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:''This article is about the embroidery style called cross-stitch or counted cross-stitch. For specific crossed stitches used in needlework, see'' cross stitches
'Cross-stitch' is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. Other stitches are also commonly used in cross-stitch, among them ¼, ½, and ¾ stitches and backstitches. Cross-stitch is usually executed on easily countable evenweave fabric, or more rarely on non-countable fabric, on which a countable fabric is applied that is removed later, by drawing out every thread of it under the embroidery. This fabric is called waste canvas. The stitcher counts the threads in each direction so that the stitches are of uniform size and appearance.
This form of cross-stitch is also called 'counted cross-stitch' in order to distinguish it from other forms of cross-stitch. Sometimes cross-stitch is also done on designs printed on the canvas, showing every single cross ('stamped cross-stitch').
Cross-stitch is one of the oldest forms of embroidery and can be found all over the world.[1] Many folk museums show examples of clothing decorated with cross-stitch, especially from continental Europe and Asia.
Two-dimensional (unshaded) cross-stitch in floral and geometric patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss on linen, is characteristic of folk embroidery in Eastern and Central Europe.[2]
In the United States, the earliest known cross-stitch sampler is currently housed at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[1] The sampler was created by Loara Standish, the daughter of Captain Myles Standish, circa 1653.
Multicoloured, shaded, painting-like patterns as we know them today are a recent development, deriving from similar shaded patterns of Berlin wool work of the mid-nineteenth century.
Cross-stitch embroiderers frequently use an even-weave fabric of linen or cotton and work from charts on graph paper. Cross-stitching can also be worked on purpose made cotton Aida cloth which is available in 11, 14, 16, 18, and 22 count sizes and many different colours. The sizes of Aida and Evenweave types denote the approximate number of threads woven per inch. Special vinyl weaves and perforated paper products are also available as well as waste canvas which is used to transfer the embroidery to other fabrics e.g. to decorate clothing. The size of a piece of embroidery can be changed by using a fabric with another count size. Knotted stitches such as french knots are also used in cross stitch.
Today cotton floss is the most usual embroidery thread. It is a thread made of mercerised cotton, made of six strands that are only loosely twisted together and easily separable. Other materials used are pearl cotton, Danish flower thread, silk and Rayon. Danish flower thread is especially popular for nature motifs which originally came from Denmark. Sometimes different wool threads, metallic threads or other speciality threads are used, sometimes for the whole work, sometimes for accents and embellishments.
Thread size is usually chosen so that the stitches cover the fabric completely, creating a tapestry-like effect. But especially in monochrome work the thread can also be chosen a bit thinner, so that the individual crosses can be recognised as such and let the fabric show through a bit. The latter possibility can look nice in monochrome patterns and in combination with Blackwork.
Cross-stitch is the most popular form of hobby embroidery in the western world. It lends itself well to recreational use, as it is easy to learn and very versatile.
Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like dishcloths, household linens, and doilies (only a small portion of which would actually be embroidered). Although there are many cross-stitchers who still employ it in this fashion, especially in Europe, it is now more popular to simply embroider plain pieces of canvas and hang them on the wall for decoration.
There are many cross-stitching "guilds" across the United States and Europe which offer classes, collaborate on large projects, stitch for charity, and provide other ways for local cross-stitchers to get to know one another.
Cross-stitch fabrics, which come in hundreds of varieties, are categorized primarily by "thread count", or the number of threads per inch. They are also categorized by textile fiber content. Some more popular groups of fabric include: Aida, Linen, Even Weave (Plain Weave), Hardanger, and Hand Dyed Specialty Fabrics. Each of the different kinds of fabric have a unique texture, feel and sheen. They even smell different depending on what kind of material they are made out of and how they were dyed.
There are also many different colors in all of these groups to choose from. White, off-white, ecru, cream and variations of white being the most used and most available.
