Question:
Hi all, I was at Ames the other night in the craft section and noticed that aida cloth is much easier to find than huck cloth. The had different brands that had a very large range of price between them. Question: Are all aida cloths created equal? or is there are difference in the quality depending on brand? I want to do huck weaving (I’m just beginning) and am trying my skills by making small hand towels……Can aida cloth be used for this? Thank you, Jenn — Http://members.tripod.com/Gwenevere If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.-Albert Einstein
Response:
writes: Question: Are all aida cloths created equal? or is there are difference in the quality depending on brand?
They are definitely not equal. I have used some that have a soft texture and some that are so stiff that they were almost like cardboard. Some are more tightly woven than others. The aida that I buy from my LNS is the soft texture and less tightly woven. The stiff kind I had bought from a fabric store. Now the projects look the same once you have finished, but the soft material was much nicer to work with while stitching. I really don’t want to use aida any longer though. I love linen and the other evenweaves and get very frustrated when I have to pierce the threads in aida for a quarter stitch. I still have a good bit of it that I will probably use for ornaments and simple designs. JMHO Cathy D. WIP’s Home for Christmas stocking (going to be finished this year!) Heritage of Golf Set of home town buildings designed by a local artist. Santa of the Forest TW’s Wedding Sampler
Response:
The quality of Aida is definitely not all equal. When I started on Marbek’s Nativity, I went to JoAnns Fabric and bought a large piece of "18 ct" Aida because it was 54" wide and fairly inexpensive. I took it home, measured out my 5 pieces and cut the fabric accordingly. I then started stitching on the center panel. After I had stitched for about an hour, I thought to myself — this doesn’t look quite right – it looks to big. So I got out my ruler and started counting stitches. After counting several times in both the horizontal and vertical directions and various places around the fabric, the results showed me that the fabric was actually about 16.5 ct.. Now normally this might not have made a difference, but my wife had bought me the special 5 piece frame for "The Nativity" and the size of the finished panels would have been too large for the frame. I took the cut pieces back to JoAnns Fabric and a very nice lady refunded my money – even though it had been cut. She was also a stitcher and said that I should go to a Neeldework Shop if I wanted to obtain some good quality Aida because the Aida that JoAnns had was not of the best quality. I then went to Nellie B’s in St. Paul (no longer in business) and bought a piece of Zweigart Aida which was considerably more expensive than the original piece. However, the count was exact and the fabric was wonderful to work. My wife has always told me "You get what you pay for." and she was definitely right (she always is). When I buy Aida for any of my projects (and yes I still use it for some), I always go to my new favorite Needlework Shop. Michael F. Parenteau
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