Elizabeth Bradley Tips & Techniques

Fabulous instructions I absolutely adore this brand – currently working through the alphabet rug – thank you for incredible tapestries ❤️

I’ve been stitching EB since around 1997, and I’ve watched over the years as stitching techniques have changed. You are right about not starting the waste knot afresh every time one starts a new row. I had never before seen the technique for avoiding the problem of the visible line on the front of the needlework. Excellent tip!  Also, I had never quite understood how to do the reverse cross stitch properly. I had tried doing it with the canvas in its upright position—indeed, that is the original way it was taught—and could never get it to look right. Turning it counter-clockwise solves the problem. Something else I’ve learned over the years is that when running the needle through the back of the piece in areas that have already been stitched, one should always avoid digging the needle in. Instead, the needle should stay as close to the top as possible, taking in just enough of the already-stitched wool to anchor the pulled-through wool. Finally, if the background color is pale, I’ve learned never to finish off a dark thread through a pale background wool (or any light color come to that).

Excellent. After 40 years of doing Elizabeth Bradley kits the video makes everything clear and I see how I can improve my stitching. Better late than never. Back to my stitching now.