by Susan Quilty

Created on: July 18, 2008   Last Updated: September 09, 2008

When you begin to explore the art of cross stitch, you will find that there are many ways to approach the craft.

Cross stitch is a style of embroidery where the designs are largely comprised of even X shaped stitches and highlighted with backstitching. Although cross stitch patterns rely heavily on one basic stitch, they cover a wide range of styles, from simple to complex designs. The more advanced cross stitch projects result in richly shaded designs with beautiful texture.

Usually, cross stitch designs are created on an evenweave fabric such as linen or Aida cloth. Aida cloth is especially easy to use with cross stitch because its evenly spaced holes create tiny squares throughout the fabric. The basic X shaped cross stitches are formed over each square, which keeps them evenly sized. Plastic canvas can also be used instead of cloth.

An easy way to get started in cross stitch is to purchase a cross stitch kit. Complete kits are great for beginners because they include your pattern, cloth, thread, needles, and sometimes even a frame - everything you need to create your cross stitch project. Kits are available in a variety of sizes and difficulties.

When looking for patterns, there are two types of cross stitch kits to consider, stamped cross stitch and counted cross stitch.

Stamped Cross Stitch Patterns

With stamped cross stitch, the pattern is printed - or stamped - directly onto the cross stitch cloth. The colors in the stamped pattern match the colors of the thread and instructions show how to make your stitches in the corresponding thread to cover the design.

When the pattern is stamped onto the cloth, you can focus on how to make each stitch instead of worrying over where to make them. This may make it easier to learn until you are comfortable with making evenly sized cross stitches.

While stamped cross stitch patterns are easy to follow and great for beginners, you are limited to the designs available. It may not be long before you are ready to advance to counted cross stitch patterns.

Counted Cross Stitch Patterns

In counted cross stitch, the pattern is printed on a sheet of grid paper which corresponds to the squares formed by the holes in the Aida cloth. To follow the design, the center stitch from the pattern is made in the center of the fabric and the remaining stitches are counted and copied to their corresponding squares on the cloth.

In counted cross stitch, the printed pattern may be in color or in black and white. Either way, each thread color is represented on the pattern by a symbol, such as a heart, square, circle, or star. A legend will tell you which symbol goes with which thread color. Backstitching, generally marked with dashed or solid lines, is usually added after the cross stitches are complete. Other decorative stitches, such as French knots, may also be included and indicated with their own symbols on the pattern.

Once you have learned how to follow counted cross stitch patterns, you can move on from complete kits and use patterns found in books or online. You can even begin to create your own designs using graph paper to plan your patterns.

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