Better Cross Stitch Patterns Blog

Fabric Mounts

I want to ditch my old split rail frames and stand. I have read about a new product called, Fabric Mounts. It is supposed to keep material taut and aligned

Continue reading "Fabric Mounts"

Hoops are okay

I've tried them all . I prefer spring hoops but if my hands are weak I have a difficult time squeezing it. The tension is great if you like taut. I NEVER

Continue reading "Hoops are okay"

Why a hoop????

I have never used a hoop and have been cross-stitching for 15 years - only because I didn't think it appropriate. Suddenly I came across this article and

Continue reading "Why a hoop????"

Don't settle for "almost"

What do you do when you can't find the perfect cross stitch chart? It happens more than you'd think.

Even though we're no longer limited to the patterns we can find in magazines or at the local craft store,
Even though we have cross stitch designs to choose, from as far as the internet reaches . . .

Birth records? Yes. Christmas ornaments? You bet. But where is the pattern for when

• one dispairs at the loss of a loved one, or
• the loss of a marriage.

• starting a new journey in life,
• or bravely meeting a difficult challenge.

Often, we find comfort and meaning in a special verse, a poem, the lyrics of a song. And when we do, it's in our nature to want to share it through a craft we love.

I think that's why cross stitch alphabets are some of the most popular and sought-out designs. That's also why I am so excited to begin designing

It's one more design element to help you on your path to creating your own cross stitch patterns. My tutorial, Alphabet 123s , about how to fit text into a design space, is also very popular. So on a similar page, Cross Stitch Borders , I have used this first border pattern to also show you how to

• change the size
• change the colors
• change the design elements

In a website, every page must have a unique file name. I smile when I think about naming my first set of cross stitch letters "Cross Stitch Alphabet." Little did I know then that I would design and publish 34 cross stitch alphabets and counting!

"Even if you stumble, you're still moving forward."

In the next couple of weeks, you'll be seeing two big changes to our website:

Menu Location

Currently our menu runs vertically down our left column. It has served us well.

But more and more people are using devices with smaller screens. It's easier for them to simply scroll up and down, instead of scrolling right and left and up and down and back again. We want to satisfy all of you-- on the devices you use today, and on the ones you might switch to tomorrow.

So, we are changing to drop-down menus that run horizontally, beneath our banner images.

You see, websites serve two masters.

• You are the first and most important--the one we want to reach, to connect with, to share, to educate, and to learn from. When you look for a cross stitch pattern or tutorial, it often begins with a search. And that introduces
• Our second master, the search engines, like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and a host of others.

Did you know that content isn't the only thing that determines where a website ranks in that list of search results? Search engines, too, have specific likes and dislikes, rules and preferences.

Imagine "Gone With the Wind"in the bottom drawer of a desk in the back of a bookstore's warehouse. The best content doesn't matter if nobody can find it.

If I want stitchers everywhere to have access to our patterns and tutorials, I must comply with these, as well. This brings me to the second change:

Menu Content

Not every page will be listed on these horizontal drop down menus. You'll begin to see more pages restructured like our stitch tutorials--you go to page with all the stitches shown, and from there you choose a specific lesson. Or you'll go to an overview of all cross stitch supplies, and from there you select specific supply pages.

The hard part is two-fold:

1. Prolific inventor Charles Kettering said, "People are very open-minded about new things - as long as they're exactly like the old ones." Well, I have to admit that I like the old menu structure, I liked having all those individual pages showing up on the menu. (Thank YOU for the emails thanking me for a website that is easy to navigate.)
2. Now this is where you just might see me stumble--it's not going to be accomplished in one or two days. Realistically it may take a week or two to get all the links updated. You might get lost, you might come across broken links.

I have updated and categorized the Site Map, so you can more easily find the information you need from there. Email if you get stuck.

I want to continue offering information and patterns that are free. If that means I have to jump through a couple of hoops, I guess can use the exercise.

Keep on stitching!

Ask and you shall receive? Well, maybe . . .

Do you know what a WHITELIST is?

Have you ever needed to reset a password? You sit there, on the edge of your chair, anxiously awaiting to receive that all-important email response.

You wait . . . and wait.

Even worse! You're stopped in the middle of a cross stitch project because you've encountered something in the chart that you don't understand. You send a question, using the website's "Contact Us" feature.

You wait . . . and wait . . . and wait.

Well, there's a chance that the answer may be sitting "somewhere" in your email account. I just learned about this, and figured that there might be others, like me, who didn't know.

Here's the scoop. Many email providers presort your mail on it's way to your inbox. They try to identify which incoming mail is spam, scams, pfishing and other types of unwanted communications. They then take those emails and divert them into folders other than your inbox.

Our "Contact Us" page has information on how to make sure your email service isn't stopping the very emails you've requested. Just click here.

And as always, keep on stitching!

You know, sometimes you're sure

that you've done something. Certain you remember doing it. Absolutely positive.

And then you find out you didn't.

Thankfully, someone nicely brings it to your attention. If you're lucky, not too many people notice. So you fix it quickly and quietly. Under the radar. Except when it's on the internet, potentially seen by a few thousand of your closest friends.

So, I've decided I'm going to embrace it. I'm going to shout it over the internet!

The rose color version of this pattern has been posted for quite some time. If you look closely, the teal design has a slightly different border pattern - the crosses and the hearts are arranged a bit differently. In the background are barely-there opalescent crosses stitched with Kreinik Blending Filament.

