Articles and lessons

How to start cross stitch, choose fabric, work out the size and read a chart.

How to start cross stitchWhat you need for your first piece, how to pick a chart, find the centre and make the first stitches — without knots or extra shopping.
Fabric and countWhat fabric count means, how Aida differs from evenweave, what "stitching over two" is, and how fabric density changes the size of your work.
How to work out the size and the threadFormulas for the finished size and the fabric you need by count, a worked example, and an honest look at what thread usage depends on.
How to read a cross stitch chartThe grid, symbols and key, the centre and square numbers, multi-page charts, fractional stitches and backstitch — what each part of a chart means.
How long does a cross stitch take?An honest count from stitch numbers and speed — how many hours and evenings a picture takes, what changes your speed, and how to keep going on a big project.
Can you sell cross stitch made from a chart?What you get when you buy a chart, why characters and brands are off limits, what the public domain is, and how to credit a piece stitched from a chart under a free licence.
Stitching from a digital chart: tablet or phone?Where a screen beats paper and where it doesn't, whether to use a tablet or a phone, and how never to lose your place in the chart.
Museum paintings you can stitch for freeWhat the public domain is, where museums share paintings openly, what changes when a painting becomes a chart, and how to credit your piece.
What is parking in cross stitch?How the parking method works, when it helps, how to do it step by step and what its downsides are.
Embroidery in museums: two exhibitions in October 2026A show of girls' samplers from the 18th and 19th centuries opens in New York on 9 October, and an exhibition on embroidery and the other crafts of fashion runs in Paris until 18 October. What's on show, and how to stitch a sampler of your own.
Knit + Stitch London, 8–11 October 2026: how to prepare for a craft showThe UK's big textile craft show runs at Alexandra Palace from 8 to 11 October. What's there, and how a stitcher can prepare for any craft fair to buy what they actually need.
Vector PDF or scan: what's inside a digital chartCross stitch charts come as two kinds of PDF — vector files from charting software and scanned images. How to tell them apart in a minute, why it matters for printing and for apps, and what to do with a scan.
Stitching in short sessions: cross stitch when time is tightHow to choose a chart, set up your space and never lose your place when you have fifteen minutes, not a whole evening.
Your first big project: how to choose it and finish itHow to pick your first big chart — by size, number of colours and confetti — and plan it so you actually reach the end.
How not to lose your cross stitch marksHow to keep your marks on paper and in an app so you never lose where you stopped — and what to do if your marks do disappear.
Sew Dainty: an exhibition of tiny stitches, and how to stitch a miniatureAn Embroiderers' Guild exhibition on small-scale embroidery runs at the Discover Bucks Museum throughout 2026. What miniature embroidery is, and how to stitch your own miniature in cross stitch.
Screen colour vs thread colour: why they don't matchWhy a colour swatch in a digital chart looks different from the skein in your hand, and how to choose threads without mistakes.
Confetti in cross stitch: how to stitch areas with frequent colour changesWhat confetti stitches are, why these areas are slow, and which methods help you stitch them neatly without getting lost.
"Weave, embroider, embellish": a Paris exhibition on fashion crafts, until 18 OctoberThe Palais Galliera fashion museum in Paris is closing its exhibition on weaving, embroidery and lace in clothing from the 18th century to today. What it shows and what a cross stitcher can take from it.
What is an OXS file, and why is it easier than a PDF chart?How the OXS chart format works, what it stores, where to get it and why an app handles it more easily than a picture or a PDF.
How to wash and press a finished cross stitchStep by step: how to test threads for bleeding, wash a finished piece gently, dry it and press it without flattening the stitches.
Samplers as landscapes: a New York exhibition of girls' needlework from the 18th and 19th centuriesOn 9 October 2026 the American Folk Art Museum opens "Locating Girlhood", an exhibition of early American girls' needlework. What a sampler is and how to stitch your own.
Stitching statistics: what to track and how it helps you finishWhich numbers about your stitching are worth keeping — stitches per day, sessions, how much is stitched, what's left per thread — and how to read them without beating yourself up.
Your thread stash: how to keep track of your threads and avoid buying twiceHow to store and track skeins of stranded cotton, check your stash against a chart before you start and make a shopping list with no doubles or gaps.
How to start and finish a thread without a knotThree ways to start a thread in cross stitch — the loop start, the waste knot and running under stitches — and how to finish neatly so the back stays flat.
The Bayeux Tapestry in London: why it's embroidery and what it can teach youFrom 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027 the Bayeux Tapestry is on show at the British Museum. Why it's really embroidery, which stitches it uses and what to take from it for your own work.
How not to get lost in a big chart: finding your place on paper and on screenHow to keep your place in a chart hundreds of squares wide: counting in tens, numbered rulers, gridding the fabric, jumping to a square and the minimap in an app.
Backstitch in cross stitch: how to stitch neat outlinesWhat backstitch is, how to read it on a chart, when to stitch it, how many strands to use and how to avoid the usual mistakes.
French knots: how to make a neat knot first timeStep by step, how to stitch a French knot in cross stitch, how it's shown on a chart, how many wraps to use and why knots slip through to the back.
