How to sign your cross stitch: initials, a date and a label on the back
Old samplers are almost always signed: the stitcher's name and age, the year. Two hundred years on, the signature is what tells us who made it and when. Signing your own work is easy — and worth doing, especially if the piece is a gift.
What to stitch
- Initials — two or three letters. A full name suits a sampler, where the lettering is part of the design.
- The year. Sometimes the month and year, if the piece marks an event: a wedding, a birth.
- For a gift — the initials of the person it's for, or a short dedication.
How to stitch the letters
- A small alphabet. Letters 5–7 squares tall are enough for a signature. Draw them on graph paper or use any simple stitching alphabet.
- Cross stitch or backstitch. Backstitch in one strand gives fine, neat letters — see "Backstitch in cross stitch".
- Colour. Take one of the colours in the piece, a little darker than the background. The signature should read up close without drawing the eye.
- Plan it first. Count how many squares the lettering takes and find its place on the chart before you start.
Where to put it
- In the bottom right corner, two or three squares from the edge of the design — the most usual place.
- Centred under the design — if there's free space below.
- Allow for the frame. A mount and frame cover the edge of the fabric, so don't put the signature too close to the edge: see "How to frame a cross stitch".
A label on the back
If a stitched signature doesn't suit the design, put it on the back:
- sew on a small piece of fabric or ribbon and write on it with a permanent fabric marker;
- give your name, the year, the chart's title and its designer;
- if the chart has an open licence, add a line crediting its author — how to word it is in "Can you sell cross stitch made from a chart?".
Where the app comes in
When a piece is finished, Crossette keeps its statistics: how many crosses you stitched and on which days. You can take the year and dates for your signature from there — see "Stitching statistics".
About the author
This article was written by the Crossette team. We're building Crossette, a cross stitch tracker for iPhone and iPad. It's in development; to join the beta, see the Beta page.