The Dimensions Victorian Charm cross-stitch kit from Dimensions is made on the dark blue Aida18 canvas and contains 38 shades of cotton floss. The work is considered quite complicated and suitable for experienced craftswomen. The size of the finished picture is 20 x 43 cm. The set also includes an understandable color symbolic scheme and a needle, the threads are located in a convenient organizer.
Embroidery related sign
Among the needlewomen, this embroidery is well-known, it even has an alternative name - “The Witch's House”. There is a sign of "Victorian charm": if you embroider this picture, the family will certainly improve housing conditions. That is why, despite the rather high cost of the kit and the complexity of its implementation, it is very popular among cross-stitch lovers.
For the wish to be fulfilled, before making the first cross, you need to clearly imagine the future home - where it is, how it looks, how many rooms there are, how they are decorated and what it smells like. The more detailed the picture, the higher the chance to get what you want. You can even draw a project for a future apartment or house and, tucking a thread into a needle, think about it, mentally go around the rooms and start embroidering. The most important thing here is the attitude and the belief that the embroidery design “Victorian Charm” will work.
Independent selection of threads for embroidery from Dimensions
In sets from the Dimensions company, including the Victorian Charm embroidery, they use mouline thread of their own production, which are not commercially available. The colors of this line are not duplicated by other manufacturers. They are manufactured by J&P Coats, not DMC, as many needlewomen believe. There are frequent cases when the thread in the set is not enough. Or the craftswoman wants to save money and pick up a floss to use the printed Victorian Charm scheme, rather than buying expensive embroidery. But to do this is very difficult.
Even if you take color-conversion tables that allow you to use the floss of other companies, the difference may be too big. Therefore, it is undesirable to embroider sets from Dimensions by self-selection. It is not difficult to find the Victorian Charm embroidery pattern, but choosing the threads so that the result at least remotely resembles the original in the color scheme is an extremely difficult task. Than to make such efforts, it is much easier to purchase a ready-made kit.
Features of Chinese sets of Dimensions and differences from other firms
After the change of ownership of Dimensions, the production of kits from the USA was transferred to China, which, according to many needlewomen, affected the quality. Mouline thread has become different to the touch, smoother, and their color is brighter than that of American counterparts. A thread organizer appeared in the kit, which was not there before. Because of this small detail, cross-stitch lovers prefer to purchase Chinese kits so as not to distribute the threads.
At present, American kits are almost never found on sale, therefore only experienced needlewomen who previously embroidered US Dimensions paintings by US can compare quality. On the network, you can also purchase fakes for Dimensions sets with a similar scheme, but from other companies. In some cases, a diagram is not attached to them, and the drawing is applied to a white canvas, therefore the blue of the sky is achieved with the help of a floss. But such sets are several times cheaper, and many needlewomen prefer them to the original.
Preparing for the job
There is no marking on the dark blue canvas, which is present in the cross-stitch “Victorian Charm”, which complicates the process of completing the picture. Using a conventional water-soluble marker for marks is not suitable in this case, since the marking will not be visible, and the tailor's pencil is poorly washed from the canvas. Therefore, to facilitate the work, it is best to divide the fabric into squares in advance using ordinary white threads. This is a rather long and painstaking process, but nevertheless it will significantly simplify the work and help to avoid mistakes, because of which you will have to split the result and spend a precious supply of threads.
The picture can be done on the hoop, but it will be more convenient to use a special frame for embroidery - this will avoid deformation of the picture and will not allow the canvas to stretch. Pull the material on the machine evenly, otherwise the crosses will fall unevenly. Usually it is advised to grow the canvas to the size of the frame, but you can stretch the material with the help of cotton or silk threads.
Work with the scheme
It is advisable to scan and print a copy of the Victorian Charm scheme so as not to spoil it with notes, making it unreadable. In the set, it is given in English. To understand what the various symbols mean, some words will have to be translated. For example, the serial number and name of a particular color is the color name, the full cross is indicated by the phrase cross stitch, and the half-cross is indicated by half cross stitch. The word backstitch (backstitch, or reverse stitch) is known to almost all experienced embroiderers.
Self editing circuit
Sets from Dimensions, including Victorian Charm, have a lot of backstitch. Reverse stitching often takes several times longer than the main embroidery. But the result exceeds all expectations. Many needlewomen also prefer to modify the scheme themselves: they move or completely remove the cats, changing them to dogs or other animals, add their initials to the plate near the house, “light” dark windows on the top floor or change the number of building levels. Lamps in the windows can be embroidered with other threads, and add flower pots to the windowsills. Some needlewomen use a special luminescent floss for stars in the sky, which glows in the dark.
Particular attention should be paid to the color of the door: it is best if it is red - in Feng Shui teaching this color is considered the most favorable. The red door helps not only to improve the atmosphere in the house and attract the energy of success, but also to get promotion through the ranks. Such touches allow you to better imagine your future home and quickly realize the dream of your own home.
How to get started so that omen works
At embroidery forums, a recommendation is often found - to start embroidering “Victorian Charm” from the fourteenth lunar day. Why on this day? According to one version, it is ideal for invoking the desired and opening the door to the future. If you start some important business on this day, you will be able to finish it in about six months. Therefore, it is considered favorable in order to embroider such a complex set as “Victorian Charm”. The lunar calendar will help you choose the right day, in which days begin to count from the new moon.
It is believed that it is impossible to carry out several “subject” embroideries at once, you should focus only on one. The craftswoman must like the set, and the process should be fun, and not be a burden. For work, it is best to choose the moments when nothing will distract you from needlework. Light, unobtrusive music helps, bringing with it positive emotions, but not TV or other distracting factors. One more piece of advice: you do not need to rely only on a set for embroidery, to realize your dream you need to make efforts and act, and not rely on a magical and easy embodiment of the desired.
Embroidery "Victorian charm" beads
The company "Skarbnitsya nathnennya" produces sets for embroidery with a cross and beads. They are not too expensive, they include calibrated Panax beads, a printed canvas and a needle. You can embroider “Victorian Charm” beads according to any other pattern with a printed pattern. But then the material will have to be selected independently. Work with beads, if it is done neatly and from high-quality material, looks more voluminous than embroidery with ordinary threads, beautifully shimmers with various colors and will become an adornment of any interior.
How to finish work and embroider
After the work is finished, the finished embroidery must be removed from the machine or hoop and washed in warm water with the addition of a mild detergent. This will allow the markup to be washed off if it has been applied, and the crosses will even out and become brighter. If marking was carried out with threads, they must be removed before washing. After the finished work dries, it should be ironed with a not too hot iron from the inside through a wet rag, then taken to a baguette workshop and choose the appropriate design. Brown frames will look especially good - they are combined with the color of the canvas and do not distract attention from the picture. Blue and blue frames are best used with a mat.