Cross stitch guide
What to do with leftover floss
Keep every leftover length with its color number, then spend it on small designs: a motif, a bookmark or a gift tag often needs only a few lengths of each color. The snippets too short to stitch with make good stuffing.
On this page 6 parts
First, keep leftovers usable
A leftover length is only worth keeping if you know what color it is.
- Put it back with its number. Wind the length onto the bobbin it came from, or drop it into the bag with that number on it. Do this as you finish each color, not at the end of the project.
- Thread from a kit often has no maker's number. Many kits key their thread by the kit's own code, or only by a symbol. Keep kit leftovers together in one bag with the name of the kit. If you want to use them elsewhere, match them by eye, in daylight, against threads you can name.
- Do not mix old and new in one patch. A length left from an old project and a new skein of the same number can differ slightly in shade. Use a leftover for a whole small area of its own.
What a leftover length will stitch
It helps to know how far a length goes before you pick a design. These figures are an estimate for full crosses on 14 count Aida with two strands. The method: a cross takes 0.39 inch (1 cm) of the thread in the needle, and 3 inches (7.5 cm) at each end of the length is set aside for the tails. Published allowances run from 3 inches (7.5 cm) for the whole length to 3 inches at each end, and this table takes the larger, so a length may go a few stitches further.
| Length of two strands | Full crosses, an estimate |
|---|---|
| 12 in (30 cm) | 15 |
| 18 in (46 cm) | 30 |
| 24 in (61 cm) | 45 |
| 36 in (91 cm) | 75 |
A leftover length that still has all six strands is three such lengths. How much floss for cross stitch explains where the estimate comes from.
Use them on small designs
Small designs are where leftovers earn their keep. Many colors in them need only a handful of stitches.
- The small patterns on this site are 700 stitches or fewer in all.
- The motifs are smaller still: no more than 32 stitches on their longer side.
- Bookmarks and gift tags are quick to finish and easy to give away.
Every pattern's thread key gives the number of stitches in each color, so you can check a design against the lengths you have before you start.
To see at a glance which whole colors you already own, tick them on the thread checklist.
Scrap projects
When the leftovers have no numbers at all, choose a project that does not need exact colors.
- A scrap sampler. Work bands, blocks or small motifs in whatever you have. Sort the lengths by color family first, so that each band holds together.
- Swap a color. In a small design, replace one color with a leftover of a similar depth. A flower does not have to be the red the key names.
- Mending and small sewing. Longer lengths of cotton floss are useful for mending and for other handwork.
What to do with the snippets
The cut ends too short to stitch with have a name among stitchers: orts. Many people save them in a jar beside their chair, a year's stitching in one glass. They are also good stuffing. A pincushion, a small ornament or a clear bauble can be filled with them.
One thing not to do: do not put thread out for birds to build nests with. Birds get tangled in it, and the chicks in the nest come off worst.
Where to go next
Sort what you have kept with organizing floss and supplies, then choose something from the small patterns or the motifs and stitch the leftovers down.