick them in episode 77 here.

Step 2 Figure out the best routine

There are three different types of routine that I share below. You can choose just one that works best for you or combine all three. If you keep scrolling there is a free PDF with some questions on to help you figure this out.

Find a time you already have spare

Stitching whenever I got the time was my routine for a long time. When ever there was a gap in my day I would pull out a project. That usually meant stitching in the evening and on my lunch break.

This sort of still applies to my life now. I like filling gaps with stitching and I’ve spoken a lot about that on here but it’s also important to have some exact time for yourself every day. Waiting for gaps in your day can be risky because you might not always get one.

As my kids have gotten older I find it harder to stitch in the evening. They are going to bed a lot later and I follow them not long after. Pulling a project out for half an hour in the evening seems a little pointless even though I preach all the time about the power of 10 minutes. I can do this fine during the day; I stitch on my lunch which is usually half an hour.

But I think I still haven’t accepted the fact that my kids no longer go to bed at 7 pm and I don’t get the hour or two like I used to. And most of the time I’m exhausted by the time they go to bed because it is also almost my bedtime.

This is why it is risky to wait for a gap or wait until the end of the day to give yourself some time for your hobby. But it can still work depending on the season of life you are in.

Over the next week start to become aware of places during your day or week where you might find yourself pulling your phone out, looking for things to fill the time, a time you do get to sit and rest, etc. These are the perfect times to just slip some cross stitch into.

Accountability

Another way to make a routine is by joining a club or class or having a craft date with a friend each week. Although it’s not something you can do every day (or maybe you can) it will at least give you solid time that is yours every week.

It doesn’t even have to be a specific cross stitch class. It could be a local craft or sewing group. Or your friend might do crochet or another hobby but you can sit together each week to work on it. Find out if you have friends with hobbies that you can do side by side.

You could even set your own group up in your local area, kind of like a book club but for crafters.

You are much more likely to take the time if there is another person or thing attached to it.

Inside The Cross Stitch Club, we have online meet-ups every week and sometimes every day to give you some accountability to get a solid hour of stitching done each week.

Be exact

You can also have a set time every day or every week that you stitch and you make sure you stick to it.

It could be every day from 4-5 pm or every Saturday 12-2 pm. This, of course, depends on your season of life and some of you might think you would not be able to stick to a routine like this. I used to think the same. My days and weeks are so different with clubs and my other part-time job that I didn’t think a set routine would work for me. But it is something I am considering more and more.

The reason being, that I know myself better now and I know that I can stick to a weekly routine at least because I have been going to therapy every week for almost a year. Every single week I am at that appointment. I block off that time and nothing disturbs it.

You could make yourself a cross stitch appointment, especially if the group idea I just mentioned doesn’t work for you.

Can you find an hour or two of solid time in your week that you could work on your hobby with no interruptions? Your first answer might be no but try and reflect on other things that you do every week no matter what. Maybe it’s your job, maybe its the gym, maybe it is therapy like me.

You could even go out of the house to do it. Melanie, a new member inside The Cross Stitch Club joins some of the calls from her local library and I love that. Could you go and sit in your library or coffee shop for an hour a week?

Combine all three

The perfect cross stitch routine would combine all three of these methods. Find gaps during your day for daily stitching, have a weekly source of accountability to stitch with a group or a friend and have a set time each day or week that you take for yourself.

Of course, nothing in life is perfect but if you try to aim for this and something happens during your day or week that stops your cross stitch time, you have something else to fall back on.

Step 3 Sticking to it

Whatever routine you set up you now have to stick to it. I truly think we should take this as seriously as we take our mental and physical health. You need and deserve time to do something you enjoy.

In the past, I was very flexible with my hobby time because I could afford to be. I just always managed to stitch in the cracks of my day and that was enough. But my life is so much busier now so I know I will see more benefits of a structured routine so nothing can get in the way of taking time for myself.

I have many episodes about routines and finding time and I have linked some below so you can hear some other examples of how I have stitched and found time in the past. But life changes, seasons change and as you may have noticed in the past few episodes I am really reflecting on these changes and figuring out a new way to find time for myself.

Free download

Below you can download a free PDF that asks you questions to help you figure out your new cross stitch routine. Download it and print it or use it as a template and answer the questions as best you can.

You may need some time to answer a few of the questions but hopefully, by the end, you will have more of an idea about what sort of routine would work best for you.

Routine-plan Download

How to Make a Cross Stitch Routine | Episode 111

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