Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

All You Need to Know to Learn to Cross Stitch

by

Over on my blog, Our Daily Craft, I’ve been working on some pages that bring together a lot of information I’ve shared about different crafts over the course of the 15 (!) or so years I’ve been writing over there to make it easier for people to find what they need to get started.

I recently published a post all about how to cross stitch, and while it might not be totally “done,” I think it’s a good start for anyone wanting to learn or who might need a refresher on the basics.

The post covers everything from the basic supplies you need to get started to questions like, does cross stitch fabric have a front side? or do you need to use a hoop?

It covers how big to make your fabric, how to find the center of the fabric and the pattern, how to use a hoop and get your embroidery floss ready, where and how to start stitching, full and partial stitches and more.

I feel like a lot of the stuff I share over here assumes basic knowledge of cross stitch, but I know that’s not always the case and we want to be welcoming to stitchers of all skill levels. If we’re being honest I’m not all that advanced myself, but I am (very slowly) working on a big and super colorful cross stitch pattern for the first time in a long time, which will probably boost my skills pretty quickly.

If you are a beginner and you have a question I haven’t answered, drop a comment here. Or if you’re a more seasoned stitcher and you have a tip or notice something that I didn’t cover, let me know that, too! We’re all learning here together and sharing the joy of stitching.

You can check out my learn to cross stitch post here. Happy stitching!

Learn to Cross Stitch in Minutes

How to Cross Stitch on Linen

Have you read?

Cross Stitch Sheep Projects

As a knitter, I love a good sheep motif, so let’s take a look at some cute sheep cross stitch patterns. 

If you want to stitch a little sheep, this mini square from Good Dog Needleworks is a nice choice. It uses just three colors and measures 32 by 32 stitches. That’s 2.2 inches or about 5.5 cm square if you stitch it on 14 count fabric. 

I also love these two little sheep, which you can stitch together or in individual hoops and shown. The designs are form Threadbound Art and use six colors. They are slightly different in size, with one being 21 by 17 stitches and the other 21 by 20. They fit in four inch frames if you work them on 14 count fabric. 

You can stitch a sweet sheep bookmark with this design from Kits by SA Stitch. This is not for the person who doesn’t like back stitch, because there’s a lot of that here, but it is really cute. It measures 30 by 91 stitches and uses 10 colors. That will make your bookmark about 2.4 by 6.5 inches, or 6 by 16.5 cm on 14 count fabric. 

Stitch a pretty scene of sheep in a meadow with this design from Motok Nytok. It uses 21 colors and the design is 99 by 73 stitches. On 14 count fabric that makes it about 7.07 by 5.21 inches, or 17.96 by 13.24 cm. 

This yarn full of cross stitch sheep has a bit of a knitting twist because the sheep all look like they have sweaters on. The design is from Soda Stitch Design and it measures 179 by 216 stitches. The full design uses 27 colors. On 14 count fabric it will work out to 12.78 by 15.42 inches, or 32.48 by 39.19 cm. 

Another great one with a knitting theme is this one where the wool is coming off the sheep and straight onto the needles. This one is from Happy Cross Stitchers and uses 12 colors. The pattern is 137 by 137 stitches, which comes out to 9.7 inches or 24.86 cm square on 14 count fabric. This would be a fun one to stitch for the knitter in your life (even if that is you). 

Or you can stitch the field of sheep of a knitter’s dreams with the Happy Sheep chart from Charts and Stuff. These per-colored sheep can be stitched as shown or worked in any colors you like. The eyes are French knots but you can just stitch them in white if you’d rather.