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I'm working on this new piece on black aida and I'm making pretty slow progress just because it's difficult to see what I'm doing.
I'm sitting by a pretty bright light and working over a brightly colored tray and that's helping some, but I wondered if anyone knew any other tricks to working with darker fabrics?
The only thing I'm finding online is people saying to use a light box, but I really don't want to invest that much if I can help it
I also sit under a lamp and thought that was about as well lit as I could get, but recently bought a cheap neck light and I have to say it makes quite the difference! This is mine but there are lots the same https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BRZ8MKKC
Might be worth a try if you're really struggling with it.
As far as the lightbox thing goes, if you've got any kind of tablet you can get apps that just light up the screen white and use that. I'm more of an old school "always has the laptop out" person so I can hold my project in between me and the screen and get the light shining through from that instead. Basically just anything emitting light behind the fabric.
That does look like a good option! I have all my patterns on a big 12" tablet that I do sometimes use to see what I'm doing, but parts of the pattern are pretty dark so it doesn't always work... It doesn't help that this new pattern has a lot of dark blue/dark purple on black lol
I donβt stitch, but could you put a white grid down that can be unstitched after?
That would definitely make it easier to keep track of where you are... I've never tried using a grid before, I'll have to try it!
I haven't stitched on black aida, but I when I stitched, I used these magnifying glasses that had little LED lights on them. They were rechargeable and you could turn the lights on or off. If lighting isn't a concern for you, maybe just having a zoomed in view of what you're doing would help. There's other options than glasses, as well. I think the glasses are the least expensive and the bonus is that they're helpful on projects that use other colors of aida.
I saw some of those glasses last time I was at the craft store! I'll take look at them when I head up there again this weekend
Maybe a light pad/table would be an option for you. They are generally used for painting but are really bright and can be very inexpensive
I second this! Or you could even lay a white cloth down on your lap so that when youβre holding the black aida over it, you can see the holes better.