In this episode, I share day two of the Summer Stitching Challenge. You can listen to the episode below or keep scrolling to read the blog post.
Listen to the episode
Day 2 Organise your stash
The more organised you are with your cross stitch projects, the less time you have to spend looking for scissors, floss, etc. And the more time you get to spend stitching.
You can organise your whole stash, or if you’re short on time, just organise your stash so you have everything you need for the projects you picked yesterday.
Find a bag for each project – a zip bag, drawstring, tote, even a box. Something to keep that single project in.
Now put all the floss you need for those projects in the bag, along with the fabric, hoop, frame, needle etc.
If you have enough, give each project its own pair of scissors and needle minder.
Your floss
I think organising your floss is the trickiest part about stitching multiple projects at the same time. If your projects use the same colours you have to find a way to split that colour across the different projects.
Buy multiple skeins
Your first option is to buy multiple skeins. I don’t really do this. If you use bobbins, buying multiple colours can be annoying. However, I have multiples of black (DMC 310) and white because these 2 colours are usually in most projects and run out the fastest.
Try and remember
Another option is to try and remember what colour is in what project. This fails me sometimes, but it is what I currently do along with using a DMC tracker I created with the huge help of a Cross Stitch Club member and all members have access to it. It helps me remember what floss/bobbin is with what project.
Pick different colours
Or, when you are organising your top 3, you can try and pick projects that don’t have similar colour themes. For example, one that has browns and reds and oranges and another that has pinks and blues. Or different shades of colours; one with pastel colours and another with vibrant colours.
Make a floss organiser
Kimberley from The Cross Stitch Club shared a great idea. She makes herself a floss organiser. You just need some card and a hole punch. Punch enough holes for how many colours there are, cut off a bunch of floss and attach to each hole, writing the number down next to it.
I’ve made many of these for my kits before so I know how easy it is. If you write in pencil, you can just rub the number off at the end and use it again for another project. You can also buy plastic ones but you can’t write the numbers on them the same way you can with homemade, card ones. It takes a little more time upfront, but think about the time you will save when you can’t find the colour you need halfway through your stitching.
These organisers are so cute but you do have to remember which colour is which. But I love them!
And don’t forget to have your patterns ready too. Print them off and put them with the correct project if you use paper patterns or download them to your device and favourite them/make them easy to pull up when they’re needed.
These tips are a little redundant if you only stitch one project at a time. If you do just stitch one then you just need to make sure you have got your needle, floss, scissors, etc all in one bag.
Tomorrow we will figure out where to keep these projects.
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Extra episodes and posts
- How to organise your WIP projects
- How to make a cross stitch routine
- Where to store your cross stitch supplies
- How to make a Summer reading list
- Setting the mood this Summer
- Why colour is important in cross stitch
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