How to Cross Stitch for Beginners

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to cross stitch, but don’t know where to start, this post is for you. Cross stitching is really a very easy craft, and is the perfect thing to keep your hands busy while watching a show or waiting around at soccer practice. I’ve been cross stitching since I was a little girl and will walk you through every step to get you started.

Watch the Video Tutorial

I’ve recorded all of these instructions in a video tutorial as well as written them up. Watch the video below. (If you are using an ad blocker, you may need to disable it to see the video.)

How to Cross Stitch

Step 1: Gather Supplies for Cross Stitch

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Cross Stitch Supplies:

• fabric – Use Aida cloth for beginners or another evenweave fabric if you are more advanced
• embroidery floss – Color codes should be listed on your pattern. Usually DMC and/or Anchor brand are used. If you think you’ll need more than one of a single color, buy them all at the same time. That way you don’t have to deal with differences in color from different dye lots.
• cross stitch needles – Get a couple in case you lose one.
• embroidery scissors
• embroidery hoop or frame
• cross stitch pattern – I used this one made by Tiny Modernist.

Step 2: Prepare the Fabric

Step 3: Find the Middle of the Fabric

It’s important that you start a cross stitch pattern by marking the middle of your fabric. That way you know where to start stitching, and you are sure to have enough fabric to make the entire design.

To find the middle, fold the fabric in half one way and then fold it in half the other way. Mark the spot in the middle, where both folds cross, by sticking a pin through it.

Step 4: Put the Fabric in a Hoop

Use an embroidery hoop or frame to hold your fabric. Keep the needle you used to mark your center inserted while doing this part. Take the fabric out of the hoop when you are done stitching for the day so you don’t make permanent creases in the fabric.

How to put Aida Cloth in an Embroidery Hoop

1. Loosen the screw and separate the two piece of the embroidery hoop.
2. Put the inner circle of the embroidery hoop under the fabric, and the outer circle on top.
3. Tighten the top screw so you can just barely push the top circle over the inner circle. Your fabric should be tight, but make sure the squares created by the holes are not distorted.
4. Tighten the top screw by hand as much as you can.

Step 5: Thread the Needle

Use a cross stitch or tapestry needle. The end is blunt so the needle goes easily through the holes in the fabric instead of stabbing through somewhere else. Also a plus if you are prone to stabbing yourself while stitching!

1. Cut a piece of thread about the length from your finger tips to your elbow.
2. Separate out the number of threads you will use for stitching. Embroidery floss is a large thread made up of six smaller threads. You pull out one or two of those strands to stitch with. Your pattern should tell you how many, but for cross stitch, the number is usually two.
3. Push one end of the thread through the eye of a cross stitch or tapestry needle and pull it through about four inches. If you have difficulty threading the needle, it helps to wet the end of your thread or use a needle threader.

Step 6: Learn to Read a Cross Stitch Pattern

Cross stitch patterns are a grid made up of different-colored squares with symbols. Each square represents one cross stitch. Four holes in your Aida cloth are the four corners of each square.

1. Find the center of your pattern, just like you found the center of your fabric. Start stitching around there and work your way out.
2. Match the symbol with on the grid with the chart in the pattern instructions to find the color thread you need.

So you can see here, the blue arrow symbol uses a cross stitch, in DMC 807. We see below the chart that all cross stitches are done using two strands of embroidery floss.

Step 7: Learn to Cross Stitch

Making a Single Cross Stitch

Usually stitches will be done in groups or rows, but sometimes, you need to do a single stitch.

1. Bring the needle up at the bottom left corner. Leave a tail an inch or two long on the back.
2. Bring the needle down at the top right corner.
3. Bring the needle up at the bottom right corner, white stitching over the tail on the back to secure the thread.
4. Bring the needle down at the top left corner.

Making a Row of Cross Stitches

When you have rows of the same color, it is most efficient to stitch them in rows from left to right, top to bottom.

1. Bring the needle up at the bottom left corner. Leave a tail an inch or two long on the back.
2. Bring the needle down at the top right corner.
3. Bring the needle up at the bottom right corner, while stitching over the tail on the back to secure the thread.
4. Bring the needle down at the top right corner of the next X.
5. Bring the needle up at the bottom right corner of that square, while stitching over the tail again.
6. Continue making the first half of the X shapes until you reach the end of the row, stitching over the tail of the thread two or three times.
7. When you get to the last X, bring the needle up at the bottom right corner and down at the top left corner. Continue until all X’s are finished in that row.

Starting a New Row

You can start a new row just like the one before. Work from left to right, when you can. Sometimes it won’t make sense to do that, so it’s not a hard rule. Just make sure that the part of the X that goes from bottom left to top right is always under the one that goes from bottom right to top left.

Starting in a New Section

Make sure you don’t skip around to different parts of the pattern, leaving a large trail of thread on the back. Doing so will waste thread, and you also risk being able to see the thread through the fabric on the front. It’s best to just finish off that thread and start another in the new spot.

Step 8: Finishing Thread for Cross Stitch

To finish off a piece of thread, secure it by running your needle under three stitches on the back of your work. Snip off the excess thread.

Cross Stitch FAQ

You might also enjoy these 25+ Modern Cross-Stitch Kits! And when you’re done cross-stitching learn Hand Embroidery for Beginners.