Cross-Stitch

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Everything You Need to Know about Cross Stitch Fabrics

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I have been writing about cross stitch here for a long time, and I’m done cross stitch now and then throughout my life, but I’m by no means an expert. So it’s great for me to have this gig where I get to learn new to me things about the craft and share them with you so we can all be a little smarter about the basics and beyond.

One big thing in cross stitch that I never learned much about is the fabric. I’ve pretty much used 14 count Aida for everything, and it works well for lots of different projects, but of course there are other options.

The Crewel Ghoul has a great post on their website all about what you need to know about different kinds of cross stitch fabrics. It talks about the major differences among kinds of fabric: weave, fiber and thread count. It looks at the differences between Aida, evenweave and linen, how to count threads and why you might want to choose different kinds of fabric for your project.

I’m sure I’ll still stick to Aida for most projects because it’s easy to work with, widely available, comes in a lot of different colors and is generally not too expensive. But it’s nice to know about the other options that are out there, and I’d love to feel skilled enough to work with linen some day because I love the classic look.

You can read all about the different kinds of cross stitch fabric, their qualities and where to buy them at the Crewel Ghoul website.

What about you? Do you use Aida all the time like I do, or do you change it up for different projects? If you have a favorite place to buy cross stitch fabric, I’d love to hear about that, too!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

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Crow Cross Stitch Patterns

In all my years writing about cross stitch, I don’t think I’ve ever had a post dedicated to crow cross stitch patterns. That’s a shame, because crows are cool, and they’re a great motif to use in the fall that has a bit of a Halloween/spooky vibe without necessarily being all pumpkins and ghosts (though we have some of that, too). 

Actually, these little crow cross stitch patterns from LaSelva Design could be up in the house year round, especially if you’ve made friends with crows or are trying to cultivate your own murder. This set of four patterns is each worked in four colors, and they’re shown in 3-inch hoops, though they vary in size a little bit. 

This Art Nouveau crow from Needle Lot Designs is stunning and reminds me a bit of a tarot card. It would be the perfect thing to stitch for a witchy friend. It measures 74 by 98 stitches, which comes out to 5.25 by 7 inches or 13.4 by 17.8 cm on 14 count fabric. It uses 14 colors and has no backstitching. 

Or keep it monochrome with PandoraXstitch‘s cross cross stitch pattern. I love how this one looks like a woodcut, and it shows you that even stitching in a single color you can make something really interesting. This design is 283 by 284 stitches, which is a little more than 20 inches or 51.5 cm not quite square on 14 count fabric. The pattern includes measurements for other counts if you want to make it a different size. 

The Book of Lost Keys design from Haunted Frames feels a little more Halloween, but it doesn’t have to be. It tells the story of a mama crow whose baby is locked in a cage, but the mama has the key. The design is shown worked on 18 count fabric and measures 109 by 79 stitches. That’s 6.1 by 4.4 inches, or about 15.5 by 11 cm. It uses four colors of regular floss as well as gold metallic floss. 

Speaking of more Halloween, I love this spooky cake stand featuring a crow and other characters from Ulysses Blue Stitching. You’ll find a creepy cake, eyeball in a jar, owl, ghosts and more haunting this house. It uses nine colors and measure 109 by 143 stitches. That’s 7.4 by 9.8 inches or 19.78 by 25.94 cm on 14 count fabric. 

I also like this kind of folk art crow (or raven as the pattern calls it) sitting on a pumpkin from MIYAstitch. This one measures a manageable 71 by 81 stitches and uses seven colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to a little more than 5 by almost 6 inches (or 13 by 15 cm). 

Another pumpkin and crow pattern (this time with a witch hat) comes from My Lovely Embroidery MB. This dare I say cute design uses seven colors as well ans is 81 by 80 stitches. That measures 5.79 by 5.71 inches, or 14.7 by 14.51 cm, on 14 count fabric. This one uses full and three-quarter stitches as well as French knots.