Cross Stitch: Diagonal Parking Tutorial #5: A Close Up View

[@gemmastitches]

I had a request for a diagonal parking tutorial with a closer look at the stitch detail. Video here on how I begin and end threads from the front of the work (no need to turn to start or finish) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYW3h3ujZdCrgK8 Tutorial on establishing a diagonal kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmLLgoqEod5rjNU Pattern is Soulful Mediterranean Tranquility large version by Artecy www.artecyshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4523 Stitching on 14 count Aida with two threads DMC floss App is Pattern Keeper for Android patternkeeper.app/ Follow me on Instagram for progress pictures instagram.com/gemmastitches/ Thanks for watching!

[@shadowvvolf323]

I think I have figured out the method to your madness now 🤣🤗 I have enjoyed all of your stitch with me videos!

[@wolflady58]

Thank you this has helped me understand parking better. And yes I love PK.

[@gemmastitches]

Glad you found it helpful ☺️

[@5CuteKittens]

Thanks for sharing your diagonal method. I had to watch this one 2 times, because I can never seem to “get it” right away. You solved the most annoying part (for me) of stitching in rows, that’s when the same color runs in a line down both sides of the diagonal. All of that back and forth makes me nuts! Your way is much better, and I was already halfway there, stitching a group of one color in the corner, and going below my current row to do it. Your method is a natural extension of some of the floss and time savers I’ve already been doing. Thanks again, especially for this close up view. 💕

[@gemmastitches]

I’m so glad you found it helpful! Happy stitching! 😊

[@verahunt2993]

As I watch you stitching in this video, I'm trying to figure out if you have a method to determine which stitch to pickup next. I've seen you going down from top right to bottom left along the diagonal, but then I' saw you jump back above the stitches you've just worked. I think it's good that you've demonstrated that you can do both, but I wonder if there is a "rule" for it or just what seems right at the time. I'm really enjoying your videos and I appreciate the closeups so I can tell what you're actually doing which can be hard to see when the piece is so busy.

[@gemmastitches]

I mostly go by instinct, just whatever seems right at the time. My only hard rule is to always park in the same place for a new stitch (for me it’s the upper right) or I will get mixed up. I joke that since I have ADHD, that’s how I stitch, it looks all over the place but makes sense to me 😄

[@rachel5288]

I'm hoping to start my first full coverage piece soon. I definitely want to follow the technique you use as far as not boxing in a stitch. However, I think I would get confused going diagonally. Is there an advantage to working diagonally vs working in rows and columns? Thank you for all your tutorial videos.

[@gemmastitches]

Some people find working diagonally helps prevent lines that might form when working in rows, columns, or squares. However if you haven’t had a problem with lines then it’s really more just a matter of preference.

[@Jimbo-yc7eu]

I am doing a Lavender & Lace Angel of Summer design. What would you suggest for parking multiple colors and not forgetting what the thread color was? I have several similar shaded colors that throw off my game. Lol. Thanks. Tanya

[@gemmastitches]

I mark on my pattern where I have a parked my threads, if using a paper pattern you can use a pencil mark. My one rule is I always park in the same place where that color will be used next. For me it is the upper right of the stitch. It doesn’t matter which corner you pick, as long as you are consistent. When I first started parking I made the mistake of parking some in the lower left and some in the upper right, but then I got confused, especially when this could sometimes result in two different threads in the same place, so now I always use the same spot.

[@ValhallaCalling]

Hi Gemma, I enjoy stitching with you! I believe you said you'll park as much as an inch away. When I've tried parking, I've parked WAY far away and ended up with threads everywhere. I'm going to try to try to limit how far I park/travel. What do you use for thread length to start a new thread?

[@gemmastitches]

Hi Roxie, thanks for joining me! How long of a piece of thread I use when starting a new one depends how many stitches there are of that colour in the area I’m working, as I save smaller leftover pieces for when there’s only a few stitches. With a lot of practice I’ve learned to estimate how many stitches I can get from a length of thread. I use loop starts most of the time. When I prepare a new skein of floss I unwind the whole thing and then fold it in half three times and cut so I end up with eight equal length pieces. Then I will use a piece of that length folded in half to do a loop start when there are a lot of stitches in that area. I have a video here of my floss organization system that should hopefully explain that last part a bit better 😆 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aauXhGuBlJhmgsk

[@kountrystitcher]

I’m very interested in your method because I would like neater stitches on my haed that I’m stitching on 18 ct. I’m just a bit confused with the way you’re stitching (from the top to the bottom hole). A lot of times your coming up in a hole that’s occupied by 3 corners which I thought you were trying to avoid by stitching this method. Because you stitch from top to bottom maybe you should be stitching up instead of down the diagonal?

[@gemmastitches]

Yes, you are correct, I realized that after awhile but I’m so used to doing it from the top to bottom (and always parking in the upper right corner) I think I’d have a hard time changing it now. Good eye in catching that! 😄 so if you try a version of this method you can form a better habit than I did Sometimes if the threads aren’t lying as neatly as I’d like I will instead go the other way and come up in an empty hole in order to go down in the one that has more threads in it

[@5CuteKittens]

@kountrystitcher, you don’t say how you prefer to stitch, but I agree that we face fewer crowded holes if we match the direction we work to the way we make our crosses. But I also get Gemma’s point that it can be hard to change something we’re used to, as I discovered when I tried to begin my crosses in the lower right corner, \. I just couldn’t. So I begin my crosses as I was taught, in the lower left corner, stitching / then \, and starting from the top right corner of my chart, working diagonals down to the lower left corner, parking in the lower left corner of a stitch. I never come up in a crowded hole, and since it’s the exact mirror of Gemma’s direction, it is easy to use her technique.

[@janellemcleod3406]

Hi Gemma what count are you stitching on and do you use the same count all the time

[@gemmastitches]

I am stitching on 14 count Aida, I bought a whole bolt of it so I have a ton 😄 Currently all my projects are on the same count although I have a couple planned in the future for 18 count Aida.

[@UncleverCarapace]

I'm a cross country stitcher, but I also have never done full coverage or confetti. Is there a reason to do it diagonally like this instead of doing, say, full squares in a diagonal pattern? So instead of having this rough diagonal, you have completed 10x10 squares?

[@gemmastitches]

It can be done that way as well, I just found diagonal is what clicked for me. Some people have had problems with lines appearing when stitching in blocks, so I don’t like sticking to strict squares for that reason just in case.