Ann Logan

I assume that you yourself understand this, but still I will say. It is very important to wash your hands before touching the fabric or thread. Of course, you are going to wash the finished cross stitch design, but why make it dirtier?
In case you use a thread or fabric that is hand-dyed wash them in advance so that they do not stain your handwork.
Unwind your thread from time to time. Just leave the needle and let the thread loose - it will unwind itself... Or help it a little to unwind.
Do this every few stitches, otherwise the texture will be uneven and the fabric will show through your stitches too much.

The best way to do cross stitch is to do the first half of each stitch in a row done first then go back and finish the next half. This way you get all the stitches slanting in the same direction. It is very important that the slant is in the same direction for the top thread and the bottom thread of the cross stitch for all the stitches.

But there are expert cross stitchers who do individual cross stitches ( titching the full cross stitch as you go) and do a very good job of it. So each to his/ her own.