Branching out and trying new things: fabric question

I have been lurking for a while (posted a couple of times), and needed
to de-lurk to ask this question...I have been doing my cross stitch
projects on Aida, usually 14 count, ever since I seriously started with
stitching about a year or so ago. I want to try to make the leap into 28
over 2 with other fabrics. I think it will look nicer for a lot of
things, although I think it will take some getting used to. So I got out
my trusty Nordic Needle catalog, and started looking. For crying out
loud, how am I supposed to make sense of this?! There must be 15
different kinds of linen in there, and tons of other names I see bandied
about here regularly. I have no LNS, really, so how can I tell what all
these different fabrics are like, and what they are used for? A google
search isn't really turning up what I was hoping for: something to help
me figure out which is for what and what the advantages and
disadvantages are of the various types. Anyone know of such a site? Or a
book? Anything short of ordering hordes of fabric samples?

BTW, I ended up ordering a chart from NN called "Birds of a Feather"
that recommended 28 count Cashel linen in platinum, so that's just what
I ordered! But I still would like to learn more about fabrics.
--
Chrysta Wilson

Chrysta,
Truswell Needlework Designs has a very good article on explaining the
different fabrics. It was extremely helpful to me when I started.
http://www.needleworkdesign.com/arti...01/051701.html

Also, Silkweavers (http://www.silkweaver.com) has what they call Stash
Paks which you can order for very reasonable amoun. A stash pak has 5
pieces of fabric (9" x 12") in the various colors of each particular
fabric. I've ordered some of these to find out whether I liked a
certain fabric or not. They have it for Cashel Linen, Belfast Linen,
Jobelan and Lugana. You might also check out their Fabric of the
Month clubs which is another great way of learning whether you like a
particular fabric.

I hope this will help.

Susie (TX)

Chrysta Wilson wrote in message .. .
I have been lurking for a while (posted a couple of times), and needed
to de-lurk to ask this question...I have been doing my cross stitch
projects on Aida, usually 14 count, ever since I seriously started with
stitching about a year or so ago. I want to try to make the leap into 28
over 2 with other fabrics. I think it will look nicer for a lot of
things, although I think it will take some getting used to. So I got out
my trusty Nordic Needle catalog, and started looking. For crying out
loud, how am I supposed to make sense of this?! There must be 15
different kinds of linen in there, and tons of other names I see bandied
about here regularly. I have no LNS, really, so how can I tell what all
these different fabrics are like, and what they are used for? A google
search isn't really turning up what I was hoping for: something to help
me figure out which is for what and what the advantages and
disadvantages are of the various types. Anyone know of such a site? Or a
book? Anything short of ordering hordes of fabric samples?

BTW, I ended up ordering a chart from NN called "Birds of a Feather"
that recommended 28 count Cashel linen in platinum, so that's just what
I ordered! But I still would like to learn more about fabrics.

The Needlework Design site was great. I caution newbies: This is how
this stuff gets started, so just "understand" and ignore the "fad":
Even weave is TWO words, not one. I know I'll get in trouble, but the
sooner we all get this straight, the more educated we all become. It
was "fad" at the turn of the century to call stem stitch "Kensington
stitch" because of the influence of the Royal School of Needlework at
the time. We no longer use that reference, but it sure sucked me down a
bad path for several years.

Dianne

Susie Jordan wrote:

Chrysta,
Truswell Needlework Designs has a very good article on explaining the
different fabrics. It was extremely helpful to me when I started.
http://www.needleworkdesign.com/arti...01/051701.html

Also, Silkweavers (http://www.silkweaver.com) has what they call Stash
Paks which you can order for very reasonable amoun. A stash pak has 5
pieces of fabric (9" x 12") in the various colors of each particular
fabric. I've ordered some of these to find out whether I liked a
certain fabric or not. They have it for Cashel Linen, Belfast Linen,
Jobelan and Lugana. You might also check out their Fabric of the
Month clubs which is another great way of learning whether you like a
particular fabric.

I hope this will help.

Susie (TX)

Chrysta Wilson wrote in message .. .