The Hastings Embroidery: the battle's 960th anniversary and the piece made for its 900th14 October 2026 marked 960 years since the Battle of Hastings. This autumn Hastings Town Hall is showing the 1966 embroidery made for the 900th anniversary. What it is and what to take from it.
Chart from a photo: how a picture becomes a cross stitch chartWhat happens when a photo becomes a chart: size in squares, number of colours, matching real threads, cleaning up single stitches. And how to choose a photo that makes a good piece.
Hoop or frame: how to hold your fabric for cross stitchRound hoops, clip frames, scroll frames on stands or nothing at all — how they differ, which suits the size of your piece and how to avoid marks on the fabric.
Half and three-quarter stitches: how to stitch fractional stitchesWhat half, quarter and three-quarter stitches are, how they look on a chart, how to stitch them on Aida and evenweave and why charts use them.
White on white: a whitework exhibition in St. Louis and how to try it yourselfFrom 2 October 2026 to 18 April 2027 the Saint Louis Art Museum is showing 19th-century American white bedcovers. What whitework is and how to make a white piece in cross stitch.
Stitching in the evening: light, screen and dark mode to rest your eyesHow to set up light and screen for evening stitching: which lamp you need, why magnification helps, how night mode shifts colours on screen and when a dark theme helps.
Needles for cross stitch: which size to choose for your fabricHow a tapestry needle differs from an ordinary one, how needle sizes work, which to use for Aida and evenweave, when you need a beading needle and how often to change it.
Beads in cross stitch: how to attach a bead neatly and securelyHow beads are shown on a chart, which needle and thread to use, how to attach a bead with a half stitch so it doesn't wobble, and when in the project to add them.
Romanian embroidery at Maryhill: a museum's centennial and lessons in geometric patternUntil 15 November 2026 the Maryhill Museum of Art in the US is showing Romanian embroidery for its 100th anniversary. What makes the embroidered Romanian blouse special and how to stitch a geometric motif in cross stitch.
Stitching by colour or by area: how to choose an order and not miss stitchesThe two main ways to work a chart — colour by colour or area by area. How they differ, when each is easier and how highlighting one thread helps you not miss stitches.
Long stitch in cross stitch: what it is and how to stitch it neatlyHow a long stitch differs from backstitch, how it looks on a chart, where it's used and how to keep a long thread from snagging or sagging.
How to frame a cross stitch: mounting, mount board and glassHow to prepare a finished piece for framing, mount it on a board without skewing it, whether you need glass and a mount, and how to keep the work for years.
A chart from a portrait: what to choose so the face comes out rightHow to make a cross stitch chart from a portrait: what size to choose for a face, how many threads skin usually takes, and what to do about off shades and single stitches.
How to bring your marks over from another tracker or a paper chartNo need to mark a chart you've started all over again: how to bring your marks into Crossette from a screenshot of another app or a photo of a page coloured in with a highlighter, and what the app asks you itself.
How to unpick a cross stitch mistake without damaging the fabricOff by a square, or stitched in the wrong colour? How to unpick one cross, how to remove a large area, what to lift the thread with, what to do with the fabric afterwards — and when a mistake is better left alone.
How to sign your cross stitch: initials, a date and a label on the backWhy sign a finished cross stitch, how to stitch your initials and the year, where to put them so they don't fight the design, and what to write on a label on the back.
Where to keep your charts and progress backups so a new phone doesn't cost you themBought PDFs, OXS files and your marks live in different places. How to build a chart library, name your files, keep copies by the 3-2-1 rule and check that a backup really restores.
Sequinology in London: sequins since the 16th century — and how to add one to your cross stitchAt London's Fashion and Textile Museum, a display about sequins runs until 11 April 2027 — from a 16th-century embroidered picture to sequins made of plant cellulose. What it shows, and how to add a sequin to your own stitching.
The Hand & Lock Prize 2026 — embroidery that tells a story. How to tell yours in cross stitchFrom 3 to 6 November 2026, London showed the work of the finalists of an international prize for hand embroidery. This year's theme was storytelling. What the prize is, and how to tell a story in your own cross stitch.
How to measure whether two colours match: CIELAB and ΔE in thread matchingWhy the "nearest thread" to a photo colour isn't a matter of taste but a calculation. What the CIELAB colour space is, how the colour difference ΔE works, and why two threads in one needle are sometimes closer than one.
Cross stitch Christmas ornaments: on plastic canvas and on fabricA small Christmas stitch takes a couple of evenings. How to choose the base — plastic canvas or fabric with felt — how to put an ornament together from two halves, and when to start so you finish in time.
Metallic thread in cross stitch: how to stitch it without the struggleMetallic thread adds sparkle, but it snaps, tangles and frays. Which needle to use, how long a length to cut, how to lock it in the eye, and where shiny thread looks best.
How to get a digital chart for a kit — and what to do if there isn't oneA kit comes with one paper chart, often in small print. Where to look for a digital version, what to ask the maker, and how to stitch without spoiling the original if there's no file.