Hey there! This video presents ideas and methods intended to help new and experienced stitchers find new methods of doing their craft. There is no right or wrong way to be creative or make art. If this works for you, I'm glad it helped! If you have questions, please ask! If you don't like this method, please move on. These comments are not a place to tell others what the "correct" way may or may not be.
This is so informative! I cross stitched as a child, and have rediscovered it over the past four years. I’m desperate for something other than the traditional hoops, which are hard on my arthritis. I don’t (yet) work on projects big enough for a scroll bar, so it’s down to a snaps or stretcher bars. I like the idea of the stretcher bars, more customizable and I don’t have to obsess about the tension. Thanks for all the info!
The stretcher bars are by far my favourites for that exact reason. They're very set it and forget it. I'll be looking at a lap stand later this week that has a good-ish chance of working well with them too.
Hi! Love your videos! So helpful. I am starting a very wide cross stitch. It is 10”Hx 30” W. It is worked horizontally which is the 30” side. I would think even if I could get 30” stretcher bar that would be pretty cumbersome! Any suggestions?? Thanks!
Get a scroll frame and rig it sideways, with the rods on the side instead of the top. Then you can have something that’s 10” tall, and then scrolls sideways for the 30”.
@@MadXStitcher I was thinking something like that but still am not exactly sure of the putting it into action part LOL. Thanks so much! I just started a small 5 x 7 by hand and think I’m gonna have to cave get some stretcher bars!
@@christilyon2479 I've seen videos where ppl use Q-Snaps for very large awkward projects. They roll up one side of the fabric (or two) & tuck it inside of the grime guard (the fabric protector Milesy mentions in the vid.) They unroll the fabric & then roll it back up when they have to re-position it to do another section. I'm talking about using something like a 11x11 Q-snap for a 25x25 project or whatever. Hope this helps.
Oh no! I wonder if there's something you could put on them to make them not taste as nice. We used to put a few drops of Tobasco into some water in a spray bottle when our animals liked to chew on things, but I'm not sure whether that would stain your work or not.
MadXStitcher oh how I wish, knowing this little one he would probably fall in love with the taste of that also haha... thankfully as you said they are quite cheap, I'll just have to hide them better 😂😂😂💋
I use mostly wooden stretcher bars too. Mostly bc I started doing needlepoint before I started cross stitching & that's what a lot of needlepointers use. I've found stretcher bars of different sizes in thrift stores (some with NP projects still attached). I've also bought thrift store canvas paintings (they were hideous) & taken them apart just for the wood frames. I also have a crappy scroll frame I need to replace-- you're not the only one. LOL!
You are 200% right about that Michael's frame Got one YEARS ago 😠 didt ecen use it, thought I was the problem. It is lousy! New subbie, this is your first vid for me.
This was really helpful! Nice job on this video. I've been cross stitching for a few years now, but I've never done a project too large for a hoop. However, the next project I'm starting is going to be roughly 11" x 17". This video was great for learning about non-hoop alternatives for larger projects. I'm a little too nervous to keep using the hoop on something larger because I'm worried it's going to irreversibly crease my fabric when I need to move it to the next section. Thank you!
Q Snap Frame tip - use strips of the non skid shelf liner (that rubbery type of product) under the snap on pieces for extra grip...AND...I use a DollarStore steering wheel cover to use as a 'grime guard' around the Q Snap...fits perfectly on the 8x11 Snap type frame from M's...
Great video! Thanks for explaining at least one that I had seen but knew nothing about. I loathe the darn wooden hoops but I cant find anything else that makes me happy, either. Been stitching for 30+ years and still using those stupid things. So glad I came across your video this morning!!! Saved me from at least one purchase that I'm now sure I would NOT have been happy with!
The brands I really like best are Edmunds for stretcher bars, American Dream for scroll frames, Q-snap brand for PVC frames, and Susan Boyle for hoops. Ironically, DMC branded anything for these fall down.
Hi! I really appreciate your videos. Have you done one that goes through loading a scroll frame? I'm having a hard time finding a tutorial that shows it well without 20+ minutes of filler content.
This is specifically for the Velcro system, which I prefer personally. But the idea is the same for split-rod or baste frames: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QwHDl-s96ak.html
I've always used round wooden hoops and have never had the opportunity to use the lockscroll type so I have a question about their use for embroidery as opposed to cross-stitch: Is the tension created on the scroll-type frames sufficient all the way around the work for straight-up embroidery?
+Dot Rust if you get a nice one, yes. The sort you generally find at places like Michael's and Jo-Ann are garbage though and couldn't hold tension on a steel plate.
I really like the idea of them, but I've never personally found one that I like to actually use. They are really nice for not squishing your work and ruining your fabric, but I find them too big to comfortably hold in my tiny, tiny hobbit hands.
Thank you so much for this! It answered a ton of questions. Would you mind telling me what a floor stand is? Def not something I have heard of before Lol.
Could you add muslin sleeves to stretcher bars to avoid using tacks or extending the life of the stretcher bars that have too many holes? xoxo from sunny 💥 Arizona 🌵
I imagine you could, but it seems like it would be a lot more hassle than it's worth to baste the fabric onto the bars. Considering how cheap the bars are, it's probably better off just buying a new set when you've chewed them up too much. They're about $20 for a full set, and they last me about a year before they start to get irritating. Once they get too bad, I just repair them with wood fill. I've got about four sets that I cycle through.
Hi! Unfortunately I can’t find many stretcher bars here in Mexico, mostly hoops. My question is, if my work is bigger than the hoop, will it ruin the work if I move it around to work on the next section? Also, how do you end the work so that there isn’t too much floss left?
Hoops can damage your stitching if you don't release the tension every now and then. Keeping the fabric in one spot, without ever taking it out of the hoop will warp the fabric and crush the stitches. Moving the hoop around is fine, as long as it's not in one spot for a long time.
@@MadXStitcher how long is considered a long time? as in will it be okay for a full stitching session of say 4-6 hours, or should you move it more like every hour?
@@zaydenelliot9339 Sorry I missed this comment. Things get buried by RU-vid and shoved in weird places sometimes. When I stitch in a hoop, I move it any time I start to feel the tension fade.
I don't think Iris is actually meant for embroidery. It's really shoddy, and I'm pretty sure I've heard it exists entirely for friendship bracelets and similar. I know that when I've tried to use it, I found it frayed really easily. I pretty much use it for making dollhouse blankets, or mounting something finished onto a hoop.
I put them on pretty much the same level as the plastic ones. Good for holding your work and keeping the tension, but still runs the risk of weird stains and crimping your fabric in ways you might not want.
Yeah, they come in all sorts of sizes and packs. I don't think I'd ever use something as small as 4" though, because you'd only get about 2" of usable space on any one edge.
