Avoid lines and ridges in your basketweave by following these five simple tips:
1. Follow the steps and poles.
Smooth basketweave isn’t magic—it’s discipline. The most important thing you can do is maintain the correct basketweave pattern on the back of your canvas by religiously following the “up the steps and down the poles” rule. Learn more here.
2. Anchor straight.
When finishing and starting a thread, run it under existing stitches horizontally or vertically—not on the same diagonal as your basketweave stitches.
Avoid pulling the thread tight at the end, as this will tug the last stitch down tighter than its surrounding stitches.
3. Pay attention to light colors.
Lighter colors are less forgiving and can reveal even small imperfections. Lint from nearby threads may appear as a shadow, so it’s best to store pale colors on their own and give them a quick once-over before you start stitching.
4. Keep your stitch tension even.
Read this short blog post for how to create even stitch tension.
5. Let your stitches relax.
When you’ve finished stitching your project, you may notice faint diagonal lines showing the direction of your basketweave stitches. These can be removed by relaxing the fibers: Place your finished piece right side down and hover a steam iron over the canvas while gently stretching it back into shape. The warm, moist steam allows the fibers to relax as you smooth everything out.
Because the iron never touches the canvas, there’s no risk of color bleeding. The steam simply helps straighten the canvas and lets the stitches settle evenly into place.
