Cross stitch

I think the reason is that they use several different shades of the same colour close together. For example, the top right square of that sample of the pattern has 7 shades of green, 4 shades of brown and 1 black in those 900 stitches. And it's on 18 holes to the inch fabric while a lot of cross stitch is 14 holes per inch, and the smaller the stiches the more detailed it looks.

It is the most complicated pattern I've ever done in 30+ years

I have just finished the third row of the cross stitch, one more row left to go.

That is really beautiful, skilled work.

Thank you


It all started back in the 1980s when my mother-in-law gave me a small 4 inch square half cross stich kit of an apple and it's continued since then. I much prefer working in full cross stich on aida fabric or linen rather than wool on canvas, and 18 holes to the inch as that allows more detail. This one I'm three quarters the way through is on 18 count aida fabric. With designs which leave areas unstitched I use 36 count linen working over two threads per stitch (so it's the same size stitches as 18 count aida).

Wow, that's beautifully done!

Essjay said:

I have just finished the third row of the cross stitch, one more row left to go.


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That's stunning! I'm a cross stitcher too, so I know how much work and time went into this, with the variety of colours and threads! Do you use the parking method, by chance? I haven't had time or inclination to stitch since dad passed, and I miss it. I know I'll pick it back up again when I can. I still have patterns, fabric, floss etc, and two huge tubs of cross stitching stuff, equipment, finished stitches that I completed but didn't do anything with, etc!

Essjay said:

Thank you


It all started back in the 1980s when my mother-in-law gave me a small 4 inch square half cross stich kit of an apple and it's continued since then. I much prefer working in full cross stich on aida fabric or linen rather than wool on canvas, and 18 holes to the inch as that allows more detail. This one I'm three quarters the way through is on 18 count aida fabric. With designs which leave areas unstitched I use 36 count linen working over two threads per stitch (so it's the same size stitches as 18 count aida).

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So similar to my story! I liked art and crafts a lot as a kid in the late 80s and 90s, so got some little cross stitch kits for kids for Christmas or a birthday, can't remember, but I loved it, and really got into it for a while. Then my mum bought me a huge stitch kit of a jungle scene after a visit to the zoo, because I loved the picture so much. But it was way too advanced for me then. I attempted it, starting with one tiny corner and not leaving a margin, and just guessing at the colours needed, lol. Eventually I got all the threads mixed up, packed it away and moved on to other art stuff. Mainly pencil sketches, really detailed still life stuff, some watercolouring and acrylics etc. Always liked trying new art forms and media! But I didn't cross stitch again for years.

But around 2018/2019 when I moved to a bigger place, I picked up some boxes from my parents house and found that huge old cross stitch mum had bought me all those years ago, and determined to complete it! It's a mess, but it felt great to finally complete it, and find the stitching community to learn all the tips! It's just a peaceful thing to do of an evening.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Do you use the parking method, by chance?

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I had to google that term. No I don't use it. If I tried the parking method I'd end up with the threads so tangled I'd never get them undone With this pattern being in 16 sheets I have to work 1 sheet at a time, though it does get complicated juggling 4 sheets at the intersections. You can see from the photo that where a colour continues into the next sheet I just finish the thread on the needle working from the next sheet; or where there are just a couple of stitches of a colour at the edge of a sheet and that colour continues into the next pattern sheet I leave those stitches till I'm sewing the next sheet. The patterns have all sorts of scribbling round the edges.


I'll have to take some photos of the ones I've already done, including one free style embroidery picture. That was a challenge as I had to learn a few new stitches that we didn't do at primary school back in the early 1960s (when girls had to do girl subjects and boys did boy subjects )

Essjay said:

I had to google that term. No I don't use it. If I tried the parking method I'd end up with the threads so tangled I'd never get them undone With this pattern being in 16 sheets I have to work 1 sheet at a time, though it does get complicated juggling 4 sheets at the intersections. You can see from the photo that where a colour continues into the next sheet I just finish the thread on the needle working from the next sheet; or where there are just a couple of stitches of a colour at the edge of a sheet and that colour continues into the next pattern sheet I leave those stitches till I'm sewing the next sheet. The patterns have all sorts of scribbling round the edges.


I'll have to take some photos of the ones I've already done, including one free style embroidery picture. That was a challenge as I had to learn a few new stitches that we didn't do at primary school back in the early 1960s (when girls had to do girl subjects and boys did boy subjects )

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I need to grab some photos too, all my previous photos are on my dead laptop... I'm terrible about backing things up!

I can't use the parking method either, I tend to just do what I was told is called "cross country", where I just start somewhere in the middle and do the stitches in that area in that colour. I grid my fabric into ten by ten blocks usually though. I have dyscalculia, and tend to accidentally switch numbers in my head at times, so having a fabric pen grid on the aida that washes out when I'm finished helps me catch any mistakes before I've gone too far and have to unpick things!

I like using black aida sometimes though, and that means gridding using a thin red reel, like fishing line, that you can make ten by ten grids with. I prefer using 18 or 16 count, but I'm also way overdue for an eye test and new glasses, so have been sticking to smaller, 14 count basic fabric and fairly easy to midsize projects.

Haven't done embroidery yet, but have a kit for it in my supply tub! It's such a beautiful thread art, I just haven't got around to learning all the different stitches and trying it out yet. Your current WIP is gorgeous! That's one to frame and hang on your wall, for sure.

