the cross stitch
Love the look of cross-stitch but hate that the back doesn’t match the front? Well, as luck would have it, with a little “weaving through the quilt layers” you can have the back match the front (thank goodness for batting!).
To start, mark an X on your fabric with your favorite fabric pen/pencil (the size is up to you, I’ve been gravitating towards ⅓” these days). Grab your needle and thread; I like to use a Sashiko needle and a heavier floss or double threaded cotton 12wt (just knot the strands individually and bury the threads one at a time). Note: I highly recommend using thread gloss for any hand quilting, it just makes stitching so much smoother.
Bury your knot as you normally would for quilting, bringing your needle up at one of the tips of the X. Make your first stich as you normally would along the line of the X.
To complete the stitch on the back, enter directly below the original hole but don’t go through all the layers! “Travel” through the batting and bring the needle to the front at the tip of the second line of the X.
Make your stitch along the second line of the X. Complete the X on the back and bury your knot in the batting as you normally would.
And that's it: X marks the spot!