There are many Web sites dedicated to cross stitching which offer tips on how to choose the right fabric for a particular cross-stitch project.
'Aida fabric' is one of the most popular and easy to use fabrics for cross stitch. It is 100% cotton. 14 count is the most widely used in the group with the most color choices. The fabric consists of small squares that make it easy to count and even to stitch. It comes in several different counts as large as Herta (6 count) and fine as 18 count.
Cross-stitch is often combined with other popular forms of embroidery, such as Hardanger embroidery or blackwork embroidery.
A fairly recent development is the use of other stitches in cross-stitch work, in this context called ''special stitches'', in order to create new visual effects and satisfy the wishes of keen stitchers who may find pure cross-stitch boring after a while. These may be stitches from surface embroidery, canvaswork or even drawn thread work and other more unusual branches of embroidery. Beadwork and other embellishments such as paillettes, charms, small buttons and speciality threads of various kinds are becoming more popular.
This development, new as it may seem, is in fact a reinvention. In earliest times, cross-stitch was often used as one of many different stitches.
There are many cross-stitch designers in the United States and Europe who sell their patterns under their names and are well-known among stitchers. Many of them maintain Web sites and keep in touch with possible customers, although usually the patterns are sold by shops and other distributors. In Britain and Europe, specialist magazines are popular and feature a wide variety of designs by leading European designers.
Cross-stitch design has become possible for many hobby embroiderers with the advent of cross-stitch design computer software. Thus it can be a form of creative expression rather than just copying the patterns of someone else.
Main articles: cross stitches
Cross-stitch was often used together with other stitches. It is sometimes used in crewel embroidery, especially in its more modern derivatives. It is also often used in needlepoint.
A specialized historical form of embroidery using cross-stitch is Assisi embroidery.
There are many stitches which are related to cross-stitch and were used in similar ways in earlier times. The best known are Italian cross-stitch, long-armed cross-stitch, Ukrainian cross-stitch and Montenegrin stitc]. Italian cross-stitch and Montenegrin stitch are reversible, that means the work looks the same on both sides. They have a slightly different look than regular cross-stitch. Two-sided cross-stitch looks exactly like regular cross-stitch, but is also reversible. The reversible stitches are more difficult and time-consuming, and use more thread. All those stitches are rarely used in mainstream embroidery, but they are still used to recreate historical pieces of embroidery or by the creative and adventurous stitcher.
The double cross-stitch, also known as a Leviathan stitch or Smyrna cross stitch, combines a cross-stitch with an upright cross-stitch.
Berlin wool work and similar petit point stitchery resembles the heavily shaded, opulent styles of cross-stitch, and sometimes also used charted patterns on paper.
Many companies can convert photographs to cross-stitch patterns, and they may sell the necessary colored threads in a kit or give a list of standard colors to purchase. Additionally, some computer software can generate similar information from digital or scanned photographs.
1. Gillow, John, and Bryan Sentance: ''World Textiles'', Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown, 1999, ISBN 0-8212-2621-5, p. 181
2. ''Threads'' (magazine), Issue 11, June/July 1987
★ Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885.
★ Enthoven, Jacqueline: ''The Creative Stitches of Embroidery'', Van Norstrand Rheinhold, 1964, ISBN 0-442-22318-8
★ Gillow, John, and Bryan Sentance: ''World Textiles'', Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown, 1999, ISBN 0-8212-2621-5
★ Reader's Digest, ''Complete Guide to Needlework''. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). ISBN 0-89577-059-8
★ Counted Cross Stitch Tutorial - Counted Cross Stitch Tutorial.
★ Cross Stitch Chart Design Generator - Create a cross stitch chart design from any image.
★ Cross stitch tips and techniques - Learn to cross stitch on evenweave fabric
Cross-stitch sampler, 1735.