If you haven't noticed these patterns before, a lacey border surrounds the words "Love Bears, Believes, Hopes, Lasts" based on the much loved Bible verse from I Cor 13:4-8.

Our philosopy, as a website, is to not collect personal information, even in the form of your email address, in order for you to access either the information or the patterns. Because of this, we don't know how many people use specific patterns from our site.

I am surprised at how often I hear from stitchers who are using this chart, not just for couples, but also for cherished friendships and to remember and honor loved ones who've passed on.

Try this: Think of someone other than a spouse or significant other - a sibling, a friend, a parent - and read these words from that perspective:

"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in unrighteousness, it rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." I COR 13: 4-8.

Like I say on my pattern page, "God knew what He was talking about."

So now you can click here for a printable PDF pattern of "Love Lasts." The pattern now includes both the teal and the rose charts.

Just in case you didn't notice.

Yes! We really do have a Pin Stitch Tutorial

And it might just be the answer to those frustrating confetti stitches!

CLICK HERE for our Straight & Angled Pin Stitch Tutorials.

DO NOT CLICK on the link in my previous post. It says the page doesn't exist. But it does exist. I promise!

In my journey to take over the technical aspects of building and maintaining my website, I've learned four things:

1. Try to get it right the first time. The technical reason that the prior link no longer works is that I changed the underlying page name of an existing page, without realizing that it would negate the original link.
2. Be careful when software offers to save you time. When I build a new page, it can automatically generate a blog entry. While that can save time, I unfortunately cannot edit it (er, correct it) after the post.
3. Practice being humble, because mistakes online might be there FOREVER! (Don't you wish our teenagers understood this?)
4. I can never thank my husband enough for all of his hard work in handling the technical aspects of building this website for me.

So, if you haven't done it before, check out our tutorial. A Pin Stitch uses very small stitches to begin and end cross stitching, and can be worked from the front of the fabric. They are often hard to see in a video, so we've created a lesson with very detailed diagrams and instructions.

Check it out and Keep on Stitching!

P.S. Thanks again, sweetheart!

pin stitch tutorial for cross stitch

Take the frustration out of frequent floss changes and confetti stitches. Our Pin Stitch Tutorial has detailed diagrams and instructions to make learning quick and easy.

Continue reading "pin stitch tutorial for cross stitch"

Bones Cross Stitch Alphabet Pattern

"Bones" is the perfect Halloween cross stitch alphabet pattern and a bold choice for Pirates, Over-40, Dinosaur, Doctors, Nurses, Archeologists, Physical Therapists.

Continue reading "Bones Cross Stitch Alphabet Pattern"

Needle Threaders

Needle threaders are a must for your cross stitch sanity. Don't buy a threader without seeing the best choices for the tapestry needles you use most.

Continue reading "Needle Threaders"

The times, they are a changin' . . . and so is BCSP.com!

Watch for changes in our website's navigation, or menu structure.

For example, we used to have every stitch listed on the left menu. Clicking on one took you to the page with step-by-step instructions on how to make that particular stitch.

Now, however, you will click on "Learning the Stitches." That will take you to a "Learn How to Cross Stitch" overview page with a graphic image, like these, of every stitch.

Over the next few weeks, we will be consolidating all of our menus in a similar fashion.

"Why in the world would you do that?" you may ask. Especially when one of our most frequent compliments is that our website is so easy to navigate.

Well . . .

People are using mobile devices, like tablets and smart phones, to connect to the websites they used to visit with laptops or desktops.

But, because the screens are smaller and of varying sizes, websites don't look the same. And it's not just appearance.

The information is not as easily accessible.

Because it's not accessible, search engines will not include non-conforming websites in your search results.

That means that stitchers will not have access to all the great information on Better-Cross-Stitch-Patterns.com.

So, as you're looking through the website, and you think you hear a muffled scream in the background, that's just me being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.

Keep on Stitching!

Brand New Cross Stitch Alphabet Pattern "Beloved"

Yikes! That was one long week!

When I started my website redesign a couple of months into the New Year, I added an image to my "Free Alphabets" page using a newly-completed alphabet.

I was thrilled to receive emails asking where to get the " 'May you live . . .' cross stitch lettering shown at the top of that page."

Then, using my particular talent for overestimating how much work I can do and underestimating how much time I actually have, I said that it should be up in about a week.

In the mid-80s there was a movie, named "Money Pit," starring Tom Hanks. It was about a couple who purchased a mansion that turned out to be a monumental fixer upper. Despite uncovering disaster after disaster, every time they asked the contractor how much longer the renovations would take, the answer was always the same . . . "Two weeks!"

That first email was in April.

Well, it's August and, finally, "Beloved" Cross Stitch Alphabet 33 is now available. Really!

"Beloved" features elegant black letters outlined in gold metallic, with a red heart tucked into the curves. The chart includes:

• Upper case letters (some letters have two style options)
• A taller, slimmer set of lower case letters
• A shorter, rounder set of lower case letters
• Two sets of numbers, one with hearts and one without
• Punctuation (some with and some without hearts)

Keep on Stitching!

PS: Thank you for the emails you send in appreciation of this website. Time is precious, and it means the world to me! Often, in the midst of a hectic day, it's just the encouragement I need. So again, thanks!

Continue reading "Brand New Cross Stitch Alphabet Pattern "Beloved""