Cross Stitch Question
 

Hello everyone. My mother gave me some old pieces of counted cross stitch linen but the counts are not marked. How does one figure out the counts? I have not done any cross stitch in a long time. Any help would be great. Thanks.

You count the squares in the pattern and then do the stitch in the same amount of squares on the cross stitch linen.

Lay an accurate ruler on the fabric and count the number of vertical threads there are in 1".

Let's say there were 18 vertical threads in that inch, your linen would then be 18 count.

my girlfriend I've known forever does great cross stitch work. I have never gotten into it but love the things she's given me. I know how much work goes into them. Good luck.

Also, you want to start in the center and work your way out. I would usually just fold my piece of cloth in half and take a few strands of embroidery floss and do a large running stitch on the fold line. Fold in half in the other direction and repeat. Most counted cross stitch patterns have the center of the pattern well marked for the center. Start there where the 2 threads intersect and you're off. I also use a light pencil mark to put a line through each stitch on the paper pattern so it was easier to find where I had stopped working at any given point. I would also lace my needle in the same spot (top right/left; bottom left/right) on the fabric as well so I knew which was top/bottom as well as left/right so I didn't have to spend time figuring out which was top/bottom when I went back to the piece. It takes a while for the image to fully emerge on the cloth to really know where you are in the pattern.

Enjoy. It can be quite relaxing.

you need the pattern she was working from in order to finish

Thanks everyone. It's so nice to have access to fellow crafters.

If you're like me and your eyes aren't as good as they used to be, copy a ruler and the cloth enlarged on your copier and count that. Necessity is the mother of invention.