Stitches - How do you keep up with the stitches in your plastic canvas patterns?

How do you keep up with the stitches in your plastic canvas patterns?

I am new to plastic canvasing, so I am wondering how do you keep up with your stitches when you're working on a project? I hate tearing stitches out or having to start over.. I tried using a piece of paper, but it moves too easy...what tool or trick do you use?

Public Comments

I usually just count them on the canvas. On the pattern, I print it out, and cross off the stitches every dozen or so as I go along. Sometimes, I have used a strip of plastic canvas about two or three holes wide, and as long as the piece I am working, then clip it to the work with a clothes pin to use as a guide. This works for both the canvas as you work, and the pattern you are following.
When I work on plastic canvas projects with my nieces I often used Sharpie permanent markers to mark the stitch locations on the plastic canvas for them. Sharpie has lots of colors so it works well. It's almost like having one of those preprinted embroidery canvases. I don't know what colors you are using but I normally leave white blank and then find the closest color I can to the others needed. If your pattern calls for 3 reds, a yellow, and a blue - I would use yellow for yellow, blue for blue, red for 1 red, orange for another red and purple for the last red. I would not use a dark color for white or off white, just in case any of the color gives off (the color shouldn't give off). Hope this helps!