Netherlands

You can cross stitch on different kinds of evenweave fabric. It may be evenweave linen, Aida cloth, waste canvas etc. It is largely a matter of your personal preference.
Just remember: the number of stitches per inch (or per cm) can drastically change the look of your ready project.
Fabric with a higher stitch will produce smaller and finer designs.

Before washing your cross-stitch project, just check the fibers for colorfastness to prevent dyes from running. It is simple: dampen a piece of white cloth with water and gently rub it over each different color in your piece. If there is any color transfer to the white cloth don’t wash your piece if you want prevent your work from discoloration and fading.

The easy to keep from losing your cross-stitch needles, is to glue a magnetic strip to the inside of the box you keep your embroidery floss and other accessories.
It is very important to double check your counting. It is called counted cross stitch, isn't it? If even one missing stitch in important area can destroy the project. So please, check your counting before you start the stitching. It's worth it.

In order not to lose the needles for cross-stitching, you can glue the magnetic strip to the inner lid of the box in which you hold the embroidery threads and other cross-stitch accessories. You will no longer lose them and you will can easily find the right needle.

Everyone has trouble seeing stitches when she/he stitches white on white. The trick is to put a piece of black material behind the canvas. This will provide contrast between canvas and the white thread.