I usually start in the middle and work outwards but with this one having 16 pattern sheets that wasn't really an option so I've been working in rows. The most difficult thing has been physically handling the frame. It's big. The finished picture is 66 x 45 cm (26.1 x 17.8 inches) and from tip to tip the rollers are 93 cm/36.5 inches. I managed to find a make of frame that just fit the fabric. Most of the cross stitch I've done has been portrait layout while this is landscape.


I've had to get a second pair of reading glasses for really close work. I have a pair of 'office' glasses as my main pair - the top half is for using the laptop, the lower half for reading a book - but I can't see to even thread the needle with the lower half.

I have finally finished this cross stitch It now needs to be framed. I'll need to get a frame made, most of my other cross titch pictures fit photo frames but this one does not - it's too big and a non-standard shape. It measures 65.5 x 45.5 cm/25.75 x 18 inches though once it's stretched onto a backing it'll be very slightly bigger, and it contains 150,400 stiches.

The photo is not very good - I had to lay it on the bed then stand on the bed to take it. It's brighter in reality, the light isn't good at the moment.







Edit - I've tweaked the gamma to show the detail although the colours look a bit washed out.

These are the other cross stitch I've still got - I have done more but the early ones were either not very well done or I decided the patterns were too simple.

In the dining room are two small ones; the fabric parts are just 5 x 7 inches. Again not brilliant photos as I had to stand on a chair to take them and there's reflections from the window.

This is over the fish tank




And this on the opposite wall.






One cross stitch on the landing, it was too dark there so I put on a stool in the bedroom to take the photo





And the spare bedroom cross stitch; this was a Christmas present from my elder son and now ex daughter-in-law.






This is in the lounge at the moment but it'll be moved somewhere once the new cross stitch is framed.

These cross stich pictures are in our bedroom. Again sorry about the quality of the photos

Over the bed



One either side of the bed





And opposite the bed

And finally, this is on the landing. It's not cross stitch, it is made of many different embroidery stitches. The cross stitch pictures were all stitched onto plain fabric from a pattern printed on paper. This had the outline printed on the fabric and the pattern showed which colour and which type of stitch to use to fill in the printed outlines.

Love them!!

I cross stitch too - but need new glasses and with other stuff, I haven't stitched much for the last year. When I get new glasses and real life stuff calms down a bit, I want to get back to stitching!

Because I cross stitch too, I can see how detailed and how much work went into your completed ones!! Means lots of thread changes and a lot of different flosses to work with, and detailed complex patterns like these take a long time! But the process is the fun for me, and it feels great when you've finished a weeks or months long project!

Do you use hoops, or frames, or larger stitching set ups to work on these? I tend to stick with hoops, even with larger projects. Tried a square frame that clips the aida, but find that gets heavy to work with, or the fabric protector around the frame gets in my way and bugs me. But I still use it sometimes when it's a larger area.

I used to have a larger project I'd be working on at home, but also have a small pack that has a smaller work, the floss needed, needles and scissors and a hoop etc, so I can take it somewhere if it involves sitting and a long wait - like when I sprained my ankles (both of them! Ouch) tendons/ligaments badly in a fall and had a long wait at the hospital so they could x-ray and make sure they weren't broken. I knew it would be a long wait in the ER, so grabbed my travel cross stitch bag and a book so I could keep myself occupied while waiting. It helps to get in the zone and tune the world out a bit.

I'm terrible for not "finishing" projects through! I have whole stacks of cross stitches I've completed, but haven't framed or made into a cushion or anything like that. I did a project where a cross stitch magazine did a series of patterns of British birds, 12 different cross stitches. My dad is bird mad, so I made all 12 and gave them to him for Christmas, and he loved them! I wanted to make them into a quilt for him, and told him that was my plan, but learning how to quilt is a whole different skill set! Especially since I don't have a sewing machine anymore.

It's a shame to have all these completed cross stitches just tucked away in a tub! But it's making them that I enjoy the most. Have a few framed (that I framed myself) that I'd given to parents or gifted to other people, but also have some I'd like to give away, or frame and hang. This is motivating me to get them out, washed, dried, ironed and turned into finished projects I can gift, donate, or keep and display somehow.

Thanks for sharing these! When I get around to it, I'll take some photos to share of mine too.
Just wanted to say from a fellow cross stitcher, I know how much time and work you put into these! They're beautiful. It's nice to have your work displayed around your house too.

I use a rotating frame, I've never been able to get on with hoops - I even used a rotating frame for the embroidery one. The frame for the one I've just finished was 36 inches wide from end to end of the rolling bars. I worked on the left side sitting in an armchair with the right hand side sticking out over the arm, and the right side was worked on the sofa with the right side edge balanced on the arm and the left on a pile of cushions. I once bought a floor standing frame but that proved a waste of money as I spent more time loosening and tightening the bolts to turn the frame over to start and fasten off each length of thread. And it meant I had to sit on a dining chair to get close enough to actually sew it.

For smallish fabric I cover the top and bottom with old tea towels held in place with safety pins, and I use yet another old tea towel to cover the worked parts to keep them clean while working on the next bit. I never see more than a small part of the design at any one time. With this latest project tea towels pinned at the sides just didn't work as they sagged in the middle leaving everything exposed so I made my own "grime guards" from a bit of left over dress fabric and bits of elastic. Not pretty but they worked