How to Cross Stitch

Counted cross stitch is a popular and easy form of embroidery that is perfect for beginners and makes beautiful artwork. It is created with an X-shaped stitch on an evenweave fabric using embroidery floss.

Below you will find a beginner's instruction guide to learning this craft. There is also a mini pattern for you to practice with. Best of luck to you as you learn this new craft--I know you'll be great--and don't forget to relax and have fun!

Cross Stitch at a Glance

Working a Row

Working a Column

The key to cross stitch is to always have the top stitch going in the same direction so that all of your stitches sit evenly.

Detailed Instructions and Free Practice Pattern

Below you will find step-by-step instructions on how to cross stitch and complete the free practice pattern provided in this tutorial. You can also click the links below to get printable PDFs of the full instructions or just the pattern depending on what you wish to print.

Printable PDF Instructions
(pattern included)

DOWNLOAD

Get Free Practice Pattern
(pattern only)

DOWNLOAD

Materials Needed

Fabric - as a beginner it is recommended that you start by working on fabric labeled "14 count Aida". The built in grid of this fabric makes it easier to transfer what you see on the paper pattern to the fabric. The "count" of a fabric indicates the size of the weave and therefore the size of your stitches. The higher the number, the smaller the stitch. Common counts of fabric are 14, 16, 18, 28, and 32. For the practice pattern you will need a piece of 14 count white Aida measuring 6.5 X 6.5 inches.

Floss - every pattern comes with a color legend indicating which flosses are necessary to complete the project. Brand name flosses, such as DMC, have numbers assigned to each individual color to make identifying the flosses easy. For the practice pattern you will need one skein each of DMC 17, 21, 22, 504, and 734. (If these colors are unavailable to you, you may substitute other colors as necessary.)

Needle - special blunt-ended needles are used for cross stitch. They may be labelled as intended for "embroidery" or "tapestry". Similar to fabric, needles come in different sizes with the higher numbers being smaller needles. Recommended needles for beginners are Tapestry size 24 or 26.

Scissors - small decorative scissors are common in the cross stitch community, however, they are not absolutely necessary. While you are learning you can use any household scissors you have available. If you continue with the craft, you may wish to invest in embroidery scissors as their fine points are easier to use on floss.

Pattern - it is exceedingly difficult to freehand cross stitch. Therefore, patterns are used in this craft to tell you where to put stitches and in what color. Please enjoy the free practice pattern used in this tutorial.

Reading the Pattern

Patterns come in two general formats: symbol charts and color charts with (or without) symbol overlay. While I will be using the color chart during this tutorial as color charts are easier to read in small format and at first glance, I recommend practicing with symbol charts early on as many patterns are only available in that format.

How to read the pattern charts.

Each square in the chart represents one stitching space on your fabric.
The corner of each square on the chart represents one hole in your Aida fabric.
Unique symbols represent the different floss colors used and where that color should be placed.
A floss legend is provided to show which flosses match which symbols and give other valuable information.
Empty squares on the chart are to remain unstitched spaces.
For your convenience, heavier lines are printed every 10 spaces.
Arrows at the top and left side represent the center of the design.

To help understand how this translates to your fabric, it may be beneficial to view the chart below which shows the pattern in stitches rather than symbol blocks.

IMPORTANT: To fit standard size paper for printing, larger patterns may be split across two or more pages. The first two columns/rows on later pages are shaded because they are a repeat of the last two columns/rows of the previous page. Do NOT restitch these. They are provided to help transition between pages.

Getting Started

Finding the Center and Preparing to Stitch

By tracing inward from the black arrows on the top and left side of the pattern, we will find the center where the two lines intersect.

As you can see, the center of this design consists of four spaces marked with the yellow star. By referencing our floss legend, we know that this should be stitched with DMC 17.

Taking up our skein of DMC 17, we will prepare a length of floss for stitching.

Pulling from the end of the skein that has the barcode, cut a length of approximately 56 inches. You may work with smaller lengths if you wish but remember that the floss will be folded in half.

Next, take up one end of your floss length and notice that it consists of six smaller strands of twisted floss. We need to separate just one of these strands. To do this, pinch one end of the floss between two fingers and with your other hand, separate a single strand by gently pulling it upward away from the remaining strands.

Fold your single strand of floss in half and thread both ends through the needle. Notice that your floss now appears like two strands of floss with a loop at the end.

Finding the center of our fabric.

To find the center of your fabric, you can either measure, or use the folding method.

To use the folding method, simply fold your fabric in half from top to bottom and press lightly along the fold. Then fold in half from left to right and press lightly again. Unfold your fabric and the center will be where your two pressed lines meet.

*Important note: Press these folds lightly. Aida fabric holds wrinkles and folds really well, so pressing these lines too firmly may mean that it will be difficult to remove them later.

Finding our starting location.

Our first stitch will be the one indicated on the chart below.

As you can see, our first stitch is the stitch directly above center and to the left. So, that is where we will stitch on our fabric.

More specifically, we will start at the bottom left corner of this stitch. So, placing that on our fabric means it is one hole to the left from exact center.

Loop start and our first stitch.

The first thing that we need to do is attach our floss to the fabric so that our stitches will not come undone. We will be doing this with a "loop start".

Taking up your floss, put your needle on the backside of your fabric and put the needle up through the hole that is one spot to the left of exact center. This will be the bottom left corner of our first stitch.

Pull up a small amount of floss and then put your needle down through the hole that is diagonally up and right from where you started. This is the top right corner of our first stitch.

