What do the back of your projects look like?

[scribbleboy]

I looked at the back of my current project and was quite proud of how neat it is. This is only my third project so I was curious as to what other peoples look look like.
Also ones with loads and loads of colours.

This is the back of my current one.

[vivi]

that's so neat! you did a fantastic job!

[Sheetaaa]

Mine are neat almost everywhere buuut sometimes I can have big accidents. When I have these accidents, they involve lots of threads! Big knots...

[Nitewing]

When I first started stitching they were pretty messy but they're gotten better as I've done more projects. I do a large amount of stitches of the same colour now so that I don't have to tie off thread as often.

[kirstymoo]

When I first started, I tied knots to begin and end my threads so as you can imagine the back of my projects where horrible!
Since I've stopped using knots on the back of my projects, they have gotten alot better and look something similar to yours now!

[Stoychy]

That's super neat! I'm trying so hard with my current stitch to keep the back neat...I always get in knots

[mylifeinstitches]

I thought I was the only one OCD about my stuff! Backside of the chart I found on Sprite Stitch and have been working on since November 2010.

[Sheepish]

I do alright when I've got big sections of color, but when I have to start and stop after two stitches the back just starts to look miserable. I mean, how do you keep that looking nice?

[Miss Clawful]

Why not, sure, in fact think I'll show off all of my backs. These do not start out pretty I warn you, my very first ones were a total mess (I didn't know any better then), and everytime I look at them I cringe, they are rather embarassing but I keep them as reminders and to see how I have progressed since then. I started improving by the time I began work on the Lone Ranger when I started railroading my threads on the frontside and trying to plan things better to make the backside neater, even though still left a lot of floss tails dangling out, improved a little more with my City Connection and Gun-Nac projects (but ran into other problems with those, save this for another topic, creases, ouch), but still felt I needed to improve. My very first really nice back I think was with my Raccoon Mario, even still I know I could get nicer backsides, but in due time.

One thing I have explored, starting with the Magic of Scheherazade projects is to create puffy looking cross-stitch pieces (flat felt kinda boring) so have tried different things on the backside to bring out that effect, on the backside, ribbing, as well as by running the tail end of the floss under and around an area that I want to puff out in the front. One thing that I like to be consistent with is that if the sides of a character are flipping indenticals, I try to make each side on the back look the same, if I run the floss a certain way on the right eye, the left has to be done the same, that way, the front appears balanced.

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Very sad, chaotic messes, how not to make a back of a cross-stitch look like:

Plutonium Boss from Blaster Master

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Custom Hermit Crab (my very first original design)

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Keela from Legacy of the Wizard

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Batman

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Simon Belmont from Castlevania

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Bill Rizer from Contra

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Elf Hero from Faxanadu

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Knight from Ghosts 'n Goblins

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Guardian in ship form from The Guardian Legend

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Kuros from Ironsword

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Pit from Kid Icarus

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Winged Warrior from Legendary Wings

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Megaman from Megaman 5

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Samus and Mother Brain from Metroid

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Nova from Power Blade

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Rygar

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Mario from SMB2

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Hiryu from Strider

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Custom Hermit Crab icon (another original creation)

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Custom Girl Gamer Playing NES (cross-stitched sprite edit of Ghosts 'n Goblins princess)

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Faron from Conquest of the Crystal Palace (NES)

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Bionic Commando

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Custom Hermit Crab (original design by me)

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Thrilla from Thrilla's Surfari

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Firebrand from Gargoyle's Quest II

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Caveman Joe from Joe & Mac

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Gyruss

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Okay, a bit better, but those tails gotta go:

The Lone Ranger

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A little bit better:

City Connection

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Gun-Nac

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Massive improvement:

Raccoon Mario

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Kick Master

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NES Spaceships

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R.B.I. Baseball

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Twilight Sparkle

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White Mage (Final Fantasy Origins - PSone)
Had a bit more difficulty with this one, so tiny and so many colors.

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White Mage (Final Fantasy - NES)

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Trying something new here:

Coronya

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Faruk

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Kebabu

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Supica

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Gubibi

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Gun Meca

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Rainy

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Epin

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Mustafa

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Pukin

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Hassan

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Bulldog Trooper

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Megaman (NES) with Eddie giving E Tank

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Megaman (NES) riding Rush Jet with Beat, Megaman blasting a charged shot

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Megaman (NES) jumping, surrounded by friends - Dr. Light, Eddie, Rush, Roll, and Beat

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Shatterhand [Ready! Go!!]

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Shatterhand - Satellite Bot lift

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Dracula 2nd form

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Dracula 1st form

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Death

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Frank & Igor

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Mummy Men

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Queen Medusa

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Big Bat

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Simon Belmont

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Shatterhand - Shattering Punch

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Shatterhand - Dynamo Armor Attack

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[Lord Libidan]

You sure have some massive posts Miss Clawful, but I rather enjoy seeing how you improve... Makes me want to look at the back of mine and see how I've changed over time...