'Cross-stitch' is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. Other stitches are also commonly used in cross-stitch, among them ¼, ½, and ¾ stitches and backstitches. Cross-stitch is usually executed on easily countable evenweave fabric, or more rarely on non-countable fabric, on which a countable fabric is applied that is removed later, by drawing out every thread of it under the embroidery. This fabric is called waste canvas. The stitcher counts the threads in each direction so that the stitches are of uniform size and appearance.
This form of cross-stitch is also called 'counted cross-stitch' in order to distinguish it from other forms of cross-stitch. Sometimes cross-stitch is also done on designs printed on the canvas, showing every single cross ('stamped cross-stitch').
| Contents |
| History |
| Modern cross-stitch |
| Description of the technique |
| Uses |
| Fabrics |
| Related stitches and forms of embroidery |
| Notes |
| References |
| External links |
History
Detail of floral border pattern in cotton. Tea cloth (small tablecloth), Hungary, mid-twentieth century
Cross-stitch is one of the oldest forms of embroidery and can be found all over the world.[1] Many folk museums show examples of clothing decorated with cross-stitch, especially from continental Europe and Asia.
Two-dimensional (unshaded) cross-stitch in floral and geometric patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss on linen, is characteristic of folk embroidery in Eastern and Central Europe.[2]
In the United States, the earliest known cross-stitch sampler is currently housed at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[1] The sampler was created by Loara Standish, the daughter of Captain Myles Standish, circa 1653.
Multicoloured, shaded, painting-like patterns as we know them today are a recent development, deriving from similar shaded patterns of Berlin wool work of the mid-nineteenth century.
Modern cross-stitch
Description of the technique
Cross-stitch embroiderers frequently use an even-weave fabric of linen or cotton and work from charts on graph paper. Cross-stitching can also be worked on purpose made cotton Aida cloth which is available in 11, 14, 16, 18, and 22 count sizes and many different colours. The sizes of Aida and Evenweave types denote the approximate number of threads woven per inch. Special vinyl weaves and perforated paper products are also available as well as waste canvas which is used to transfer the embroidery to other fabrics e.g. to decorate clothing. The size of a piece of embroidery can be changed by using a fabric with another count size. Knotted stitches such as french knots are also used in cross stitch.
Counted cross-stitch on even-weave fabric
Today cotton floss is the most usual embroidery thread. It is a thread made of mercerised cotton, made of six strands that are only loosely twisted together and easily separable. Other materials used are pearl cotton, Danish flower thread, silk and Rayon. Danish flower thread is especially popular for nature motifs which originally came from Denmark. Sometimes different wool threads, metallic threads or other speciality threads are used, sometimes for the whole work, sometimes for accents and embellishments.
Thread size is usually chosen so that the stitches cover the fabric completely, creating a tapestry-like effect. But especially in monochrome work the thread can also be chosen a bit thinner, so that the individual crosses can be recognised as such and let the fabric show through a bit. The latter possibility can look nice in monochrome patterns and in combination with Blackwork.
Uses
Cross-stitch is the most popular form of hobby embroidery in the western world. It lends itself well to recreational use, as it is easy to learn and very versatile.
Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like dishcloths, household linens, and doilies (only a small portion of which would actually be embroidered). Although there are many cross-stitchers who still employ it in this fashion, especially in Europe, it is now more popular to simply embroider plain pieces of canvas and hang them on the wall for decoration.
There are many cross-stitching "guilds" across the United States and Europe which offer classes, collaborate on large projects, stitch for charity, and provide other ways for local cross-stitchers to get to know one another.
Fabrics
Cross-stitch fabrics, which come in hundreds of varieties, are categorized primarily by "thread count", or the number of threads per inch. They are also categorized by textile fiber content. Some more popular groups of fabric include: Aida, Linen, Even Weave (Plain Weave), Hardanger, and Hand Dyed Specialty Fabrics. Each of the different kinds of fabric have a unique texture, feel and sheen. They even smell different depending on what kind of material they are made out of and how they were dyed.
