Cross-Stitch

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How to Cross Stitch on Linen

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I consider myself a barely intermediate cross-stitcher, so there are a lot of things you can do with cross stitch that I haven’t done (yet! I’m working on it!).

One of the gaps in my knowledge or skills or whatever you want to call it is cross stitching on linen. It looks beautiful but I’ve always been a little intimidated by it so I haven’t tried it yet.

The good news is, there are plenty of smart and experienced cross stitchers out there to show us the way when we don’t know how to do things.

Catkin and Lille wrote all about their experience working with linen, the pros and cons and how you actually go about stitching on linen. It turns out it’s not all that different from using regular cross stitch fabric, except you are stitching over two threads at a time instead of one.

Also it’s easier to work projects with fractional stitches on linen because the squares have a hole in the middle, which makes it easier to make half or quarter stitches that are consistently sized.

There can be a learning curve when it comes to cross stitching on linen because the weave is not as even as standard cross stitch fabric, and the softness of the fabric can make it a little trickier to get your tension consistent. But as with everything else in cross stitch and in life, a little practice will make it easier.

You can get all the tips, pros and cons and other information about cross stitching on linen fabric at the post over on Catkin and Lille. But I’d love to know if you have ever worked with linen for cross stitch and how it worked out for you. Especially if you have any tips to share because this might be something that I finally try this year and I will probably need all the help I can get!

[Photo: Catkin and Lille]

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Strawberry Cross Stitch Patterns

My favorite thing about mid to late spring is local strawberries. Strawberries are fun as a graphic element, too, because they’re an interesting shape and cheerful color. Let’s stitch some strawberry cross stitch patterns.

Craft Club Co AU has this cute kind of retro strawberry pattern with a pink checkerboard background. The pattern pages doesn’t give a lot of details but it looks like is uses at least 7 colors and it says it will fit in an 8 by 10 frame when stitched on 14 count fabric.

For a classic farmhouse look, check out the strawberry pattern from Largodargento Shop. This one reminds me of little wild strawberries, and it has a bit of a mandala design with other geometric shapes.

Speaking of classics, you can also stitch a strawberry alphabet sampler from Curious Carrie Designs. It is 54 stitches square, which comes out to 3.86 inches or 9.8 cm square. It calls for 8 colors and was stitched on 32-count linen. Keep it flat or turn it into a biscornu stitched with flowers and bees.

This strawberry pincushion from The SubRosa Design is super sweet and of course could be framed instead of using it as a pincushion if you’d rather. This one is 93 stitches square, or about 5.3 inches/13.5 cm square stitched on 36 count linen as shown.

This graphic, slightly abstract strawberry design from Box and Fox is so much fun and would be great to have on your kitchen wall or in your breakfast area. It measures 98 by 141 stitches, which comes out to 7 by 10 inches or 17.78 by 25.58 cm on 14 count fabric. The design uses 6 colors.

Don’t let the mice get your strawberries! This oddly cute design from Tourmaline Pattern measures 95 by 94 stitches and uses 16 colors. I love the look of it on black fabric, because it really makes the mice and the flowers pop. On 14 count fabric this comes out to 6.7 inches or about 17 cm square.