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This article will explain the advantages and disadvantages of whether to choosing between small and large cross stitch patterns. Whether you are a beginner or have been cross stitching for many years, you may have already realized that styles of cross stitch vary tremendously. Some patterns may be very small and easy to complete in a matter of hours. Conversly, there are cross stitch patterns out there that are so large they may take several months or even years to finish. Despite the vast differences in sizes, you, the stitcher should be happy stitching whatever you decide.

Difficulty of a pattern is determined by many things, but the first thing to consider is how large or small a pattern is. Stitching small cross stitch patterns has many advantages over large patterns. Some cross stitchers get bored with large patterns and like to keep changing projects. If this is you, you will enjoy the smaller projects because they can be completed quickly. Stitching up something small like a bookmark quickly give some stitchers quite a sense of reward when they finished quickly. Smaller projects are also easier to handle, giving them another advantage. WIth just a small project, there isn't a lot of extra fabric around the hoop, which many cross stitchers find this much easier to handle. The disadvantage of stitching small projects can be continued cost. When a project is finished every day or two, to start another project, you will need to purchase additional fabric, floss and a pattern. This can be lessened by finding free cross stitch patterns on the internet. Here's a great place for finding free cross stitch patterns is www.FreeXstitchPatterns.com. Another great source for free and inexpensive cross stitch patterns online is XstitchPatterns.com, where you can usually find that they have a free cross stitch design available. You can also use the coupon code *promo09* (without the astericks) to get another free one of your choice.


We'll discuss large cross stitch patterns now. With the small project, we talked about the costs associated with having to buy supplies every few days for a new project. With a large design, quite the opposite is true. You may have a larger outlay of costs upfront (because of larger fabric, more flosses), but after that, you won't have any new costs for quite a while, depending on how long it takes to stitch your project. Another thing that some stitchers feel is a great advantage to a large pattern is that there is much less floss color changing. Some stitchers prefer to load up a few needles at a time and not have to change colors for quite a while. One disadvantage to a large cross stitch pattern is that, if really large, can be quite difficult to manage. A multitude of floss colors can be overwhelming for some people, as well as dealing with lots of extra fabric. Since large cross stitch patterns can take a while to finish, stitchers sometimes may get tired of working the same design for an extended period of time. This may result in putting the project down for a while and not coming back to it. But, oh how beautiful large projects can be when completed!

After reading this information, you can see the pluses and minuses of the different cross stitch patterns in addition to things such as types of stitches, specialty stitches, etc. you should have a fairly good idea about what to expect for both large and small cross stitch patterns, . Of course, the main thing to keep in mind, is that it's your hobby and the end goal is to have fun with it, so be sure to pick a pattern you will enjoy.

Some other nice websites to check out about cross stitch:

Free Cross Stitch Patterns

More Great Cross Stitch Patterns - don't forget that you can get a free pattern by using the code - promo09 when you checkoutBeautiful hand dyed cross stitch fabric - Silkweaver

You can find more cross stitch information here - Counted Cross Stitch Blog

Squidoo lens about cross stitch - Cross Stitch Information

More Cross Stitch Info