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Should You Use Special Needles for Cross Stitch?

February 28, 2024 by Sarah White

I’m going to confess something, which you can probably guess what it is by the headline of this post, but I have never spent much time thinking about the kind of needle I use when I do cross stitch.

Does it fit in the holes of the cross stitch fabric? Sold.

I may just be lucky that I happen to have a good supply of needles of all sorts of thicknesses, sharpness levels and lengths in my house from years of craft hoarding and inheriting other people’s crafty things. But that can cause its own problems because old needles can get dull (maybe even rusty?) or snag your work, and of course it’s always the best idea to have the best tools you can afford that are available to you.

So having said all that, I needed to read this post from Catkin and Lillie all about different needles for use in cross stitch. Just like other kinds of needles we come across in our crafting life, sewing needles come in different sizes that are appropriate for different kinds of stitching.

The key is the finer the fabric you’re using (that is, the higher count) the smaller needle you need so it will go through the holes easily. And bigger numbers mean smaller needles.

The post over there of course goes into a lot more detail about what size needle is appropriate for different kinds of fabric and other considerations when it comes to choosing what needle you should be stitching with. There’s even a video that will show you what happens if you use a needle of an inappropriate size for your fabric.

It also covers different types of needles beyond size, such as petite needles, gold-plated needles, sharps and ball-point tips and more. Some of these are options I didn’t even know existed!

It’s definitely worth a read if you want to make your stitching life a little easier by using the right tools. And who wouldn’t want that?

[Photo: Catkin and Lillie]

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Have you read?

Bookmark Cross Stitch Patterns

It seems like there’s no end to the available options when it comes to cross stitch bookmarks, which is a good thing because they’re perennially popular to stitch as well. This time I thought I’d share some colorful cross stitch bookmarks to get you ready for the new school year or to make meeting your reading goals a little more fun. 

I love these retro floral designs from The Stitch Patterns. This set of four patterns is rated as very easy, and each bookmark measures 2.5 by 6 inches (or 6.35 by 15.25 cm) on 14 count fabric. 

These cute ones that look like mosaic tile would also be fun to stitch. This set includes five designs from EmbroSTyle Designs, and they call them folk art but they mostly look like old mosaics to me. Either way, the bookmarks are 25 by 101 stitches, and to stitch the full set uses 12 colors. 

If you’re looking for more of a challenge, you can stitch up a work of art with this set of 16 bookmarks designed to look like famous paintings. Stitch some sunflowers or a great wave or a starry night. Most of these are between 14 and 20 colors (the great wave is only 8) and the bookmarks are totally covered with stitching at a count of 35 by 100 stitches. Grab this set from Sunset and Sea Design.

Or how about some bookmarks inspired by books (or by movies inspired by books)? This set of Lord of the Rings bookmarks includes four landmarks from the books/movies. Each one is 35 by 115 stitches and uses between 8 and 17 colors. You can find them at byCountryMagicStitch.

These don’t quite all fit the description of being colorful bookmarks to cross stitch, but a few of them do, and speaking of book-themed bookmarks I had to share this set from Mama Geek inspired by Heartstopper. There are seven designs in all that should be quite familiar to readers (or viewers of the series). 

25 Christmas Bookmark Cross-stitch Patterns [Cross-Stitch]

25 Floral Bookmark Cross Stitch Patterns

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