What a beautiful pattern! I usually start at the very top and stitch down marking off the little boxes as I go. It helps me to keep track of what I am doing. As I start a new color, I place it on a cardboard thread bobbin. That way I don't have to spend so much time winding the bobbins all at once. Looks like your pattern starts with the sky colors and progresses to the green colors. Maybe you could gradually put away the blues as you finish with the top part? Hope this helps.

So would you start with one color and do that, then move to another?

In one pic that I am working on, it has like three browns.. it has two stitches of one color.. one stitch of another, then a few more stitches of another, and so on.. in the same row...it gets hard to do..

Hi Lisa001,

This is our Artecy Design.

I have stitched many of these designs myself and have seen many tips and tricks people use to stitch these type of designs so I can help you with any queries you have.

I would suggest to make a photocopy of the pattern for your personal use to use as your working copy.

Your fabric should be measured at the sizes shown on the front page of the pattern and then add at least another 3 inches all around your fabric to assist with framing. Then cut your fabric to size.

Once you have your fabric you fold it horizontally and vertically. Where the two lines meet in the middle that is the centre of your pattern. We recommend to start in the middle to make sure your design is centered.

If you have stitched before or your prefer to start on page 1, from the top left corner of your fabric, once you have your fabric at the right size, including the extra 3 inches all around, then measure across 3 inches and down 3 inches and that will be your starting point.

You will notice alot of colour changes with these style of patterns.

We suggest to make it a little less daunting for you to just concentrate on 1 page at a time and each 10 x 10 square at a time. Stitch all the stitches of the same colour in that 10 x 10 square or nearby before changing to the next colour. As the pattern is totally filled you will not see your cotton travelling behind the fabric a small distance. If you are stitching one stitch at a time of each colour this would be very annoying.

Many customers also stitch these in a cross country style so they stitch as many stitches as they can of the one colour in the same area, before changing colours. Some use highlighters on the pattern to mark stitches done if you have trouble following the stitches you have completed. I heard the other day that a stitcher uses a yellow highlighter on the pattern to mark the stitches of one colour she is going to stitch in a small area and then after she completes those stitches she uses a blue highlighter to go over the yellow ones stitched and then she knows she has completed them.

Hopefully this information will assist you to get started.

If you have any further queries please let me know.

Thanks and Best wishes
Tereena Clarke
Artecy Cross Stitch

Tereena,

You answered my question. Thank you. And I do use a highlighter...it was just something I came up with because I was always losing my place.

Thanks again,

Lisa

Is your pattern in a book or one big sheet?

I have just finished an orchid print that had a pattern that called for a couple stitches of a color, then a few stitches of the same color but different shade, then a few of the next shade, then back to the first shade, and so on. It was hard on the eyes, but turned out beautiful. I copied my pattern in black & white, then used several different colored highlighters. I would color a symbol with yellow, then another symbol with blue, then another with orange etc. It helped to spot where I was quickly and when I would have to go back to find that 1 little stitch of another color that I had passed up to complete when I changed floss, it was easy to find the un-highlighted one!