I never had used a hoop for my cross stitch I only buy the Aida 14 for my cross stitch by the yardage of 10 yards. I like that brand of Aida by Charles craft. by the bolt.

It's stitched over one. I can't believe that they are still out of white Lugana. I needed white six months ago and ordered it from 1-2-3 Stitch.com. What are using now as far as frames go? I'm sure whatever it is will also work for this pattern. I like staying in my comfort zone when at all possible. This is a huge project and will be beautiful. Good luck.

This project would be quite a big deal. You could do it on Lugana. If you did it over one stitch as the pattern is described, it would be 18 inches by 22.4 inches (if my math is right). You gotta love it and you have to have good eyes and/or magnification. Doing 25 stitches per inch would be intense.

I agree, Cory. Especially since the entire fabric is covered.

So my inexperience is showing, what does it mean when you say stitch over 1? and what does it mean when the "entire fabric is covered"?

I have only used a hoop to hold my work but it leaves a big line in the fabric. What would be better?

thx for clarifying the 25 stitch per inch. I haven't thought to figure that out. What other fabric would give the same texture to the finished piece but maybe easier to work with? aida seems pretty stiff

Stitching over one means that each cross stitch is over one square. This pattern is stitched completely that includes background and all. There are no unstitched areas. Like Texas and Cory said this is a very intense pattern. Though it is pretty you will need lots of time and patience to do it, and very good eyesight or a magnifying glass.

I have always used a hoop to hold my work. When I am finished I wash on gentle in my washer and hang to air dry and then press lightly with a steam iron. That has always taken out any folds or marks from the hoop or pins I uses to hold the excess fabric.

If you go to a smaller count Aida fabric the finished size will be very large.

Hope this helps a little.

Jamie, it means that every square inch of fabric is covered with cross stitch. Stitching over one thread on 25 Lugana makes for pretty small stitches, When you stitch over 2 you are skipping one thread so to speak. Of course it makes the entire thing twice as big. It all depends on how good your eyesight is, how much time you can devote to stitching, etc. This is a pretty ambitious project.
Hopefully, some of the more articulate stitchers will help me out here in explaining things better. Yes, Aida is stiff but one of our expert stitchers, syagel, washes her fabric before stitching. Please be sure that you secure the edges with overcast stitching, zigzag or serging. You can choose pretty much any fabric because none will be showing when this pattern is completed. You could also choose 28 ct Jobelin stitched over two threads, that would be comparable to 14 ct Aida in size. Jobelin is soft. I cannot give any advice about frames. Q-snaps seem to be very popular. I do not use frames, etc. I stitch free hand. It's a bad habit but I have been doing this for so many years that I just cannot get used to using a frame or hoop. You can Google frames or go on YouTube to get more info on frames. You can also type frames, Q-snaps, or similar words into the search here on ECS and various chats should pop up. ScarletQuince website also offers excellent tutorials. I rarely have time to read any of it in its entirety but will look up something that applies to whatever I'm working on. Everybody here is very helpful and will offer their solutions to the problem so feel free to ask.
I would like to add that I am not trying to discourage anyone from purchasing a particular pattern but sometimes we lose interest in a hobby if we start out with something that is totally overwhelming. My daughter has different opinions but I feel it's good to crawl before trying to walk. :)

Oops, I was typing my reply at the same time as syagel and her's posted before mine. Sorry, a lot of repetition here from me.

Like Texas mentioned I use Aida most of the time. I prewash it before I use it. I wash it in my washing machine with liquid soap and fabric softener then hang to air dry on a plastic pants hanger. Helps a lot with making it softer to work with.

I just want to say one more thing and then that's it. Stitching over one does look beautiful. The question is can your eyes and nerves take it? :) I experimented a bit yesterday and have to say that I like the look of going over one.