For example, I am neurotic about always starting at the top left hand side of the piece I am working on. I've noticed many stitchers prefer to start at the bottom and work up. I've also noticed there are stitchers who start in the exact middle and then work outwards.
Which are you, and why?
For me, it makes the most practical sense to start at the left and work across and down. This way I can see the pattern take shape, almost as though it were coming off of a printer.
So, talk to me! Where do you usually start in a pattern, and why?
(Oh, and I should have an adorable chipmunk to show off in a day or so)
~Rai Rai
Oh, and since there were no photo's in this post, I thought I'd leave you with this...
I always started in the middle because I had only done kits and I found that to be the easiest way to center the project properly (plus, all the blaa stuff is on the outside edges anyway). But when I started my first HAED, most people recommended you start them in the upper left, so I did. Because I am left-handed, this was a very natural position and now I seem to be doing all my WIP's that way!
ReplyDeleteGood question!
I'm a lefty too, and it never occurred to me that upper left would be a natural position for me. You really made me think on that one.
DeleteI personally like to start with the blah stuff, mostly because it's a new pattern and there is excitement to start it. My the time the shiny has worn off, I'm working on the brightest and best part of the pattern. Then by the time the ending blah stuff is at hand, I'm usually nearly done, and I just hurry up and finish it.
I've started one pattern in the middle and I hated it. I felt stressed and uncertain pretty much throughout the entire pattern.
I always start in the middle too, so I can be sure the design is centered, and I follow the kit directions to the letter! But on my full-coverage designs with lots of pages, I started in the top left on page 1.
ReplyDeleteI find my center point and put a small stitch in it so I know where it is. Then I just count to my starting point. I usually get lots of extra material around the edges, so even if I am a couple of stitches off the true centre, it doesn't really matter much.
DeleteI can't start anywhere other than the top. I've thought of starting at the bottom, but even that seems too foreign.
Never really thought about it much, but I guess I'm a middle starter. It just seemed easier, less counting. Although I will be starting a HAED soon, so I'll start that upper left.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. It just seems more work to me to start in the middle. Of course, practically, it isn't. It's just as much counting as starting at the top. It's funny how perspectives are different.
DeleteWhat HaED are you doing?
I start at the bottom, My mother in-law taught me how to cross stitch so I just follow her lead and stitch from the bottom and work my way up. It's the easiest way and it's become habit for me. I have enjoyed reading your blog and looking at your completed projects.
ReplyDelete