If you have a stash of threads, patterns and half-finished cross-stitch projects threatening to take over your living room, here are some tips to get it all sorted out.

If you can't go past a craft store without picking up a potential pattern to stich, or a new coloured thread, chances are you have amassed a considerable collection of materials for " one day". It's a common problem for cross-stitch fans, but there are things you can do to get your bibs and bobs in order.

Patterns
Keep all your cross-stitch patterns in a mini library of clear plastic sleeves in ring binders. Patterns wear on the folds and in the creases, making the symbols hard to read, so the sleeves help to preserve them.

Plastic sleeves are ideal for photocopies and patterns cut from magazines. You can also collect photos of good ideas for framing and displaying your cross-stitch pieces.

It's a good idea to save patterns from craft magazines even if you think you'll never make them! Often you can use just one bit of a design, such as a motif or phrase when designing your own patterns or for small projects like greeting cards.

As you complete each pattern, attach a sticker to the sleeve with the completion date and who it was made for.

Cross-stitch kits are expensive, so you may not have so many of these lying about, but store the ones you have in cardboard or plastic magazine holders.

Fabrics
Keep your fabric stock loosely folded in clear plastic bags in a dry cupboard. Attach stickers to the front of the bags indicating the type of fabric and the stitch count.

Don't be afraid of the very fine weaves - if you can count to 10, you can use these for very small cross-stitch pictures that look great standing on tabletops.

Keep leftover scraps of fabric in a separate bag and use them up on Christmas decorations and homemade birthday cards. Look out for offcuts in different colours, at craft shops and you'll be able to whip up a gift or card in a couple of hours.

Threads
Just like quilters who amass small lengths of fabric, cross-stitchers accumulate piles of coloured cottons.

It's best to keep the different types (flower thread, six-stranded floss, etc) in separate boxes and to colour code them - reds with reds and blues with blues. Arrange them in the boxes with the numbered labels all at one end and you'll quickly find the one number you're looking for.

You can buy special plastic boxes called thread organisers to hold all the leftover lengths of cotton on small cards. Don't forget to pencil on the number of the thread. Perfectly clean chocolate boxes or shallow biscuit tins lined with a handkerchief work just as well.

Some stitchers prefer to roll their threads in soft fabric bags, which are easy to carry around.

Scissors
Scissors have to be kept dry and sharp. Keep a special pair reserved for needlework and use dressmakers scissors for all your other sewing jobs.

Needles
Because needles can leave rust marks, never leave them for too long attached to your fabric. In case you forget, get into the habit of attaching the needle right on the edge of the fabric where it will be covered by a frame.

Cross-stitch needles have blunt ends so they slip easily into the gaps between the fabric weave. They are not meant for getting splinters out! Store them in a compartment of your thread organiser or attached to scrap bit of fabric in your workbasket.

Finishing a project
Many people start a project but never finish. Invest in a nice basket or box to hold your work and leave it beside your favourite chair. That way, you're more likely to return to cross-stitching regularly. A bit of stitching every week will soon have you past the halfway mark on a project. Not surprisingly, the project then becomes much easier to finish.

With all this organisation, you'll have lots of time for the fun part - stitching. Remember, when you're doing any embroidery or cross-stitch work, you need to have a seat that's supportive and comfortable. Most importantly, you need to be working in a good light.

Want to join a cross-stitch group? Embroiderers Guild Qld 149 Brunswick St PO Box 150 Fortitude Valley Qld 4006 Ph: (07) 3252 8629 Embroiderers Guild Victoria 170 Wattletree Rd PO Box 508 Malvern Vic. 3144 Ph: (03) 9509 2222 Embroiderers Guild of NSW 76 Queen St PO Box 109 Concord West NSW 2138 Ph: (02) 9743 2501