How to Cross Stitch on Linen

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]

Artmishka Cross Stitch is an Etsy shop based in Italy with lots of whimsical and colorful designs and an emphasis on animals, flowers and landscapes. Let’s take a closer look!

The animal section is by far the largest, and it includes everything from realistic birds to cartoony cats, a set of little chick ornaments for Easter and a blackwork butterfly, to name a few. There are little animals in clothes and scarves, and this sweet folk art style owl in modern colors.

This one (and lots of them, really, I think) was designed as nursery decor, and it calls for 10 colors, which you can of course change up to suit your decor, nursery or otherwise. The design is 95 by 95 stitches, which comes out to about 7 inches or 18 cm square on 14 count fabric or 28 count evenweave stitched over two strands.

Another large category is flowers, which includes birth month flower designs, flowers that look hand drawn and colored, floral wreaths with teapots and wedding floral cross stitch designs.

The sampler section includes a variety of small patterns, images with words, colorful geometric and floral designs, and a few holiday patterns. Christmas designs include stamps, Christmas trees, stocking, snowmen and a cute box of snowflake shaped Christmas cookies in a box with a mug of hot chocolate, to name a few designs.

There are also a fair number of designs in both the landscape and cottage categories. These include iconic landmarks and colorful sunsets, and buildings from beach houses to a mushroom cottage, book shop and a cottage with flowers bursting out of the roof. There’s also a section called girl, which has designs of a little girl in different outfits and situations and some other characters.

Other categories on the site with smaller numbers of patterns include boy designs, princesses, plants, hobby themed designs (sewing, knitting, baking), art and bookmarks. There are also a handful of cross stitch kits, all of the little girl character.

Check out all of the fun designs at Artmishka Cross Stitch.

[Photo: Artmishka Cross Stitch]

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