With your needle still inserted in the fabric, turn your work over.

Place the loop at the end of your floss over the needle on the backside and then pull the needle and thread through until the floss is secure.

You want to pull your floss tight enough that there is no slack to the thread, but you do not want to pull it so tight that you warp the fabric. A good rule of thumb is to pull until you feel resistance and then let it be.

Front of fabric.

Back of fabric.

Your floss is now attached to your fabric and you have completed the first two points of your first stitch.

If your loop start comes undone and the floss pulls away from the fabric, it is because you have accidentally put the needle back through the loop on the next stitch. When putting your needle up through point three (completed below), make sure not to put your needle back through the loop. Once point three is complete, the floss is secure and will not come undone.

Completing the first row.

Whenever there are stitches of the same color together, we want to complete them as rows and columns rather than as individual stitches. So, we will complete the top two yellow stitches of our center square together.

Follow the diagram below to complete your first row of stitching.

Note: Points 1 and 2 have already been completed during our loop start.

Working the next row.

Now that we have completed the top row of our center square motif, we need to complete the row beneath it. We will work this in the same manner as the first row. Keep in mind that the bottom of the first row stitches will share the fabric holes with the top of the bottom row stitches, so we will be stitching into holes that already have floss in them.

Completing the surrounding yellow stitches.

We now need to finish the yellow stitching in this area by completing the four yellow stitches at each corner of our center square. This will be our first practice at skipping stitching spaces, as these stitches are not back-to-back.

We will start with the single stitch on the bottom left because it is the closest to where our working floss is currently located.

Using the diagram below, complete the four corner stitches.

Note how we skip a hole in the fabric when working from one corner stitch to the next, which in turn skips two stitching spaces.

Finishing off a thread.

Now that we have completed all of the yellow stitches in this area, we need to tie off our thread so that our stitches do not come undone.

To finish a thread, turn your fabric to the backside. Being careful not to put too much tension on your finished stitches, run your needle under the back of several stitches. Pull the remainder of your floss through and clip it off short.

It is best to finish thread under at least 3 stitches, however, one or two will suffice if that is all that is available.

Important note:
The key to cross stitch is to always have your stitches worked in the same direction. So, as you can see so far, all of our bottom stitches are worked this way: / / / / and all of our top stitches are worked this way: \ \ \ \
Changing the direction of stitches will give a completed piece an uneven appearance.

However, the 4 points of your stitches do not have to be worked in identical order each time. Meaning both stitching orders shown below are correct, as well as other variations.

So long as the top stitch is always going in the same direction, that is all that matters.

Working vertically.

In our next set of stitches we will be working both horizontally in rows and vertically in columns. As you can see in our chart, the stitches surrounding our completed center are marked with the dark red square. By checking our floss legend, we know that these should be stitched with DMC 22.

Prepare a strand of DMC 22 and loop start into the space indicated below.

We will work the red section on the top in a horizontal row as we have done previously, however, we will work the four points in a different order.

As you can see, instead of working from the bottom to the top of our stitches, we worked from top to bottom. We did this while making sure that the top stitch is still going in the same direction as all of the stitches that have already been placed.

Next, we will work the section on the right in a vertical manner.

Continue working around this section in horizontal rows and vertical columns until all of the red square spaces have been filled in and your work looks like the photo below.

Starting our next motif.

Now that our center is complete, we will start working on the motif directly above it. As you can see in the chart, it is marked with the pale red heart symbol. Checking our legend, we know that this is DMC 21.

Prepare a strand of DMC 21.

We want to start stitching this motif in the space indicated in the chart above. In order to start here, however, we need to count up on our fabric from our previously worked stitches.

As you can see in the chart, this column of stitching lines up with the yellow stitch at the top left of our already worked area and consists of three vertical stitches.

To start this column, we will count up three spaces from the top right corner of the yellow stitch. This will be the top right corner of the first pale red stitch.

Once you have located where to start stitching, loop start your floss using points one and two of the diagram below, then finish stitching the column.

After the first column is complete, move to the right and work the next column of the motif in the same manner. Continue until all four columns are complete.

Now, using the same strand of floss, we will travel across the back of our fabric and continue stitching the motif on the right side. This time we will be stitching in rows.

Continue working these rows until this section of the motif is complete.

Finish going around the motif filling in the light red stitches using both rows and columns of stitching until the area is complete.

Select the area you would like to work on next and keep stitching.

Where you go from here is up to you!

Unfortunately, this is where I leave you. You now have all the information needed to continue on your way as you work to complete the practice pattern.

Work each color individually, tackling each mini motif one at a time.

Remember to relax and try to have fun!

Some things to note:

Always double or triple count your stitches before and during your work. Nothing is worse than finishing an entire area only to realize that you are one stitch off and need to take the entire thing out to fix it.

You can skip across sections of fabric on the backside to work on another area with the same color floss, however, always be mindful of jumping over what will be unstitched areas of fabric. Dark and bright colored flosses can easily be seen through white fabric. So, if you have floss stretched across the back of your work, it may be visible from the front which makes for a less than desirable finish. When in doubt, finish off your thread and start a new one just to be safe.

If your floss is knotting frequently, your floss may be twisted. Hold your fabric high and let your needle and thread hang loosely from it. You can watch your needle spin as the floss untwists itself. This is called "dropping your needle."

Take your time and try to enjoy the process. Cross stitch is a slow craft, there are no sprinters here. So, start with the mindset that all good things come with time.