Retro Cross Stitch: 500 Patterns, French Charm for Your Stitchwork

by Véronique Enginger

Overview

500 unusual cross-stitch patterns blend gorgeous French vintage with a charming contemporary simplicity.

Enter this deliciously vintage universe of 500 patterns and add a touch of nostalgia to your stitchwork.

• Re-create designs from 1800s and 1900s fashion houses and milliners’ catalogs.
• Take your cross stitch on a bon voyage into the past with traveling motifs like trunk labels of exotic destinations and railroad advertising posters.
• Other sections of patterns feature tea and coffee motifs, and daily life in vintage terms.
• Many of the designs include multiple scenes and motifs, offering you hundreds of components to use in a myriad of ways.

Throughout, be inspired by "mood boards" of completed motifs, along with photos of projects that will show off your creations in daily life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764354793
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	03/28/2018
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Illustrator
Véronique Enginger is the author of several other books of cross-stitch patterns. Her designs often focus on helping the charm of our memories enrich our current-day lives.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Basic Information

Cross Stitch

Cross stitch is easy. It's composed of two crossing slanted stitches. They can be done individually or continuously (see the diagram below).

When doing individual cross stitches, always finish one before starting on another. Your work will be more even.

The best type of thread for cross stitch is called floss. Made up of six cotton strands, it can be divided into fewer strands depending on the fabric's mesh size and the needs of the design. On each pattern, you'll see the color numbers for DMC brand cotton floss.

Other Stitches

The half cross stitch, or tapestry stitch, is nothing more than a cross stitch with only one slanting stitch. It allows you to reduce the intensity of a color and to create shadow on a background.

The quarter cross stitch lets you create details that are impossible to do with a cross stitch.

The three-quarter cross stitch is made up of a half stitch and a quarter stitch. It too helps with adding detail, including curves, to designs.

All three of these stitches are symbolized on the chart in the same way: with a half-square. [??], [??], [??], [??]. It's up to you to choose the type of stitch that works best for the situation.

The back stitch, also called the straight stitch, is ideal for bordering a motif, underlining a certain part, or showing a detail, just the way a line drawn with a pencil would. It is done after the entire cross stitch design is completely finished. Usually the back stitch is done with fewer strands than the cross stitch, and most of the time in a color that's a shade darker. Depending on what result you want, you can follow the contours of the crosses, lengthen the stitches, or work diagonally. On the charts, the back stitches are represented by continuous lines.

The French knot is used, for example, for a character's eyes or a flower's stamens, where a cross would be too big. It is indicated on the charts with a small circle [??].

Accessories

Needle

The tapestry needle is used for cross stitching. It has a rounded tip and the eye is larger than a sewing needle's. Its rounded tip helps avoid damage to the canvas mesh, and the larger eye allows for the threading of thicker or multiple strands. The most common sizes are numbered 18 to 28. The higher the size number, the thinner the needle. A number 26 size needle is perfect for working with one strand, but you will need a size 24 needle when working with two or three strands. The mesh size you're working with also helps determine the best needle size.

Embroidery Hoop

When you are working on a canvas that's not very stiff, you will sometimes need an embroidery hoop. This will keep the canvas taut and keep your stitches even.

Fabric

The size of your finished work depends on the fabric you choose. The fewer stitches it has per inch, the larger your cross stitched work of art will measure.

Aida Cloth

Aida cloth is easy to use. The intercrossing of the threads forms even squares, and each square has defined holes in each corner. Aida cloth comes in various sizes, such as 14 count, 16 count, and 18 count. The size indicates the number of holes, or stitches, per inch.

Linen and Other Evenweave Fabrics

Linen is another option. The most common linen fabrics for cross stitch are 28 count or 32 count. Yes, that means linen has about double the number of holes as Aida cloth, but usually when stitching on linen you do not make a cross stitch on every "square" of the fabric. You skip some holes. On 28-count linen, you might skip one hole per stitch. That would equate to working on 14-count Aida cloth.

Evenweave is the term used to describe other fabrics that have an even warp and weft. Typically, evenweave fabrics are smoother than Aida or linen because they contain some man-made fibers.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Retro Cross Stitch"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Schiffer Publishing, Ltd..
Excerpted by permission of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Basic Information, 4,
A Touch of Nostalgia, 6,
Chocolate, Tea, Coffee, 52,
Fabulous Journeys, 98,
Fashion, 144,