how to fix a cross stitch when I have miscounted
I am doing this counted cross stitch. it is of muted green colours which represent soft foilage. I have counted and counted, I think I have old eyes. No joke, I am 63 and use magnifying glasses to do my hand work.
My instruction pattern sheets come in top half and bottom half. I am about 6 rows higher on one side of my fabric. Even though I counted and pattern matches my stitched rows top to bottom. Both 25. What in the heck have I done wrong. and how do I fix this mess?
Carol answers...
Oh dear! It is easy to miscount when a chart is carried onto another page, even with younger eyes! I know, because I have done it myself.
When I have been teaching at classes, I tend to find that stitchers fall into one of two categories.
1. Those who can't bear their stitching to be even a stitch "wrong" from the chart they are following.
2. Those who fudge it after making a mistake.
If you belong to the first group then it is either a case of unpicking, or even starting over I am afraid.
If, however, you are not that strict with yourself there are ways to tackle this without too much unpicking.
You mention that your error is in a foliage area. You may well get away with fudging it in this case. I would leave a gap next to the "wrong area" and start again further away where you can see that you are still correct. Then look at the mistake and see if you can "redesign" it so that it looks right even though you know it isn't really.
Anyone who looks at your finished work is not going to do so with the chart you followed in their hands, carefully checking it off to make sure you are stitch perfect. As long as it looks "right" no-one is likely to question it.
If I am following a complicated chart with an area that uses many shades of the same colour, I like to use a highlighter to mark off the stitches on my chart as I go along. Then if I have to put my work down for some time, I can immediately see where I was when I pick it up again.
I like to print my own designs with a shaded overlap if more than one page is required. This helps when matching up the pages, hopefully avoiding the situation that you have found yourself in here.
Without having your work in front of me, there isn't really much more I can suggest, I am afraid, but I hope this has helped a little.
Regards,
Carol