There are also many different colors in all of these groups to choose from. White, off-white, ecru, cream and variations of white being the most used and most available.
There are many Web sites dedicated to cross stitching which offer tips on how to choose the right fabric for a particular cross-stitch project.
'Aida fabric' is one of the most popular and easy to use fabrics for cross stitch. It is 100% cotton. 14 count is the most widely used in the group with the most color choices. The fabric consists of small squares that make it easy to count and even to stitch. It comes in several different counts as large as Herta (6 count) and fine as 18 count.
Cross-stitch is often combined with other popular forms of embroidery, such as Hardanger embroidery or blackwork embroidery.
A fairly recent development is the use of other stitches in cross-stitch work, in this context called ''special stitches'', in order to create new visual effects and satisfy the wishes of keen stitchers who may find pure cross-stitch boring after a while. These may be stitches from surface embroidery, canvaswork or even drawn thread work and other more unusual branches of embroidery. Beadwork and other embellishments such as paillettes, charms, small buttons and speciality threads of various kinds are becoming more popular.
This development, new as it may seem, is in fact a reinvention. In earliest times, cross-stitch was often used as one of many different stitches.
There are many cross-stitch designers in the United States and Europe who sell their patterns under their names and are well-known among stitchers. Many of them maintain Web sites and keep in touch with possible customers, although usually the patterns are sold by shops and other distributors. In Britain and Europe, specialist magazines are popular and feature a wide variety of designs by leading European designers.
Cross-stitch design has become possible for many hobby embroiderers with the advent of cross-stitch design computer software. Thus it can be a form of creative expression rather than just copying the patterns of someone else.
Related stitches and forms of embroidery
Main articles: cross stitches
Cross-stitch was often used together with other stitches. It is sometimes used in crewel embroidery, especially in its more modern derivatives. It is also often used in needlepoint.
A specialized historical form of embroidery using cross-stitch is Assisi embroidery.
There are many stitches which are related to cross-stitch and were used in similar ways in earlier times. The best known are Italian cross-stitch, long-armed cross-stitch, Ukrainian cross-stitch and Montenegrin stitc]. Italian cross-stitch and Montenegrin stitch are reversible, that means the work looks the same on both sides. They have a slightly different look than regular cross-stitch. Two-sided cross-stitch looks exactly like regular cross-stitch, but is also reversible. The reversible stitches are more difficult and time-consuming, and use more thread. All those stitches are rarely used in mainstream embroidery, but they are still used to recreate historical pieces of embroidery or by the creative and adventurous stitcher.
The double cross-stitch, also known as a Leviathan stitch or Smyrna cross stitch, combines a cross-stitch with an upright cross-stitch.
Berlin wool work and similar petit point stitchery resembles the heavily shaded, opulent styles of cross-stitch, and sometimes also used charted patterns on paper.
Many companies can convert photographs to cross-stitch patterns, and they may sell the necessary colored threads in a kit or give a list of standard colors to purchase. Additionally, some computer software can generate similar information from digital or scanned photographs.
Notes
1. Gillow, John, and Bryan Sentance: ''World Textiles'', Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown, 1999, ISBN 0-8212-2621-5, p. 181
2. ''Threads'' (magazine), Issue 11, June/July 1987
References
★ Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885.
★ Enthoven, Jacqueline: ''The Creative Stitches of Embroidery'', Van Norstrand Rheinhold, 1964, ISBN 0-442-22318-8
★ Gillow, John, and Bryan Sentance: ''World Textiles'', Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown, 1999, ISBN 0-8212-2621-5
★ Reader's Digest, ''Complete Guide to Needlework''. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). ISBN 0-89577-059-8
External links
★ Counted Cross Stitch Tutorial - Counted Cross Stitch Tutorial.
★ Cross Stitch Chart Design Generator - Create a cross stitch chart design from any image.
★ Cross stitch tips and techniques - Learn to cross stitch on evenweave fabric
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