Stitches

Can someone give some advice about outlining in cross-stitch?

I recently purchased a cross-stitch pattern creater program and scanned a photo to stitch. I am nearly done, but am at a loss as to what colors to use for outlining. I have done a few counted cross-stitch in the past, but there don't seem to be any regular guidelines to follow. Do I use one or two colors for everything, or do I match the color to what I'm outlining? What if an object has a light background on one side and dark on the other? If you match the object, how much darker should the color be? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Public Comments

1. I guess it all depends on the look you want in the end. Colours that are darker than the block you are outlining will help to make that block 'pop out' from the canvas. Colours that are lighter may make the object seem to recede a bit. Colours that are the same will just put a soft finish on the object while using say, black or dark blue or dark purple to outline something lighter will make the object much more defined and sharp. You could experiment with a piece of waste material to see what colours you like together. This blog has a number of projects with different outlining techniques used for some of the (especially see the rooster further down the page): http://charts-by-sandi.blogspot.com/ HTH
2. Outlining is usually used to define the stitching. It is a matter of choice. It is looks ok without being outlined then leave it. Your first answerer is correct try the colours out on waste canvas.