Keeping back neat

waterlillie

I'm new and have been reading lots of back posts, and have some questions. I've read all the stitches on the back should be vertical with no diagnal stitches. It seems like the back would get pretty messy if you had to tie off & re-start to avoid them. For instance, what if you had to stitch a horizontal line of every other stitch:

X X X X  

How do you avoid horizontal stitches on the back?

I've read a lot of times about doing one stitch at a time, I do this sometimes but it seems to require a diagonal stitch on the back, for instance if the stitches went:

XX
    XX
        XX

you could do one stitch at a time (a diagonal on every stitch), or all the /// then the \\\ with a diagonal between rows.

Since I've foune this site I've done almost no stitching, every time I sit down to start I wonder "now how do I do that?"  :)

Thanks, I hope you can understand what I'm talking about.

xxstitcher

Honestly, if your framing the work, no one will ever see the back so dont fret too much. I try to keep it relatively neat for my own sanity, as it can be hard to thread through the back if it gets too thick. Just make sure you dont have any knots, the loop start is tremendous for this.

d3lta

Waterlillie I have been stitching for years and the best advice I was given is to make sure you always cross your stitches in the same direction and use an even tension.  Don't worry too much about the back of your work as when the project is finished the back will be covered up.  

Flirti

well, if your crosses are everywhere the same directions it is all good! Your back has not to be perfect, keep it as neat as you like - and enjoy!!

mardy

I don't worry about the back, unless the thread is going to cross unstitched areas.

htsear13

Following this thread

Knitpurlsm

Thanks for the info!

cute.panda.sue

Hi, are you trying to avoid a horizontal or a diagonal stitch? You can easily avoid diagonals, but horizontals are impossible to avoid...

cute.panda.sue

Otherwise there is http://www.pindiy.com/forum.php? ... p;extra=#pid3645505 to help

Mary.Jane

Some people (and I am not one of them) concern themselves very much with what the back looks like.  For me, since I am the only one to see the back, except maybe the person framing the work, I don't get too fussed about it.  As long as there are no lumps or knots, and the stitching is not showing through to the front, it's all good.  I guess I'm just not that picky about it, and if that makes me a BAD stitcher, so be it! :P

waterlillie

Yenilaia replied at 2013-7-31 21:28

                               
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Hi, are you trying to avoid a horizontal or a diagonal stitch? You can easily avoid diagonals, but h ...

It's mostly the diagonals like in my first example. I've read that you are supposed to avoid them.

waterlillie

kath1634 replied at 2013-8-1 06:51

                               
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Some people (and I am not one of them) concern themselves very much with what the back looks like.   ...

I guess that's the eay I've always been too.

waterlillie

I've been watching some video on YouTube.  It looks to me like you sacrifice the front to make the back neater. I like crosses all running in the same direction, and the video shows them going in multiple directions.  I also don't like starting and stopping on the front. I guess I'll keep going the way I have.

cute.panda.sue

Candy Jean replied at 2013-8-2 01:34

                               
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I've been watching some video on YouTube.  It looks to me like you sacrifice the front to make the b ...

Yea, I have that issue too where I don't like to end my thread in the front in fear of it being bumpy or the little wispy ends showing. The crosses going the same way could be overcome with a little extra work by slipping the second stitch under the first. However, I didn't want the bumps or frayed ends, so I chose not to do that either. I will sacrifice a little of my back with the neat front. Although my backs I avoid diagonals completely (or carrying thread too far, if possible)

for your example

XX  (start from the right hand side doing / / first then end with \\)
    XX  (now you can go down vertically and do / / and then \ \)
        XX (this one you will have to carry the horizontal thread over two and finish off) so you will only end up with two stitch lengths of horizontal and everything else vertical in the back.

cute.panda.sue

Also, here is an example of the back of my current project... It's not the greatest, but I'm looking to improve.  You can probably do a much better job than I can... I find that I can be much neater but I will absolve my guilt by reminding myself this is a very bitsy project with lots of single stitch colours and that it is only my second cross stitching project.

                               
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Also, I have sacrificed one thing for convenience, (and I feel keeping it even neater in the back) which is the beginning of the thread is always a diagonal. When working with thread amounts of multiples of two, I cut a double length thread and fold it in half. Thread the open end through the needle and on the stitch down with the first stitch I pass the needle through the closed end (the loop) of the thread in the back. It secures it much better (and easier) than having to stitch over the end of  the thread to secure it. It saves some thread as well and time for not having to hold it tight. I also like the fact that I dont have to have more thread running under stitches...

waterlillie

Yenilaia replied at 2013-8-1 16:32

                               
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Also, here is an example of the back of my current project... It's not the greatest, but I'm looking ...

That is the way I have been stitching my example, glad someone else thinks the same. I have been using the loop method to start ever since I discovered it several years ago and love it. I just wish it would work with 3 or 1 strand! If I have to skip more than 1 stitch, I always run it under other stitches, but even this gets messy on a design with lots of color changes.