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What’s the Difference Between Cross Stitch and Embroidery?

January 8, 2024 by Sarah White

The other day I wrote a post that included the information that a project could be worked as cross stitch, needlepoint or petit point, and I have to admit I’m not totally sure what the difference between all those terms is. Throw in the more general term “embroidery,” and we’re probably all sure what we’re talking about, but maybe not exactly what each of those words means.

I got to thinking about this when I saw this post about cross stitch versus embroidery from Laura Radniecki. As she points out, any decorative work on fabric that uses a needle and thread is embroidery.

Cross stitch is usually worked on gridded fabric (though you can use water-soluble cross-stitch fabric to make cross stitch designs on fabric without a grid) and is mostly made with full or partial x shapes worked into the grid. I tend to think of needlepoint and embroidery as meaning the same thing, but needlepoint is really another genre that uses different stitches to make designs on the surface of fabric. As this post from needlepoint.com points out, needlepoint uses lots of different stitches to make different effects and is generally more detailed and requires more skill than cross stitch.

So what about petit point? This point from Sirious Stitches educates me/us: petit point is basically half stitches, or what the needlepointers might call continental or tent stitch. Petit point projects are worked on fine gauge fabric to make them small (makes sense, given the name). So you can use regular cross-stitch patterns in petit point, you just want to choose patterns that are mostly made with full stitches and use a smaller (aka higher count) fabric so that the whole design comes out smaller.

Because the fabric is so fine it’s hard to tell the difference between cross stitch and petit point from a distance, but if you want to try it you can play with how many threads to use on different counts of fabric to get a nice, full look.

Have you ever done needlepoint or petit point? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

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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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