The kit is meant to be full cross stitch but I’ve just discovered tent stitch. As it’s a big project, I think I’m going to do tent stitches instead but confused about the number of threads I should use.

Hello! I'm starting my first big piece (500x281 stitches) on 18 count aida. My friend suggested that I try tent stitch for this. I did the first 10x10 block in tent stitch with 3 strands, and I'd love to get opinions on whether I should continue. I feel like I like it. This pic is from a couple inches away, and you can just barely see the fabric through it. I didn't realize when I bought the fabric that it had a sparkle to it, and I kind of like that you might be able to see a sparkle here and there shining through the pattern. But I would love any opinions. Should I try 4 strands? Stick with 3?

(Please ignore my wonky gridding. I'm still on the fence about gridding though I do have some sulky red stuff coming soon, so I might do that.)

https://preview.redd.it/703qehg9h7h71.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=98eeacdd62124c7e1f1622dea98b82e15eab9b41

Hello! I’m about to embark on my first HAED on 25 count and fancy trying tent stitch. I was wondering which version of the stitch you recommend? Continental, half cross stitch, or basketweave?

I prefer to stitch cross country so half cross stitch appeals to me the most but I’ve heard about tent stitch causing the fabric to distort? Does half cross stitch do this? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

I'm a reasonably new stitcher and until now I have only stitched full crosses on aida fabric. I just started a new full coverage project this week. It's 2 over 1 tent stitch on 28 count evenweave. I read somewhere that you should fix your fabric when you do this, because otherwise the stitches will pull the fabric in a certain direction. I have ben working in a hoop, and pulling the fabric tight as I could, but I'm still noticing that the fabric goes in a warped shape. Does anyone have tips to fix or prevent this?

I purchased as a kit with thread for 2×1 (the kit is also offered as 1×1 for a lower price). It seems like a 2×1 tent stitch would be a lot less stitching, which might be appealing on such a large project.....

I am sewing tarp to a tent. My last panel was done with a whip stitch. It seems to hold okay. But I was wondering if there is a better stitch for this. It will be done along the seams so I have something to anchor the thread to the tent (if that makes sense).

I just finished a quick small needlepoint kit today. I have always used the standard right-to-left horizontal continental stitch. The instructions on this kit said to use a left-to-right horizontal continental stitch.

Now, it might appear not to make a difference, but I was once told the stitches are more uniform because of how the stitches on the back are a diagonal (with right-to-left) and will create a nicer end product. Even on some cheapo kits I got my kids from Hobby Lobby the yarn is way too thin for the canvas and doesn't cover the canvas entirely, so it is necessary to use the tent stitch with the most coverage.

I ran out of three colors of yarn on a kit from the 1980's and am unsure if I can buy yarn in a close shade to finish my kit when the stores open from quarantine. I am not ripping out the entire kit and starting over with the correct stitch. It's my fault I guess for not following the directions, but I've always had so much leftover wools I didn't think it would be a problem. I did find I have another kit by the same manufacturer (Caron) that appears to have similar colors. If the colors match, I can wait until I've finished that one to use the leftover yarn.

Maybe this is an issue with Caron? The kit was sealed yet was missing the needle. Maybe they cut corners on the wools too.

Advice on the variations of the continental stitch?

I've just bought my first Heaven and Earth Design (what have I gotten myself into) and I'm curious if people are stitching a true cross-stitch or doing a half stitch (which I've just found out is called a tent stitch?) on these super large patterns? Or is it mostly a mix? I love the look of full coverage so I'm leaning towards a whole stitch but I also want to finish by the time I'm 80

Hey stitchers!

I'm planning on doing a full coverage project with solely half cross or continental tent stitches, but all of the examples I have seen were on a high count Evenweave or linen, not Aida which I'm really accustomed to and love. Has anyone had experience with stitching tent stitch on 16/18 ct. Aida? The main concern for me is warping, but it looks like it happens to some people but not everyone. Thanks!

Hi, I'm working on a HAED in tent stitch, but i was reading about basket weave stitch and continental stitch and how if you don't use it your piece will be distorted. I've just been like the half legs of my cross stitch, and there's so much confetti that I'm having trouble applying the other techniques. Has anyone done a HAED this way and did you have any trouble with distortion with the finished piece?

I recently found a couple of LDS patterns that I really liked but with the thousand and one projects I already want to do, I'm not sure if I should take it on. The patterns I like would require a pretty long time commitment so I was thinking of doing it it with tent stitches. I know it's normally used in full coverage projects but I'm just wondering if anyone in this sub has ever tried...

Ideally would love both tents but if you have neither you can offer bells that’s fine :)

If you've seen either of my recent posts about testing the water resistance of seams I just wanted to give a little update on some small things I've played with since posting and to maybe get some ideas for where go next with all of this.

The biggest take away from my first two rounds of testing was that the liner fabric on ecopak epx fabric absorbs water to an alarming degree. From some cursory follow up testing though, it seems that this wicking property also means that it absorbs liquid seam sealing products well!

