Beginner's Guide to Gridding Cross Stitch Fabric | Caterpillar Cross Stitch

In this week's video, Ford shares a beginner-friendly method for gridding cross stitch fabric. Prepare your project like a pro, stitch faster, and gain the confidence to try full-coverage patterns. If you're new to flosstube and cross stitch, or more experienced, you'll find plenty of stitching ideas and inspiration here!
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ABOUT ME:
Thanks for visiting my channel, I hope you enjoyed the video! I founded Caterpillar Cross Stitch in 2015 when I tried desperately for months to find a modern baby sampler my mum could stitch for new baby Felicity that would fit in with her simple, contemporary nursery. I love cross stitch, running, baking fruit cakes, drinking gin, eating salted caramel ice cream and most crafts!
See you soon and happy stitching! Sally x

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thanks for being here Caterpillar Crew! Please like and subscribe and don't forget to claim your 10% off discount code for your first order by tapping here: eepurl.com/giThcT Sally and Ford x

[@lisaboban]

Using a monofilament is really your only option for gridding a fabric if you are working with a fabric or threads that are not colorfast. There are also a wide variety of pre-gridded fabrics available if you don't want to DIY. Always a pleasure to see a new Caterpillar Cross Stitch video!

[@SonovaStitch]

I forgot to mention pre-gridded, good point! Thanks for watching!

[@debik3893]

Calipers! Brilliant!!

[@SonovaStitch]

I always love when I can bring a tool from one craft into another. Thanks for watching!

[@Syklst58]

I really enjoy your videos Ford. They are so clear and concise. Thanks for this one. Now I have an excuse to use my husband’s calipers. What a great idea. Thanks again!

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thanks for watching! So pleased you found it helpful!

[@maeolaogden5223]

I started watching this video because men have a different way of seeing things. Love the caliper method. Wondered why people don't use a ruler to measure. I too struggle with astigmatism. Thanks much.

[@olivia6092]

I had no idea about friction pen reappearing on fabric over time or even that they never truly vanish this has saved me from ruining a project i was about to start thank you for sharing 😮❤ 10:08

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

You are so welcome!

[@karintownley8383]

Thank you. Love these videos. But ‘downtown Birmingham’ made me laugh out loud. Bless you!

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@SonovaStitch]

Lol. Listen. I grew up in a town where 'downtown' is a 4-way stop sign. (There was one elevator and it was a grain elevator.) So downtown is a bit of a moving target. Thanks for watching!

[@nanapat1416]

Thank you so much for this informative video. I am fairly new to cross stitch and was a bit confused about gridding the fabric. You explained this beautifully. I recently found your channel and will definitely watch more of your videos.

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thank you for watching! We are glad it was helpful!

[@susantydeman1566]

Fantastic thank you.

[@SonovaStitch]

Thanks for watching!

[@joyceliebe2364]

Very informative! Thank you.

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thank you for watching!

[@sandrashaw8343]

Thank you for the great tips, I am definitely going to get a caliper. X

[@SonovaStitch]

Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful! It's amazing how often you find need of calipers once you have them.

[@merlynnevorkosigan]

Thank you for sharing your tips. I have recently bought some large charts and your tip will be very very useful.

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Great to hear that you have found this helpful! Thank you for watching!

[@janetrothwell4448]

I have only marked my centres but would certainly be more accurate with full gridding. I never thought to use callipers! I'll use them on my next project. Thanks for an informative video.

[@SonovaStitch]

Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful!

[@kaylamenter3260]

Maybe similar to the pencil you were using in the first example, but I've been using the Leonis Water Erasable Fabric Pens from Amazon. I haven't completely finished a project with them yet, but did test them before I marked a bunch of fabric and seemed like they were super easy to get out.

[@SonovaStitch]

Smart to test it first!

[@Skybeat8]

Awesome video as always! I use water soluble mechanical pencils, they're just like the water soluble pencils, just mechanical and easier for me to grip! I also use the water soluble fabric markers by Dritz, they're wonderful to use and wash out! :) I did experiment with crayola washable markers, they work good too! Can't complain about them since they do wash out! 😂

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thanks for sharing your supplies!

