How to Cross Stitch on Linen

For all that I’ve been writing about cross stitch for years, I am not very adventurous when it comes to projects or new techniques. I have never, for example, stitched on linen, because regular Aida fabric feels so much easier.

It’s not that cross stitching on linen is actually difficult, but there is a learning curve involved. The first thing to know is that you generally work over two threads instead of the single block in Aida because linen has a higher thread count. That being the case it’s not as easy to see where your stitch should go compared to the simple boxes on Aida fabric.

You also need to choose linen fabric with a count double to what you would use with Aida. So if you would normally use 16 count fabric you’d use 32 count linen, for example.

Why would you want to choose linen for a cross stitch project? Linen has a lovely natural look (because it is a natural fiber, made from flax) and because it has fewer holes it has a smoother overall appearance than regular cross stitch fabric. It’s great to give a sort of old fashioned, instant heirloom look to your projects.

Because of the way you work stitches on linen over two threads, it’s easier to make fractional stitches when working on linen, so if you have a really detailed project that uses lots of partial stitches, choosing to work it on linen might make it a bit easier.

Since I am not the expert on any of this I’ll direct you to a great blog post all about cross stitching on linen from Crewel Ghoul. The post includes lots of good tips that will make it a little easier for you to work with linen should you want to do so on a future project.

Have you ever worked a cross stitch pattern on linen fabric? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

Inkspire Studio Shops offers cross stitch patterns as well as tons of different stitch minders, scissor charms and thread organization tools.

We’ll get to all that, but since we’re mostly here for the patterns, let’s start there.

All of the patterns are in one category (called Inkspire Originals if you’re following along). There are a lot of book-themed projects and more of the designs are bookmarks than anything else. You’ll find trope bookmarks, a Reading Rainbow themed design, flowers and a super cute watercolor set bookmark, to name a few.

And while the book themed projects are by far the most numerous, I wanted to share this super cute pile of vintage Pyrex style bowls. I love the colors on this one and it should be easy to stitch because so much of it is blocks (or bowls) of a single color. This one is only available as a printed pattern, but most of them are digital.

It calls for six colors and comes out 5.6 by 6.9 inches, or 14.2 by 17.5 cm when stitched on 14 count fabric.

In addition to the bookmarks and book themed projects you’ll find a few kitchen projects and some Halloween and Christmas designs as well.

But what this shop is really about is needle minders, and there are tons of them, with all kinds of themes ranging from introverted and snarky to animal themes, food and beverages, retro designs and religious and inspiring needle minders.

If you don’t know about needle minders, these are acrylic with magnets. You stick a magnet to the back of your work, add the needle minder to the front of the work, and then it holds your sewing needle when you’re not stitching. No need for piercing your fabric or losing your needle between stitching sessions.

She also makes charms you can attach to your scissors (or use as a stitch marker if you’re a knitter or crocheter), inventory and project trackers and bags large and small to hold works in progress and other supplies. She’s also got a great collection of vintage cross stitch patterns and kits, so check out all the fun goodies at Inkspired Studio Shops.

[Photo: Inkspire Studio Shops]

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