I didn't have any "proper" seam sealer products on hand but stumbled across someone suggesting this Permatex Flowable Silicone Sealant as a good alternative and I picked some up in the autoparts section at Canadian Tire to try out. Applying this stuff to the backside of some of the seams on my test strips and then retesting showed INCREDIBLE improvements. There was basically zero moisture making it into the liner fabric even after "roughing up" the seams - pulling on them and scrunching them up and the like. I tried it as a painted strip that covered both lines of stitching, as a fine line over each stitch line, and even as a fine line only on the line of top stitching. In all three cases there was zero moisture visible in the liner fabric. The "flowable" nature of this sealant seems to pan out in it absorbing into the thread and liner fabric and completely shutting out moisture. Even after pulling these stitches apart to the point where I could see pin prick light through the stitch holes there was basically no leaking.

It would take some long term testing to see how long a treatment like this kind of treatment holds up but I feel like it at least proves my theory that the mechanism of failure on these stitches was water wicking through the thread and the wicking from the thread to the liner fabric.

Two other thing to note, in my last round testing threads I found Mara 50 performed significantly worse than others, acting like a sponge and sucking up moisture. I did find in following up that it also absorbed this sealant equally well and even the thinnest bead of sealant applied over the inside line of stitching created a really good barrier.

The second thing is that for seams without topstitching I have noticed some amount of water penetrating between the fabrics, not through the thread. A second line of stitching just behind the structural s

A/N: Hey, guys! Finally got this episode hammered out! We're into Act IV and back on the offensive!

This episode is a bit short, for what they have been lately, only 8600 words or so, but we're getting back into the action.

I've got a good handle on what happens in Episodes 19 and 20, decent outlines for both, and 17.5 and 18.5 half-episodes, though future updates will continue to be slow. I'm moving at the end of the month, and work will continue to be busy right up until I leave. Hopefully I'll have everything set up and settled into my new place by the end of February, and I'll be able to get into a more regular posting schedule after that. The new job is a much lighter workload, and I should have a lot more free time to do all the things I want to do outside of work.

I've got some maps of Gahla that I've been working on, too, that I'll be sharing here at some point. They still need some work before I'm happy with them, and the map files are also on my desktop which is on its way to a container ship with the rest of my household goods, so it'll be bit before I'm able to share them.

Once I get settled into my new place, I'll also be looking to start commissioning character and story art again, since I'll have more time to reach out to and work with artists.

In the meantime, though, here is the next episode!

Edit: [Patreon link.]

[Discord link.]

Retreat Hell – Episode 18

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“Three fucking weeks.”

“Say again, Sergeant?” Meyer turned to look at Bradford as she stared over the hesco wall.

“It’s been three fucking weeks, sir, since we finished getting this FOB set up, and we’re still sitting here.” She snorted. “It’s bad enough we haven’t seen any fucking Keeblers since the first week of the war. We’ve built eight FOBs chained out over five hundred kilometers without seeing a single elf. Now we’ve been twiddling our thumbs up our asses for so long, the goddamn Army’s caught up.” She waved at the latest in a line of trucks and Humvees rolling up to the gate in the compound’s southern wall.

“Disappointed the elves aren’t giving us any resistance, Sergeant?”

“Sir,” she said, turning away from the wall. “We’re Marines. We exist to fight and kill the enemy, and right now we don

As a man who lives out of a Redwing offshore bag for months at a time for work, I thought OneBag Travel would come easy to me, after all I was a rabidly zealous member of the Evangelical church of /r/Ultralight hiking, and after racking up tens of thousands of Airline miles with united for work, I was all too familiar with the pains of airport travel an luggage carousels.

So, I did my research. Watched YouTube reviews over different packs and backpacks. The Outbreaker 35L seemed like a perfect fit for me. If you're about to quit reading, I'll let you off here with the Verdict: This pack is influencer bait, and I am incredibly unsatisfied.

The first thing you'll notice about the bag, is that it's quite heavy. It clocks in at a smidge over 4 and a half pounds. The larger 45L clocks in at a hair over 5 pounds. That's the equivalent of strapping a starving infant on your back. My tent and sleeping pad for hiking come in much lighter than this combined. That's also potentially a third of the weight limit on certain Asian airlines, so if you intend to pack a laptop or camera with you while running this as your luggage, you're utterly and royally screwing yourself.

Aside from that, the construction seemed solid, right away I recognized the material as a quite stylish black VX21, a pretty common choice for /r/MYOG enthusiasts for fabric on Ultralight packs, specifically roll top packs. There's a reason for this, and I'll delve into it. VX21 is a relatively cheap fabric, carbon neutral, and most importantly is relatively lightweight and waterproof. Unlike other materials that are similarly popular in the community e.g. DCF, VX21 is actually relatively easy to work with and long lasting. Most packs made with this material or related fabrics from XPAC, like my go to recommendation for people who want to dip their toes into the realm of UL Backpacking: the Dan Durston X Drop 40L (VX07), are roll top, due to the limitations on the material, and roll-tops just being the gold standard in ultralight hiking for functionality purposes.

The main limitation on this type of fabric, is that it's a laminate. It's not just one material, it's actually a combination of several materials pressed together to achieve an optimum balance of weight, weather resistance, and abrasion resistance. The problem with the fabric, is that it literally does not stretch, and attempting to stretch it can weaken the laminate, and cause a multitude of issues down the line. The design of t