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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?

Designer Spotlight: Haunted Frames

Cute spooky and fantasy cross stitch patterns is how the designer behind Haunted Frames describes their shop, and I have to agree with them. These designs are cute and Gothic and a little bit spooky all at once. There’s a heavy focus on book themes, which you know I am a fan of, so let’s get into it. 

Stopping first in the books section, there are lots of designs that are literally on book shapes, but if you know my love of both books and cats, you’ll know I had to share the Midnight Book Cart cross stitch pattern. As the name suggests it’s a design with a witchy book cart, complete with a spiderweb, bats flying out of a book and what it describes as a ghost cat (though I would have to make a black cat instead of a white one since I have a black cat, and that fits with the vibe). 

The design is 65 by 97 stitches and is worked in 17 colors. It’s shown on 16 count fabric, which makes it 4.1 by 6.1 inches, or 10.3 by 15.4 cm. 

I also love the winter themed little free library design, which would be perfect to stitch up for the little librarian in your life (or to drop at a neighborhood book space). 

Projects with a book theme make up the majority of the patterns that are categorized in this shop, but you’ll want to scroll through all their patterns to see what else is available, since it doesn’t look like everything is in a category. You’ll find castles and dragons, more cats of course, some more obviously Halloween and Christmas themed projects and those that would suit for spooky season or any other time of year. 

If cute and dark is your aesthetic, you’ll want to check out all the patterns at www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedFrames, which you can find on Etsy. 

[Photo: Haunted Frames]

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