I have been lurking for a while (posted a couple of times), and needed
to de-lurk to ask this question...I have been doing my cross stitch
projects on Aida, usually 14 count, ever since I seriously started with
stitching about a year or so ago. I want to try to make the leap into 28
over 2 with other fabrics. I think it will look nicer for a lot of
things, although I think it will take some getting used to. So I got out
my trusty Nordic Needle catalog, and started looking. For crying out
loud, how am I supposed to make sense of this?! There must be 15
different kinds of linen in there, and tons of other names I see bandied
about here regularly. I have no LNS, really, so how can I tell what all
these different fabrics are like, and what they are used for? A google
search isn't really turning up what I was hoping for: something to help
me figure out which is for what and what the advantages and
disadvantages are of the various types. Anyone know of such a site? Or a
book? Anything short of ordering hordes of fabric samples?

BTW, I ended up ordering a chart from NN called "Birds of a Feather"
that recommended 28 count Cashel linen in platinum, so that's just what
I ordered! But I still would like to learn more about fabrics.

But I still would like to learn more about fabrics.

I don' think there is an easy way to learn about fabrics. If you could find
some stitching buddies, each of you could order a small amount of different
fabrics and exchange pieces. I understand that several stitching groups have
done that. Perhaps you could get a bunch of stitchers on RCTN that might be
interested in doing that.

I use both linen and evenweave. For linen, I use the ones from Zweigart, 28
count is Cashel, 32 count is Belfast, 36 ct. is Edinburgh and 40 is Newcastle.
After trying other linens, I found there are less very thick and very thin
threads in Zweigart. If you are concerned about colors, Nordic Needle has
samples, tiny ones, of the colors in Cashel and Belfast. For the evenweave I
use Lugana 28 or 32 count. I stitch mainly reproduction samplers and I use
linen, 36 or 40 count for those. I also like to do stitch Christmas ornaments
and use evenweave for them.

One suggestion...when you have some left over linen, even a small amount,
stitch (pins rust) a note to it telling the count and name. Small bits are
worth saving, because someday you might want to know how a speciality thread
will look on a specific fabric and count.

I have some scraps of the Zweigart linens and evenweaves, so if you will like
them to try and feel, e-mail me with you address and I will pop them into the
mail for you. Boo

Hi Chrysta,

The manufacturer of some is Zweigart and you can look at
www.zweigart.com and drool over their pics. They also print a
catalog with very good photos of the different weaves. You should be
able to get it from Nordic Needle--great choice for a mail-order
source!

Nordic Needle sells fabric by the inch--you can order a four-inch
slice of possible colours and do some test stitching before you order
a hunk. The slices make perfect bookmarks and band trims so you won't
waste them.

The other good mail-order source is Willow Fabrics
www.willowfabrics.com in the UK--they sell metric fat quarters and
they have colours that are not always available in North America. The
orders come to the US in about a week with no fuss and I have never
had a problem with their service.

The difference between all those brand names is the count, the weave
and the fiber content. The catalogs have more info than the websites
above. Good Luck--Irene

Chrysta Wilson wrote in message .. .
I have been lurking for a while (posted a couple of times), and needed
to de-lurk to ask this question...I have been doing my cross stitch
projects on Aida, usually 14 count, ever since I seriously started with
stitching about a year or so ago. I want to try to make the leap into 28
over 2 with other fabrics. I think it will look nicer for a lot of
things, although I think it will take some getting used to. So I got out
my trusty Nordic Needle catalog, and started looking. For crying out
loud, how am I supposed to make sense of this?! There must be 15
different kinds of linen in there, and tons of other names I see bandied
about here regularly. I have no LNS, really, so how can I tell what all
these different fabrics are like, and what they are used for? A google
search isn't really turning up what I was hoping for: something to help
me figure out which is for what and what the advantages and
disadvantages are of the various types. Anyone know of such a site? Or a
book? Anything short of ordering hordes of fabric samples?

BTW, I ended up ordering a chart from NN called "Birds of a Feather"
that recommended 28 count Cashel linen in platinum, so that's just what
I ordered! But I still would like to learn more about fabrics.

Stitchfan30 wrote:
One suggestion...when you have some left over linen, even a small
amount,
stitch (pins rust) a note to it telling the count and name. Small bits are
worth saving, because someday you might want to know how a speciality thread
will look on a specific fabric and count.

