Just how are you suppose to deal with those odd little stitches that hang out all by themselves - not even close to any other stitches? After all, the rules say: "do not jump more than four stitches" and " NEVER use knots." Well, the old saying "rules are meant to be broken" applies to many thing in life... including cross stitch! When working on Aida, I tend to break the first rule however this does not work so well with evenweave unless the floss colour is very close to the colour of the fabric. A favourite trick of mine, when working with an even number of floss stands, is:

1. anchor the floss using the "loop method"
2. make the cross stitch
3. secure the floss by running it under this stitch several times

Another method is:

1. thread your needle with a single strand of floss
2. stitch the first half of the cross stitch ( / ) leaving a tail on the backside of the work approximately 3 inches long
3. stitch the first half again ( / ) - giving the look of two strands of floss
4. stitch the second half of the cross stitch ( \ ) twice
5. the single strand should now be at the back of the work. Tie a small knot using the two ends of floss. Trim the excess floss.

The nice thing about this method is you can use it for uneven number of strands of floss. In other words, if you are using three strands for cross stitching, just stitch the first half three times and then stitch the second half three times. It is best to do these stitches last - preferably after washing if possible.

Another suggestion I got from a customer of mine named Donna. She wrote: "On a large piece, I stitch everything but the loners, then put a lightweight fabric such as muslin on the back. Matching the fabric to the linen, then carrying threads across the back doesn't show."