(upbeat guitar music) - Hey guys, I'm Kimberly from the Fat Quarter Shop FlossTube, and I'm here today with Cheryl Cohorn who knows all about evenweave and linen, and she's gonna tell us the
difference between the two, and at the end, we're
gonna do some stitching. So, how do you want to start? - Okay, well first of all, we'll just go over the basic difference in evenweave fabric and linen. You can really divide
your cross stitch fabrics into two categories, evenweave, the threads
are all the same size, so when you look at it each little square looks perfectly even. The linen fabric, the
threads are different sizes, some are thicker than others. So for example, we have some
packages of evenweave here that we do sell at Fat Quarter Shop. And these are all different
colors and examples of evenweave, so all the
threads in these fabrics are the same size. As opposed to some linens, which are packaged over here, and we can show those later. When you look at linen fabric, it's very obvious that some of the threads are very fine, very thin, some of the threads are much thicker. So, there's a definite difference in the look of the fabric, and there's also a little difference in the feel of the fabric. Some of the evenweaves are very soft, the linens usually are
a little bit stiffer. And linen, the Belfast linen, like we have some packages
here of Belfast linen, and this particular one, I have a piece out of the package, is one of my very favorites,
it is country vintage mocha. And this happens to be 32 count, which is my very favorite
count to stitch on. - And when you're stitching
with linen and evenweave you stich over two squares, right? - Yes. - As opposed to aida is one square. - Correct, aida is typically
100 percent cotton. I made some notes just
so wouldn't misquote. Belfast linen is 100 percent linen, the evenweaves are a little bit different. Lugana is 52 percent cotton and we have lugana in
several different colors. 52 percent cotton and 48 percent viscose. Jobelan is another kind
of evenweave fabric that I did not bring a
piece of that with me, but the feel and look is
very much like the Jobelan. And that is the difference,
very, very simple, but they do have a different feel. - So when you're shopping
for your projects to make stuff, how do you pick between it, is it more the color or the look or do you try to match it to your pattern, or how do you pick what
you're gonna stich with? Cause you stitch with so many things. - Okay, I start basically with the color, and then depending on what the project is, if it's a vintage looking project, sometimes I tend to go more with linen because it looks like a vintage
fabric, generally speaking. And then others, if I have the
right color in an evenweave and I don't have the
right color in a linen, I'll use evenweave, I love them both. - And how do you store all of your, cause she has lots of different fabric, so tell me a little bit about
how you store those at home so you keep them all separate, how do you do that? - I do have a lot of fabric, so I have them in bins, plastic bins and I have one bin for just plain solid color evenweave if they come in different
counts, 25, 28, 32, basically so I have a bin with
all evenweave 28 count. I have a bin with all evenweave 32 count. Then I have a bin of the counts
that maybe are specialty, like for instance our white wash board, I would call that a specialty, it's not just a solid,
it's a specialty fabric so I have one bin that is all my specialty
fabric in 28 count. Then I have a bin of specialty Belfast and a bin of solid Belfast so, lots of fabric. - Let's do some stitching. - [Cheryl] So Kimberly wanted
me to make a few stitches on the fabrics just as an
example of stitching over two typically on linens, the
smaller count's the 28, well some people own 25, 28, 32 count, you will stitch over two. So for instance we have 14 count aida, and I thought it would be a good idea, I'm one of those who uses a hook, yes I do nearly always use a hook, I like these spring hooks, you just squeeze 'em and
they fit into the frame, so that you can see on larger fabric what it looks like when
you're stitching over two. You very rarely would use
14 count to stitch over two, but this will show you a little more easily with the big squares. So typically, you're going of course, in the corner of the very next square but when you're stitching over two, you will skip a square you will go over two and up two so you're squares, you're stitches, will actually be twice as large. So if you're using 28 count
