<p>When starting out I would try to get some of the bigger areas, so you have a bit of a body to anchor the rest of the work in. Like the red diagonal markers which are at the top third of your picture.<br>
Once you have a big island you can start working on the smaller islands and only then fill in the single stitches in the area.</p>

<p>When you would that method you will see that you do not need as much parking, you will have more enbroidered space to use to move your working thread around to where you need it.
As in the other answer, move to where you need it if it costs less length than stopping and starting again.</p>

<p>A few parked threads can find a spot in a small portable loop.
If you need more than those, bring the thread outside the ring and pull it through the fabric and take the needle off. It might be needed to do that within and outside the loop to make it stick where you want it.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-21T20:11:00.550Z
2016-12-21T20:11:00.550Z
Willeke
<p>For the pattern you posted, I would look at which stitches are rather close together, and 'hop' from island to island, taking a route so that the thread at the back doesn't form loops that are too large.<br>
When there are single stitches or small groups that are further apart, I reason as follows: are the stitches/groups so far apart that it takes less thread to bind off and start again? If not, I make the thread go underneath one or two of some stitches in between (make sure it doesn't show at the front side, so don't push through completely), so the loops at the back side of your embroidery work are not that large.<br>
If there are no stitches in between yet, you can always secure a large loop when you get there (with another colour).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T19:07:36.580Z
2016-12-20T19:07:36.580Z
Ji Ugug
<p>What strategy shall I use to cross stitch a pattern which has a lot of single points/cross like the one below:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Wbvj1.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Wbvj1.jpg" alt="pattern example"></a></p>

<p>I have seen a lots of video about the parking method, but it seems to be always demonstrated on big fixed "looms", which seems to prevent the parked thread from tangling, and on patterns with at least several contiguous points for each color.</p>

<p>Is this method also good when working on a portable hoop and on patterns with a lot of single points? Are there other strategies that would be more fitted to this situation?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-19T12:45:22.940Z
"A lot of single points" is a little bit vague, honestly. Are the dots relatively close (e.g. ~5 squares away, even if angled)? Are they all the same color or is it a relatively random assortment? Is there another color that takes up the majority of the space between the dots?
Erica
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-19T16:05:18.287Z
By "dots" do you mean single crosses or do you mean a French knot?
Catija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-19T19:26:35.737Z
There is no single color around the points, it is very disparately distributed and there are a lot of different colors. I added a picture, in the hope to be clearer
Oneira
<cross-stitch>
Is a parking method a good strategy to cross stitch a pattern with many single points?
Oneira
# Is a parking method a good strategy to cross stitch a pattern with many single points?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-12-19)

What strategy shall I use to cross stitch a pattern which has a lot of single points/cross like the one below:
[![pattern example](https://i.sstatic.net/Wbvj1.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Wbvj1.jpg)

I have seen a lots of video about the parking method, but it seems to be always demonstrated on big fixed "looms", which seems to prevent the parked thread from tangling, and on patterns with at least several contiguous points for each color.

Is this method also good when working on a portable hoop and on patterns with a lot of single points? Are there other strategies that would be more fitted to this situation?

**Tags:** cross-stitch

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "A lot of single points" is a little bit vague, honestly. Are the dots relatively close (e.g. ~5 squares away, even if angled)? Are they all the same color or is it a relatively random assortment? Is there another color that takes up the majority of the space between the dots?  
> **username_2**: By "dots" do you mean single crosses or do you mean a French knot?  
> **username_0**: There is no single color around the points, it is very disparately distributed and there are a lot of different colors. I added a picture, in the hope to be clearer  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-12-21. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

When starting out I would try to get some of the bigger areas, so you have a bit of a body to anchor the rest of the work in. Like the red diagonal markers which are at the top third of your picture.  
Once you have a big island you can start working on the smaller islands and only then fill in the single stitches in the area.

When you would that method you will see that you do not need as much parking, you will have more enbroidered space to use to move your working thread around to where you need it.
As in the other answer, move to where you need it if it costs less length than stopping and starting again.

A few parked threads can find a spot in a small portable loop.
If you need more than those, bring the thread outside the ring and pull it through the fabric and take the needle off. It might be needed to do that within and outside the loop to make it stick where you want it.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2016-12-20. Score: 2

For the pattern you posted, I would look at which stitches are rather close together, and 'hop' from island to island, taking a route so that the thread at the back doesn't form loops that are too large.  
When there are single stitches or small groups that are further apart, I reason as follows: are the stitches/groups so far apart that it takes less thread to bind off and start again? If not, I make the thread go underneath one or two of some stitches in between (make sure it doesn't show at the front side, so don't push through completely), so the loops at the back side of your embroidery work are not that large.  
If there are no stitches in between yet, you can always secure a large loop when you get there (with another colour).


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