NEVER mark on an original chart; always make working copies. I find that when working with either hand drawn or symbol generated charts a xerox enlargment of 120% - 130% works best. Well in my case anyway. Especially when working on over 1 charted sections.

I use a yellow fluorescent HI-Liter^® for coloring in sections on a working copy; and extra fine point felt pens for backstitch lines and glass bead placement. I perfer using the colors pink and orange for these purposes.

While working on my very first TW design, which involved several over 1 sections, I discovered the following when dealing with a single strand of cotton floss. On several occasions I've read posts by the members of TW's stitchery bulletin board complaining of fibers that seem to constantly fray and break. My discovery should help with this problem.

By drawing the thread through the fabric in the correct direction of the filament, the stitcher will cut down on breakage and that worn fuzzy look.

Simply take a single strand and hold it up to a natural light source or your OTT-Lite^® and see which direction the fiber filaments are pointing. In the picture below the filaments are pointing to the right away from the thread. By positioning the needle on the left end of the thread, the thread will enter the fabric in the correct direction of the filament.



When dealing with a single strand of cotton floss, I like to have several makeup sponges handy for keeping my thread damp. Wetting makes it easier to stitch. In addition, wetting also tests for color bleeding. Also when it dries it plumps up uniformly with a nice sheen.

When ending a thread, in an over 1 section using a single strand, weave it back on the area you just stitched using a #10 beading needle. A 28 tapestry needle is far too thick to weave under the thread. This is for 25 count evenweave or greater.

Invest in a Stitcher's Color Guide, whether it be DMC^®, Anchor^®, Coats^®, etc. Never trust what you see when it comes to pre-sorted kit floss. Machines only package what a human can feed into it and screw-ups are more common then you think.
Then there's < cringe > sort it till your eyes ache - bundle o' hanks. This is when a color sampler guide and OTT-Lite^® will definitely save your sanity as well as your eye sight.