ah ive done this one too!
https://sta.sh/0m0yxl3fe6n

Hah, I see that you have "improved" it a little:D

haha i may have made the eyes too "anime". i wanted to add a border because it was a gift for a friend c:

So do you work with one thread colour at a time? Thats what I currently do but I've seen pictures where people have many threads in progress all at once in the same area and switch between them. (Mostly for big projects where all the fabric is covered, like the puma you did).

I wonder which was causes the back to be neater. I thought for small pieces it might not matter but when I worked on this rabbit I did have a lot of thread built up on the back, so it didnt lay very flat.

I guess in the end no one is looking at the back anyway haha.

You talk about... Yes we have such a method called "parking" - I mean my country. And no - I don't use this method. It's completely inconvenient for me. Dozens of protruding "thread tails" of different colors...Well, no, it's not for me.
As you have already mentioned - I prefer "embroidery by color". But. I realized that it is desirable to embroider in one area. I mean, if possible - choose an area of 4 squares for embroidery, for example - and try to embroider it before moving on. If 70% is red, embroider it as much as possible, and when the thread runs out, embroidery with a different color in this area.

A little confusing, but it's still embroidery by color. It's just that you fill in the embroidery gradually in this way. While the stitches are "fresh" - this allows you to embroider neat crosses next to each other. In general. Speaking of convenience and speed, for me it's embroidery by color.

But I must say that I use the method of fixing the thread "quarter cross". and I leave the tails of the threads outside - to fix them with future stitches.

As for the underside (back)... You need to try to make it neat. In fact, it all depends on the complexity of embroidery, its size and application in everyday life?. If these are napkins that will showed the wrong side, you need to use the methods of perfect embroidery. If this is a large and complex embroidery that will be framed, just do not allow knots and the accumulation of a large number of threads in one place - so that they do not create "hills / bulges" in the future. That's ... everything.

I hate perfect embroidery. I've tried this. A terrible experience. If you don't need perfect embroidery, don't think about it more than you need to. My opinion.

Ah yes parking, that's what I saw but I had no idea what it was called! I'll have to try the in between method you mentioned.

To start colors I've been using... "loop start" ? stitch, but it doesn't work if the threads are uneven of course.

Yeah that makes sense about neatness, I just worry about bulges. I think maybe it is because I put it in a picture frame instead of stretched on a hoop or something like that, I had to add some cardstock around the outside to even out the height, since the fabric on the edges was mostly bare. If that makes sense?

I hope I'm not annoying you with the questions, haha. I only know one other person who does cross stitching and we are both beginners!

"loop start"... It's similar, but not quite the same. I prefer to leave the thread free - so that at any moment you can release the needle without finishing to the end. I'm more comfortable. You need to try different ways for yourself.

A funny moment that I was thinking about in the context of irregularities on the underside is to use soft felt as a lining when making a baguette. Literally. I mean, if there are irregularities, why not use felt when pulling on to frame, so that it "absorbs" the loops and makes the surface smooth. It seems to me that this does make sense.
If you are a beginner or embroidery is extremely difficult - it should work perfectly. I have not tried this method - I did not have such an opportunity, but it seems logical, knowing the properties of felt.

I know for sure that everything depends on your preferences. Some, embroidery in their hands - without using embroidery frames at all. Some (me too) like to pull fabrics on hoops like a "drum". This allows you to achieve a more even tension, at least. But hoops are also different. I use round plastic and wooden rectangular. Wooden, by all accounts, pull the fabric better, but if the fabric is thin and artificial, it can be a damage - my experience.

Mm... cardboard on the outside, right? If we say about passepartout, it is absolutely normal to use cardboard. Passepartout its great in the many frames.

Well, if my words will be useful to you - it's not difficult for me. And I think you can consider yourself an amateur.
In any case, you can also contact the forums or YouTube to learn more.

I'm a bit anxious when it comes to forums ^^; I guess in reality its not much different than here though.

passepartout- does it mean matte board? https://i.etsystatic.com/19645868/r.....78306_4zes.jpg

Well, maybe the answer to your question is already on the forum - just searching usually helps.

Yeah, it.