[@barbarawest1205]

I've been using Sulky Sliver, which is a monofilament and thinner than the fishing-line filaments I've seen recommended. No problem extracting it from the finished piece - it's kind of cathartic! But it is time-consuming to grid this way. Kaylamenter mentioned the water-soluble pens. I recently unearthed one I bught years ago at a craft exp and never used. I suspect I never will because it says it's water-soluble, but also says "Can be removed easily with Blue Line Eraser." a different product! It also says I should have been storing it in the freezer all those years, which f course I didn't. But I have wondered about the water-soluble blue marker pens sold today. It seems they would be more durable, in a good way, than the pencils you have. Do you ever experience the pencil marks rubbing off before you want them gone? Genius use of a caliper. I'm now thinking about using the calipers wiith the fabric-marker pencils (or a new blue fabric pen) before I grid with Sulky. That way it should be faster to stitch a grid and I'd have the benefit of durability + easy removal.

[@SonovaStitch]

Best of both worlds! But yeah, I've gridded with monofilament before and it's the most accurate and durable, but super time consuming. The calipers at least would make the counting a lot faster. Thanks for watching!

[@theNeverangel]

Friction pens aren't good to use BUT if you have and the ink reappeared use heat to get it to go away again! Hairdryer, iron, I've even heard people using a microwave :) So all isn't lost!

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thank you for sharing that tip!

[@sarah140386]

I use heat erasable pen

[@SonovaStitch]

Make sure you watch to the end because I do talk about those! Thanks for watching!

[@SWEETDFAN17]

Another great video! I never have gridded my fabric but I'm currently working on a very large full coverage piece that is 26" x 23". It's my first large piece and first time working on 18 count Aida. I did research before I started the project and also read about Fricton pens not being the best choice. I was going to use dress maker chalk but then I saw how small the holes were in the fabric. I returned the fabric to the craft store and ended up buying on line pre gridded fabric for $80. Well worth the month and I used some scraps of it to make sure the lines disappear since the first 8300 were white and you can see the blue grid lines behind the white stitches!

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

We're pleased to hear you are enjoying the video

[@SonovaStitch]

Always smart to test your methodology first! Can't tell you how many posts I've seen from people who were desperate to fix something after way too many hours of work because they didn't test something first. I should have mentioned pre-grid in the video. Thank you for watching!

[@jamesnacy6249]

Such a great demo! You always explain things really well. I almost always stitch on linen, rather than Aida. Anything special to be aware of when gridding linen, other than knowing whether you're stitching over 2 or over 1?

[@SonovaStitch]

I would be very careful if you try to use the caliper hack on linen; the size of the individual strands within the weave can be more variable on linen than on aida or other higher-count cloths (such as lugana or monaco). Also probably a good idea if you use the fabric marking pencils to sharpen them a bit more often, since more precision of the markings is called for!

[@karenodle5604]

If stitching over two on linen or even weave, do I grid in blocks of twenty rather than ten? Sorry, I'm having trouble grasping this...

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Thank you for watching!

[@karenodle5604]

@@CaterpillarCrossStitch I'm sorry, but you didn't answer my question 😔...

[@user-hk9bh9zl9l]

A word of advice! Make sure when griding your fabric, that you are using a water soluble pen/marker. I had bought a fancy pen/marker at Walmart that has a blue end and a purple end. Now since purple is my favorite color, I had used the purple end to grid my fabric without taking care in reading the pen. Imagine my surprise when I got up the next morning to find ALL of my neatly made gridlines had disappeared!! The blue end is water Soluble Ink, but the purple end is "Air & Water Soluble Ink!" My hair may be purple now, however I was born BLONDE!! True Story!!

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

Oh no! thank you for sharing your story!

[@SonovaStitch]

Wow, I haven't heard of "air soluble" before! Definitely something to keep an eye out for. That would be tragic! I have the same problem with my hair dye, actually. It just...evaporates sometimes, without even being washed. Especially if I spend time out in the sun. My hair just wants me to be tow-headed again like I was when I was a child!

[@pauldoniavernon6216]

How to grid linen

[@CaterpillarCrossStitch]

We'll add that to our list!

[@andrewilliams1954]

🪡👍🏽

[@SonovaStitch]

Thanks for watching!