Yes, Pam, I have done two Smyrna stitches. Not exactly my favorite stitch but quite easy to do.
Dawn is a good product, it's what I use when I'm too lazy to get the lingerie wash from the laundry room. The kitchen is much closer. Very sound reasoning to see if the stain will come out before continuing.
I am not recommending this but it is what I use to remove stubborn stain - Lysol Kitchen Spray. It comes in an orange bottle. I even treat expensive washable clothes with it. I have not used it on dry cleanable items. I cannot eat out without spilling food on my front. :( When I get home, I spray the Lysol on it and take it to the laundry. Perfect. I don't know if it would make floss bleed so if you go that route be careful. Honestly, I have clorox'd my projects and the floss remained the same. Like you, I had a stain and felt that I had nothing to lose. Good luck.

Thanks, Texas Stitcher. You try to stay cool. I don't know if you got any rain but during our "spring" we received less than nothing for rain. Now we will have to wait til October. I am trying to keep some flowers and perennials but my lawn will have to weather it out. Anyhow, thanks for the advice and I will try the Lysol. Pam

Pam,
The Smyrna cross stitch looks intimidating, but it is not at all. Just follow the right sequence of stitches, & you will be fine. It really does add a little of that something special to your piece. Have fun with it.

Nita

I have heard apple cider vinegar is good for grease stains. I have never tried it but my mom swears by it. Good luck.

I make my own laundry soap and use dawn to make it I like the new Zealand. I used to make it with fels-naptha soap that make a good stain remover. its real simple to make. 3 Tborax,3 T washing soda 3 Tdawn 1 gallon hot hot water. add the powders to water and dissolve pour into your container then add liquid soap let set 12 hr. use 1cup per load.

Hi Pam. I had a huge project on linen that was nearly finished when it got coke spilled on it. Unfortunately, I didn't find it until the stain had dried and set. I tried everything to wash it with poor results. I finally tried soaking it in a light concentration of Oxyclean figuring that it was already ruined so there wasn't much more to lose. Within a couple hours the stain was completely gone with no damage to the fabric or my stiching. I rinsed it repeatedly and it came out perfect. I don't recommend this as the first thing to try but as a last resort I would give it a go.

I have a book by Emie Bishop published by Cross 'N Patch titled A Collection of Beautiful Stitches. Most of the stitches are used in Hardanger. There are a few special cross stitch ones. One of them is Smyrna stitch. The directions say "First work a single Cross Stitch, then overlay it with an upright cross stitch. The top stitch should lie in the same direction on the entire piece. Variations can include using two different colors-one for the cross and one for the plus on top of it."
The diagram shows the cross stitch starting in lower left and up to upper right and then to the upper left and down to lower right. The plus is formed by bringing thread to left and horizontaly to the right. Nect take thread to the bottom and up to top.

There seems to be some disagreement whether the 5-step begins at top or bottom and 7 at left or right...I would guess a personal preference would be the way, as usual. However your complete this stitch, the variations for the top stitches would be spectacular in metallic or contrasting colors.....such fun! 😄