I also keep samples in plastic sheets made for 3x5 cards and stick in a
piece of paper with the name. This way, I have a binder just for
fabrics. I also have one with "samples" of stitches - my trials and
errors, and when I get it right, in goes the little practise piece for
future reference. Of course, I also have a drawer full that I've never
done anything with. Just the other day, I opened a paper bag and out
popped a piece of fine whitework that was probably 6 years old. How I
well remember figuring that one out. :-) It's not finished, but the
"important" parts are.

Dianne

In article , jjordan2
@ix.netcom.com says...
Chrysta,
Truswell Needlework Designs has a very good article on explaining the
different fabrics. It was extremely helpful to me when I started.
http://www.needleworkdesign.com/arti...01/051701.html

Also, Silkweavers (http://www.silkweaver.com) has what they call Stash
Paks which you can order for very reasonable amoun. A stash pak has 5
pieces of fabric (9" x 12") in the various colors of each particular
fabric. I've ordered some of these to find out whether I liked a
certain fabric or not. They have it for Cashel Linen, Belfast Linen,
Jobelan and Lugana. You might also check out their Fabric of the
Month clubs which is another great way of learning whether you like a
particular fabric.

I hope this will help.

It sure did! I haven't read the first site yet, but bookmarked it for
when I am done catching up here...but I went to the silkweavers site and
had a ball! I was able to order several really inexpensive cuts in the
"odds and ends" department, and the shipping was very reasonable! I
never really looked into hand-dyed fabrics, and expected them to be much
more expensive than this. Maybe really pretty fabric will give me the
needed incentive to stick to it trying to learn to stitch over two.
Thanks for the help!



--
Chrysta Wilson

In article , stitchfan30
@aol.com says...
But I still would like to learn more about fabrics.

I don' think there is an easy way to learn about fabrics. If you could find
some stitching buddies, each of you could order a small amount of different
fabrics and exchange pieces. I understand that several stitching groups have
done that. Perhaps you could get a bunch of stitchers on RCTN that might be
interested in doing that.

I use both linen and evenweave. For linen, I use the ones from Zweigart, 28
count is Cashel, 32 count is Belfast, 36 ct. is Edinburgh and 40 is Newcastle.
After trying other linens, I found there are less very thick and very thin
threads in Zweigart. If you are concerned about colors, Nordic Needle has
samples, tiny ones, of the colors in Cashel and Belfast. For the evenweave I
use Lugana 28 or 32 count. I stitch mainly reproduction samplers and I use
linen, 36 or 40 count for those. I also like to do stitch Christmas ornaments
and use evenweave for them.

One suggestion...when you have some left over linen, even a small amount,
stitch (pins rust) a note to it telling the count and name. Small bits are
worth saving, because someday you might want to know how a speciality thread
will look on a specific fabric and count.

I have some scraps of the Zweigart linens and evenweaves, so if you will like
them to try and feel, e-mail me with you address and I will pop them into the
mail for you. Boo

That's really nice of you to offer! As you probably read in another of
my responses, I have already started building stash, and will definitely
take your suggestion about labeling the fabrics I buy. I think I will
have enough fabric samples to keep me busy for a while. ;o) Thanks for
your help!


--
Chrysta Wilson

In article ,
says...
Hi Chrysta,

The manufacturer of some is Zweigart and you can look at
www.zweigart.com and drool over their pics. They also print a
catalog with very good photos of the different weaves. You should be
able to get it from Nordic Needle--great choice for a mail-order
source!

Nordic Needle sells fabric by the inch--you can order a four-inch
slice of possible colours and do some test stitching before you order
a hunk. The slices make perfect bookmarks and band trims so you won't
waste them.

The other good mail-order source is Willow Fabrics
www.willowfabrics.com in the UK--they sell metric fat quarters and
they have colours that are not always available in North America. The
orders come to the US in about a week with no fuss and I have never
had a problem with their service.

The difference between all those brand names is the count, the weave
and the fiber content. The catalogs have more info than the websites
above. Good Luck--Irene

Thanks, Irene! I bookmarked both sites, and now I have a lot of reading
to do. Thanks to all for your very helpful suggestions! )
--
Chrysta Wilson

"Dianne Lewandowski" wrote in message
...
The Needlework Design site was great. I caution newbies: This is how
this stuff gets started, so just "understand" and ignore the "fad":
Even weave is TWO words, not one

Jesus. Get over yourself.