How to Work Quarter Stitches in Cross Stitch

I have done a fair bit of smaller cross stitch pieces in my time (and I definitely have working something bigger as a goal for 2024!) but for the most part I’ve only worked projects with full cross stitches, backstitch and French knots. Of course I know other stitches aren’t necessarily harder, they just involve skills I haven’t actually tried yet.

Last year I wrote a piece sharing information about partial stitches in cross stitch, what they look like in a chart, and how to work them.

Then I found this post all about quarter stitch from Sirious Stitches, which is worth a read as a deep dive into how quarter stitches work and how to make them.

As you might guess from the name, a quarter stitch looks like you have stitched one quarter of a full cross stitch. So instead of working the full x, you’re only working half of one side of the x.

To do this you have to make your own hole in the center of the square and then work from there to whatever hole you need to finish the stitch.

The post linked above shows how to work a single quarter stitch, as well as a three-quarter stitch (one leg is normal and one is made like the quarter stitch), as well as the double quarter stitch and double three-quarter stitch. There’s also an option to combine a three-quarter stitch and a quarter stitch where the quarter is worked in a different color from the three-quarter part.

It’s all a little mind-boggling, but the post has good examples of what these different options look like in a chart and in your stitching, and why different methods might be preferred in different situations. This is pretty high-level stuff, but if you ever need to know how to do it you’ll be glad these terms are familiar to you.

Do you work projects with partial stitches or do you stick to whole stitches? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

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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