Needlepoint experts recommend stitching white or light areas first on a needlepoint canvas. And, this is good advice!
Why?
By stitching the light-colored areas first you avoid trapping the ends of darker threads beneath the lighter ones (which causes shadows).
But, what if you have a canvas like this Gin and Bare It design where there is a lot of colored detail that would be much easier if it were stitched in first?
We recommend stitching the detail first. But ...
...when you come to the end of a dark thread, snip it long (1/4 - 1/2" inch) if it is close to the white areas. (If you are finishing off a thread in the middle of a dark area then you won't need to do this as it is unlikely to get trapped by a white stitch.)
When you cut the thread ends long they are less likely to trap fuzzy ends beneath the white or lighter stitches. And, if they do get caught, the ends are more easily pulled out from beneath the white or light stitches as you go.
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