Cross Stitch Clothing

Making cross stitch clothing is a fun way to show the world that you love to cross stitch. No, you can't make a whole shirt out of cross stitch, but you can embellish clothing with cross stitch motifs rather easily. Cross stitch clothing can be adapted from any cross stitch pattern you like, so you can make gifts for all occasions or just something great for you to wear.

While you can choose just about anything to make your cross stitch clothing out of, some designs will work better than others. Before you pick a motif, pick the item of clothing that you would like to work on. You can make clothing to cross stitch or choose a store-bought piece of clothing to stitch on.

Denim and cotton shirts and pants are some of the best choices for cross stitching because the are inexpensive and easy to work with. Linen would also be a good choice since linen is used to make cross stitch fabric.

Once you have picked your canvas, decide where you would like your cross stitching to appear. If you're decorating a shirt, you can place embellishments on the collar, down the center front where the button holes are, the pocket or pocket area, or even the back. On pants you can embellish the pockets, around the leg openings or all the way up and down the front and back. It's really up to you and your individual style.

Once you've determined how much cross stitching you want to do, it's time to seek out the perfect pattern. If you can't find the perfect element get creative and only use a portion of a larger design if you like.

Or make your own design by measuring the amount of space you have for a design, drawing it out on graph paper, and filling the space as you wish.

Simple designs are best for beginners, but as you practice you will find you can cross stitch whatever you want to make perfectly personalized clothing.

Some people are intimidated by making cross stitch clothing because there are no squares on clothing to guide your way. But there is a product that makes this very easy for you called waste canvas. It's also sometimes sold as waste fabric.

This almost plastic cross stitch fabric comes in several count sizes. All you have to do is baste the fabric where you want to stitch, stitch like normal, then moisten the fabric and pull out the waste canvas threads.

When you are done, all that will be left is the cross stitched pattern on top of the shirt or other article of clothing you were stitching on. This gives your cross stitch clothing a wonderfully professional look.

To get started using the waste canvas, cut a piece to around the size you will need for your design, with a little extra space for your basting stitches. Take time to make sure you align the waste canvas exactly where you want to use it. If your design needs to be centered on the back of the shirt, for instance, make sure your canvas is placed accordingly.

Baste with a contrasting color thread so you won't be confused by the basting stitches. Like any other cross stitch project, start in or near the middle and stitch out so that your design will look right. Be careful not to stitch through more than one layer of the garment's fabric. This is especially important when stitching on a pocket, as you don't want to stitch the pocket closed!

It is better to stitch somewhat loosely when using the waste canvas, as tight stitches might make it harder to get the canvas loose from your project. Sometimes part of the canvas will come away easily while a few threads remain stuck even after dampening them. If you are patient you should be able to gently pull them out from underneath the stitching.

If the product you have done your cross stitching on is machine washable, your finished product should be as well. If you're like me, though, you might be a little paranoid about putting something you spent a lot of time on into a huge agitation machine.

If you don't want to machine wash your cross stitch clothing, there are many alternatives. You can use a hand-washing detergent, dish soap or commercially made products designed to wash needlework (these are rather expensive, though).

Try to find a product that does not include colors or bleach. Never wash your cross stitch clothing, by hand or machine, in hot water, as the stitching and the garment may not shrink at the same rate, leaving you with a distorted design. It's also suggested that you not dry clean stitched garments because the harsh chemicals may cause colored thread to run.

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