How to Choose the Perfect Color Fabric for Your Cross Stitch Project

When I was a kid, pretty much the only colors of cross-stitch fabric you could buy where I lived were white and cream (or what’s called Ivory in the picture above). I don’t even remember black Aida fabric being around, though I’m sure you could buy it at a crafts store or specialty shop.

These days there are a whole lot more options, from different colors and shades to fabric that’s printed with patterns you can stitch right on top of.

All this choice is amazing, but it can also be somewhat daunting, especially if you are trying to buy online and you aren’t sure exactly what color you’re looking at.

Stitched Modern has a great guide to some basic Aida colors for cross-stitching that will help you see the differences between different colors of “white” and “black” so you can pick the best one for your project.

Do you have favorite places online to buy cross-stitch supplies? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Stitched Modern.]

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35+ Sunflower Cross Stitch Patterns

Words add a great graphic element to any cross stitch design, but it can also be fun when the words take center stage in a project, as they do in these word art Christmas cross stitch patterns.

I love these little designs that combine words and smaller images from Durene J Cross Stitch on Etsy. They’re so fun and cheerful and include Santa, a reindeer, a snowman and little birds, as well as holiday gifts and holly. You could stitch up each one individually as shown (each one is 45 by 45 stitches) or you could put all of them together into a cute little holiday sampler.

The Merry Christmas script Christmas tree pattern from Etsy seller Cross Stitch Foxy looks like it would be a lot of fun to stitch and be dramatic on display in your home. It is 138 by 141 stitches, or 9.8 by 10 inches on 14 count fabric, and uses four colors. It’s shown on a white background but I think this one would be stunning on dark blue or black fabric as well. You could even use a metallic thread for the parts that are stitched in gold.

Owl Stitching House on Etsy has a cute Merry Christmas design that adds sampler elements to the mix, with the letters being stitched in a few different ways (I love that the I in Christmas is a candle!) and a scene with Santa, a reindeer and a snowman in the middle. (If this one looks familiar to you that’s because I also shared one of their samplers in my roundup of Christmas samplers the other day.)

Then there’s this fun Christmas cross stitch from Etsy seller Nia Cross Stitch, which uses a snowman as the I and includes a little bird, candle, angel, stocking, mittens and more surrounding the letters. The stitching area is 158 by 49 stitches, and the sample is shown on ice blue fabric, which adds a subtle bit of color that elevates the project.

Comments

Share Smithwick says
March 4, 2019 at 10:30 am
So interesting you should post this regarding backing fabrics for stitching. Have been researching the various ones and have come up with 4 (Burlap, Linen, Monks, Warp) Out of the 4 reviewed on youtube “Standard Warp” is recommended for ease of use and longevity but let me tell you there is only one place I have found that sells it and there are no coupon offers for discounts.

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