How to cross stitch: your first project
Cross stitch is the easiest place to start: the fabric shows you where every stitch goes, and the chart tells you which color. Here is everything you need for a first evening.
Updated
What to buy
- 14 count Aida — a fabric woven in clear squares, where each square takes one cross. White or ivory: the holes are hard to see on dark cloth.
- Embroidery floss in your colors. One length of floss is six thin strands twisted together; you separate them before stitching.
- A tapestry needle — blunt tip, long eye, size 24 for 14 count. The blunt tip slips into the holes instead of piercing the fabric.
- A 6 to 8 inch hoop and small scissors. Stiff Aida can be worked without a hoop, but the stitches lie flatter with one.
Getting ready: the fabric and the center
Cut the fabric with 2 inches (5 cm) to spare on every side of the finished piece — the size calculator in the finished-size guide works out the piece itself. Fold the cut in half, then in half again: where the creases cross is the center of the fabric.
The center of a chart is usually marked with arrows along its edges. Starting from the center rather than a corner is the surest way not to run off the fabric: if you are a few squares out somewhere, the margin absorbs the difference on both sides.
How many strands, and starting without a knot
Cut a length of 16 to 20 inches (40–50 cm) from the skein — longer thread tangles and wears thin. Pull out two strands one at a time and lay them together: on 14 count Aida you stitch with two strands. The table in the Aida guide shows how many to use on other fabrics.
A knot on the back leaves a bump that shows once the piece is pressed and framed. The loop start is easier: take one strand twice as long, fold it in half and thread both ends through the needle. Make your first half stitch, then pass the needle through the loop on the back — the thread is anchored.
Making the stitches
A cross is two diagonal stitches over one square: first the bottom one, then the top one. It is easiest to work in rows: go along the row making half stitches in one direction, then come back along the same row covering them with the top stitches.
The one rule you can see in a finished piece: the top stitch of every cross lies in the same direction. Crosses with mixed tops catch the light differently, and the surface looks patchy even when every color is right.
To finish a thread, bring the needle to the back and run it under four or five stitches of the same color, then trim. Avoid carrying thread more than an inch from one area to another: on light fabric it will show through.
Reading a chart
One square on the chart is one cross on the fabric. The color of a square, or the symbol in it, matches a row in the key that gives the floss number. The bold lines every ten squares are not decoration: counting by tens is far easier than counting single squares.
Counted vs stamped cross stitch
Everything above is counted cross stitch: the chart is on paper, the fabric is plain, and you find the place for each stitch by counting squares. Stamped kits are the other kind, with the design printed on the fabric. There is nothing to count, but the ink under the crosses does not always line up with the outline, and you cannot stitch your own picture that way. A chart from the builder is always counted.
Cross stitch vs needlepoint
Needlepoint is often confused with cross stitch. It is usually worked in tent stitch — it looks like a half cross on the front — on stiff mesh canvas, covering the whole surface, usually in wool. Cross stitch uses full crosses on soft Aida or evenweave with cotton floss, and the fabric between motifs can stay visible. A square-by-square chart works for both — the difference is the fabric, the thread and the stitch. The needlepoint vs cross stitch guide compares them in detail, with a sizing table.
In short
- How do I start cross stitching as a beginner?
- Get 14 count Aida, floss, a size 24 tapestry needle and a small chart up to 80 stitches wide. Find the center of the fabric by folding it in four, and start from the center of the chart. Stitch with two strands of floss, in rows, and keep the top stitch of every cross facing the same way.
- How do I start cross stitch without a knot?
- Use a loop start: take one strand of floss twice as long, fold it in half and thread both ends through the needle. Make your first half stitch, then pass the needle through the loop on the back. Or leave a one-inch tail on the back and cover it with your first stitches.
- What is counted cross stitch?
- It is cross stitch worked from a paper chart on plain fabric: you find the place for each stitch by counting the squares. Unlike stamped kits with a printed design, it lets you stitch any picture, including a chart made from your own photo.
- What is the Danish method in cross stitch?
- Working in rows: you stitch a row of bottom half stitches in one direction, then come back along the same row and cover them with the top stitches. It is faster on large areas of one color and leaves a tidier back. The opposite, the English method, completes each cross before moving to the next, which suits scattered stitches and frequent color changes.
The numbers and charts on this page are computed by the same code as the builder.