Thank you for reading our information.  We’ll be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the different sizes of cross stitch patterns – small vs. large.Even if you haven’t been cross stitching long, you have probably already discovered that design sizes can vary tremendously.A small design such as a bookmark can sometimes be completed in a matter of hours. On the other hand, some cross stitch patterns can be very large, similar to a tapestry and make take months or years to complete. Despite the vast differences in sizes, you, the stitcher should be happy stitching whatever you decide.

Difficulty of a pattern is determined by many things, but the first thing to consider is how large or small a pattern is.   The advantages of stitching a small design are numerous.  Because they can be stitched up quickly, stitchers can move on to the next project sooner.  Some people love to have a finished project right away, so projects that are small such as holiday ornaments or bookmarks can give some almost-instant gratification. Another advantage to small projects is that they are easier to manage.  Many stitchers enjoy not having lots of extra fabric hanging around, so small projects are perfect for this type of stitcher.  Of course, there are disadvantages also.  One of the major one would be the cost involved. How can this be? If you are stitching small projects and finish a project every few days, when you start on a new one, there’s additional cost for more fabric, floss and another pattern. Finding free cross stitch patterns on the internet will obviously help with your expenses.  You can go here for finding free patterns - Free Cross Stitch Patterns.  Another great source for free and very low-cost cross stitch patterns on the internet is a site called Xstitchpatterns.com (click for xstitch patterns), which always has at least one free pattern available.  You can also use the coupon code *promoLV* (without the astericks) in the shopping cart for a $2.95 discount (which makes one pattern free).

So, that’s the scoop about small designs, what about large patterns?  With the small project, we talked about the costs associated with having to buy supplies every few days for a new project.  With a large design, quite the opposite is true.  You may have a larger outlay of costs upfront (because of larger fabric, more flosses), but after that, you won’t have any new costs for quite a while, depending on how long it takes to stitch your project. Another thing that some stitchers feel is a great advantage to a large pattern is that there is much less floss color changing.   Some stitchers prefer to load up a few needles at a time and not have to change colors for quite a while.  With a large cross stitch pattern, though, comes large pieces of fabric.  After hooping your fabric, that leaves lots of bulk to hang over the hoop, which is difficult to mange sometimes.  Some stitchers also may tire of working on the same design for a long time, and end up putting a large project away and not finishing it.  Despite these minor disadvantages, the end result with a large project can be quite stunning.

Although there are other factors to consider when deciding on a particular cross stitch design in addition to things such as types of stitches, specialty stitches, etc. you should have a firm grasp about what to expect for both large and small cross stitch patterns, and hopefully this will make your selection easier.  The most important thing to remember is that it is *your* project, and you should be happy with the end result, as well as enjoy the process.