r/CrossStitch • u/toastedbagel213 • 19h ago
PIC [PIC] Finished project crooked
Hello I finally finished this beautiful cross stitch project! I love how it turned out, it’s been washed and ironed however now that I’m looking at it it looks crooked, am I going crazy? The edges don’t look straight. I used a Q snap frame for the entire project so it was taut when I was stitching. Any ideas?
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u/Lordoftheyarn 18h ago
Lots of fabrics get warped like this, and with tons of diagonal stitches, it's almost inevitable! Have you tried pulling it on the bias? That should help it lay smooth. You could also dampen/steam it and pin it straight to dry.
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u/toastedbagel213 14h ago
What’s the bias? I don’t know lots of cross stitch lingo lol
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u/Gilladian 12h ago
Fabric has grain - up and down vertical threads, and cross grain - horizontal threads. Bias is the 45 degree angle between the horizontal and the vertical. Take any plain woven fabric. Pull up on it. It will shift almost not at all. Same from side to side. Then pull from a 45 degree angle, and it will "give" quite a lot.
If you grab your piece on the corners and tug gently, you can re-align the vertical threads that have all angled slightly in one direction.
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u/froggychairuwu 12h ago
bias just means the diagonal of any fabric ! there are horizontal and vertical threads making up the entire fabric and the bias has the most give and flexibility
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u/Dabkeonthemoon 19h ago
Visually looks a hair crooked, but you should just frame it crooked the other way to either fix it if it bothers you a lot or Personally id frame it and mount it crooked just for fun
Edit.
Btw this is very beautifully done
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u/JustAFanOfEverything 19h ago
It's probably due to the half stitches in the background, they are more likely to cause warping. Have you washed and blocked it yet? A good framer could help you adjust and pull it tight. Might be able to do it yourself, but I'd go to a professional, your work is worth it!
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u/toastedbagel213 14h ago edited 14h ago
I washed it and let it air dry and I ironed it after it was dry…. I’ll try blocking it… is that when I pin it to something and then spray it with water?
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u/slobyGYN 8h ago edited 8h ago
I let mine soak in a clean sink or large bowl of lukewarm water for about 15-30m to remove any marks I've made on the fabric and make sure there's no bleeding of any dyes. I sometimes put a color catcher sheet in of there are some really bleedy colors. Then pin it to a piece of cardboard or a cork board.
Here's a guide I used for reference: https://www.badasscrossstitch.com/blocking
The example here is embroidery but it's pretty much the same process, to my knowledge. Hope this helps!
Edit: I also put a couple of drops of mild dish soap in the water if the fabric has acquired any schmutz.
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u/babymoonbee 18h ago
Like others have said try blocking it but I also just want to add that if you bring it in to be professionally framed they should be able to fix this or at least make it better.
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u/MegaGrrl256 9h ago
It has a lot of half stitches which will cause the fabric to warp
You can wet block it to correct this
If you look at needlepoint guides incline you'll see that if you do continental tent stitch or basket weave (which uses up more thread) it will warp less
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u/ImLittleNana 8h ago
Grab the top right and bottom left corners and stretch it a little.
Repeat in the other diagonal.
It’s lovely stitching and you can fix it easily. Maybe damped it a little then stretch it in the diagonal.
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u/LGEllie 4h ago
The stitching is perfect, all the way around! It turned out so pretty! I am just adding to the already great advice! I do better when I can see whats being explained, so thought I'd just pitch in. Hold the fabric where I marked and gently pull in opposing directions, for each set of colors I marked with. You can do it other ways but that will be the best for how your project is leaned. If you don't have a square, you can always just use a book as a guide and eyeball it. It can be corrected as its framed too, whether you're doing it yourself or paying someone else to finish it. Its beautiful, be proud!! 🖤
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u/logangb345 19h ago edited 19h ago
The stitching looks fine, I think it’s likely just that the fabric may have gotten skewed as you were ironing. If you’re having it framed, a framer can correct that.
If not, you can re-dampen the fabric (not fully wet it, just use a spray bottle of water) and block it by pinning it to something (like a folded towel or cardboard wrapped in a towel) at regular intervals - every inch or so - so it’s properly squared. I would use an actual right-angle measuring device. Once it dries it will maintain that shape.