Monday, May 28, 2012

Help! How to wash my cross stitch...

Hello to all in Blogland and a royal wave to my new followers. Thank you for your "squirrelly " comments. It seems that my blog readers like squirrels! And no, sadly there are no squirrels in Australia; just wallabies and lots of rabbits!

As I near the end of the Marjolein Bastin sampler my mind wanders to how I will handwash it.  It is a large cross stitch (see previous post) and as such it has some light dirty marks from fingers and the hoop.  So to you my trusted cross stitch friends I have some questions:

What is your favourite method of handwashing cross stitch?
Do you leave your cross stitch in to soak and if so for how long?
What water temperature do you use?
What do you wash it with?
Any other tips?


 Photo sourced from Old Picture of the Day

Thank you in advance of your fabulous tips!

So I have left the red squirrel to stitch on  a bowl of scrummy pumpkins and the lower border...



Don't you just love finding new cross stitching blogs? Check out this adorable German blog called Kissy Cross with some freebie cross stitch designs.

Thank you for soaking up the sun in my garden...
                                                                             Jan x

6 comments:

dulcinella said...

I handwash mine in handwarm water with something like Orvus. Stitching the night away has great tips about washing needlework! http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/95/washing-your-finished-cross-stitch-piece/. Hope this helps. And good progress! Can't wait to see it finished.

Daffycat said...

Is this stitched with colorfast thread? I've never had problems with plain DMC threads running. However if it was stitched with "kit" thread or overdyed thread be very careful!

I just use tap-warm water with a bit of plain laundry soap. Let it soak a few minutes and then swish gently to remove dirt and marks. Now, rinse and rinse and rinse again. Roll in a clean towel and squeeze out the excess water. Then I place it face down on another towel and iron it with a warm iron until it's dry.

Anonymous said...

Hello

I wash my stitching if necessary in the same way as Daffycat.

Thank you for the blog link, I'm ofto check it out now!

Chelle said...

I also do it the same way as Daffycat, but I usually iron mine while it is still damp.

Iron stitching side down with a towel underneath to make the stitches pop.

I have heard that Orvus is the best material to wash needlework in, but I have never tried it.

Chelle
www.thenextbeststitch.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Hmmm, ofr some reason I came out as annonymous in that last comment.
I'm Jennidee Mills and I'm an Australian too, from Sydney region.

Caitlin @ Naughts Cross Stitches said...

don't forget the possums :D they are everywhere kinda like the equivalent of the squirrels!

I wash in warm water with dishwashing liquid. If I need to soak I leave it for a while. No clue how long. Usually in napisan if they are bad stains!