fabric stitching over two, your stitch will be the same size as if you were stitching on 14 count. If you're stitching on 32 count over two, would be the same size stitch, or same size x as 16 count, so that's what your stitch would look like over two always, up two and over two. So there's an x made over two on the 14 count fabric, I just thought it would
be easier to see it, skip that square, come over. So if you were to stitch
over two on this 14 count, your x would be that size as opposed to stitching over one, this size. So this one of my very
favorite fabrics to stitch on, it's lugana and this piece
happens to be 28 count. So my x's will be exactly the same size as the 14 count over one. And it really, really is not difficult after you get started
your eye begins to see. - [Kimberly] The holes. - [Cheryl] The holes, and
you see two as being one x, and the thing about it,
it's so easy to tell if you do it incorrectly. So we're just gonna come up here, and these little squares,
of course are tiny being 28 count, means
there's 28 squares per inch. So rather than going over one, we will count over one, so we're actually skipping one, skipping up, I won't even worry about
catching that tail because. So there's a stitch. Skip one. So you're always when
you're stitching over two you're always gonna have one square, one hole there that's open, that you did not stitch in. Skip over one of those threads and it is very, very easy once you make a few stitches, if you get one in the wrong place, it's very easy to see, which let me show you on this, so that it's easier for the camera to see. If I'm stitching over two, and I forget, and I just
come over one instead of two, then I come over two like I'm supposed to, your stitch will very obviously tell you that's not right. So once you make two or three stitches, it's very easy, and like I said, your eye begins to see it that way and it's very, very simple to tell when you've made a mistake. If you've gone one square too far, or if you've stitched
over one rather than two, it will be a very odd looking stitch so. - [Kimberly] So on the evenweave, can you show us like a row of stitches next to each other? - [Cheryl] A row of stitches
next to each other, sure. And I'm just using DMC so, we can do a row of stitches. Not one at a time if we were, like if we were using overdyed. So, start you count over two, you're gonna skip one and up, skip one. So you come up just as
if it were 14 count, come up in the hole just
below where you went down, skip that one, come to the next one. Skip that one, come to the next one. I do use a size 28 needle
on 28 and 32 count fabric and you can kind of feel
with the tip of your needle. - [Kimberly] And when you're stitching, do you do one stitch at a time, you just pull each up one? - [Cheryl] I do, I do not, I don't really use the sewing method, I think it's because I've
done this for so long. It's like an old dog and new tricks. It seems that I can't keep
my stitch tension perfect, when I use the sewing method. I do stitch in hand occasionally, but usually only if its a piece of linen that is quite large. So you actually do your
stitches exactly the same way. I use two strands on
28 count and 32 count. - [Kimberly] And if you're a beginner, and you have questions on this, for example, which you're
stitching on 28 count, if you stitch over one box, you would use one strand, and if you were stitching over two you would use two strands and you would use a size 26 needle. And so the stitch gauge really helps if you're a beginner to
know when you're working, this is the different count of material, and the top row tells you how many strands and the bottom shows
you the size of needle which is really helpful
when you're starting out. - [Cheryl] That is helpful. And sometimes, I find in my fabric, if I have a box that has
a few leftover pieces of different sizes, sometimes the 28 and 32 count, it's hard to tell the difference just by looking at a small piece of fabric and if you have a gauge, you can line it up with the little threads with the squares in your fabric and determine what size your fabric is, so yes, that's very helpful. - [Kimberly] Yeah, that's
our number one question on our YouTube channel is, what size needle and how many strands? - [Cheryl] Okay. I typically use a 26 needle on, I would say 99 percent of what I stitch is on 28 and 32 count. If you're doing 25 count lugana over two, that would mean your stitch
size is equivalent to 12.5 so I might use three strands on that and a size 24 needle, but most of my stitching is done with a 26 and with two strands of floss. - [Kimberly] Well thanks for sharing all about linen and evenweave. And subscribe to the Fat
Quarter Shop FlossTube channel. (electric humming) (film reel flapping) (scissors cutting) (electric humming)
