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Do You Park Your Cross Stitch Thread? Try The Royal Roads Method

July 6, 2025 by Sarah White

I have not done a lot of big cross stitch projects, but sometimes even with small projects it can be hard to decide exactly where to begin and how to work through the chart if you’re working with multiple colors. The general categories for the possible methods are known as cross country and parking. 

Cross country means that you’re working one color at a time, moving around the chart (or the section of the chart you’re working on) until you’re done with that color. Parking means you’re working in a smaller section and doing all the colors in that area, “parking” the threads by leaving them attached to the canvas but out of the way while you finish each section. 

Royal Rows is a specific way of parking named by Alison Royal, which is explored in detail on a post on Stitching Daily. 

The idea is that you’re working one “tower” of stitches at a time (she uses a section of 10 stitches across by 20 down, but you can do whatever makes sense to you). You work all the stitches of a color at a time, starting at the top left and working your way down. When you’re done with a color you can park it where needed in the section below your current tower (known as the dungeon) or in the “east tower,” which is the section to the right. 

There’s also a specific way of dealing with thread ends when you’re done with a color. This is a super simplified version (head to the blog post at Stitching Daily to get all the details) but the basic idea is that you’re working from left to right and top to bottom across the work, parking the threads in the next section when you’re done with them and systematically choosing which color to work with next. 

The whole idea of parking is kind of overwhelming to me though I will admit that it makes a lot of sense. I guess I need to try it on a smallish big project and see how it goes. Do you use the parking method of cross stitch? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Stitching Daily]

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Designer Spotlight: Bad Stitched

I came across the Etsy shop Bad Stitched when I was looking for bookmark cross stitch patterns and found their adorable pride bat bookmark, which I didn’t share then because I was going for more of a back to school vibe, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you love rainbows and bats. 

This Etsy shop is big on whimsy and color, but not on organization, as there are not categories. Still, as of this writing there were only a little more than 60 patterns, so it’s small enough to scroll through. 

In keeping with the theme of the bat bookmark, there are a lot of designs with animals and insects in different colors. Another one that caught my in this neon cicada with a crescent moon and stars. This one is 85 by 70 stitches and uses 16 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 6 by 5 inches, or 15.4 by 12.7 cm. 

You’ll also find patterns with animals such as mice, a snail, a jellyfish, a wolf, a corgi in a birthday hat, a fat seal and other bat designs. There are several mushroom designs, a pirate frog, and a scuba diving ghost (among other ghostly designs). You’ll find cats and mythical characters, a mouse thinking about eating strawberries and more. 

There’s also an ebook full of mushroom designs, and another of creepy creatures for Halloween and beyond. There’s also a Pantheon bundle, full of gods, goddesses, characters from mythology, three amphora designs and a Greek inspired font. 

If these sorts of designs sound like something you’d like to stitch, check out Bad Stitched on Etsy. 

Know of a cross stitch designer (or are you a cross stitch designer) who should be featured in the designer spotlight? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending a note through the “suggest a DIY” link at the top of the page. 

[Photo: Bad Stitched]

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