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Nautical Bookmark Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

..."When a ship is becalmed - the wind died down - she can't move - sometimes the sailors break out their oars. They'll row a boat ahead of the ship and tow her....Oars are made of ash - white ash. So - when you get ahead by your own get-up-and-get - that's when you 'sail by ash breeze'."

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Reprint bookmark patterns HERE

All DMC thread is 6 ply. That means there are 6 strings making up the whole thread. To cross stitch, you usually only use 3 at a time. When getting a new thread for your needle, first separate in half. I like to hold one end of the thread in my mouth while doing this so that it doesn't knot up.

Reading a Pattern

Cross stitch patterns are made on grids. Each square on the grid represents a tiny square on the Aida fabric. Grid lines are darker in 10x10 sections to help make counting stitches easier.

All cross stitches are formed by making an X pattern. You work in rows, first forming one side of the X and then coming back to form the other.

In general you work in rows, but there are times when it makes more sense to work down a column and then back up. An example of this are the letters and the vertical stripes.

When starting your pattern, find an edge that you can count to for your first stitch. I like to start at the top left of a pattern. Other’s work from the center out. Take some time to make sure that your pattern will be centered on the fabric when done.

  1. The back of your bookmark will be exposed so try to keep your stitches tidy. Always start a new thread by sewing it under a row of stitches. Look at the blue thread being sewn under the white stitches above. For the first thread used you will just leave a tail hanging and sew it in later.
  2. When ending, sew under a row of stitches to secure and clip flush with the fabric.
  3. There is no need to ever tie knots.

YOU DID IT!!!

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