This photo is a bit deceiving as it is stitched on 40 count and the stitches are very small. I am using my new favorite tool which is my LED lighted magnifier floor stand. It is fantastic for this project. I am also a bit fascinated with the actual stitches.
A bit of history might help to explain. When I went to my first stitching festival in Saratoga Springs NY (1991) an instructor told me that it made a huge difference how the thread traveled on that back of the fabric. It changes the tension, the direction and the look of the stitch that will be seen on top. At the time, I was just happy to be learning cross stitch and have it look good. This fine a detail was way beyond me. Now - I think about it. Especially with overdyed floss stitching in a single line. I have a different way to do it lately and it seems to be working out very well for this project.
My new way to stitch a single line moving up vertically would be - bring the needle up at the top right of the stitch and put the needle down at the lower left. Step 2 would be to bring the needle up at the lower right (causing the thread to go horizontally on the back) and put the needle down at the top right edge of the stitch. Going to the next stitch, I would jump up the (once again) the top right edge of the cross. This causes the thread on the back to make a diagonial stitch. The diagonal and then horizontal stitches on the back makes a nice place to bury your end of floss when it is necessary. I hope I explained it correctly. The top stitches lay evenly and consistently.
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