Stitching Resources

How to cross stitch tutorials:

Videos con subtítulos en español aquí. Muchas gracias a City of Boulder Community Project Grant (2021) por financiar la traducción de los subtítulos de los videos.

Pattern resources

Free pattern making software:

Stitch Fiddle— “draw” a pattern on a grid

Pixel Stitch— make any digital image into a pattern (photograph, digital drawing, etc.)

Floss Cross— My favorite, as it has a lot more flexibility and design options. You can start with an image, or design from scratch, and if you start with an image, you have a lot of control over how it’s imported and can edit it or add to it.

Text/Font patterns:

Lord Libidian patterns— over 50 free fonts, organized by # of stitches for height

Stitchpoint— type your text and get a pattern

DMC free patterns

Materials

I HIGHLY recommend checking your area for a “Creative Re-Use Center” or art supply thrift store. This is an online source to check (double check before visiting—these stores often come and go), or just a simple online search can turn up more recent stores. Textile crafts and materials are the most commonly donated items, from fabric to yarn to thread to needles and accessories. If you just want to try something out, these are the least expensive source for materials and the most environmentally friendly. Plus, sometimes you find some really fun and interesting things that you can’t find elsewhere, or have been discontinued. I source a lot of my materials from these shops.

Shops in the Denver/Front range area:

ReCretive Denver — 765 Santa Fe Drive

ArtParts Boulder — 3080 Valmont Rd

Who Gives a SCRAP Co Springs — 810 Arcturus Dr

Newlight Creative ReUse Englewood — TBD, Instagram for updates

Thread

DMC and Anchor are the most common and widely available, good quality 6-strand cotton embroidery floss, with consistent colors. The pattern making software above has their colors programmed in to their software, as well. 123Stitch has a good conversion chart between the two brands.

Any craft store, like Michaels or JoAnns carries DMC threads, and often have sales throughout the year.

Specialty embroidery shops will also carry these threads, along with custom dyed floss and specialty embroidery threads in materials like silk or wool. You can look in your area for shops, and there are many online, like 123Stitch. I highly recommend looking for a local shop, as they are great resources for information and supporting local small business is always helpful.

Needles

For cross stitch, you want to use blunt needles, also called tapestry needles. The blunt tips help prevent piercing the fabric threads. They come in various sizes, with larger numbers indicating smaller/thinner needles. If you’re using thicker thread, with fewer stitches per inch, you want a thicker needle with a smaller number, and vice versa. Needles can be found at craft stores and specialty stores.

Fabric

The above shops will also carry cross stitch fabric. The most common fabric is called Aida cloth (typically cotton), and is woven with holes in the canvas to make a grid for stitching. These come in various sizes, the most common being 14-count, meaning 14 stitches per inch. There are a lot of different colors available, especially from embroidery shops, including custom dyed fabric.

You can also use “plain weave” cloth, which also comes in different sizes, and also is available in materials other than cotton, like linen or wool.

If you want to stitch onto a stretchy fabric, or a fabric that is less stiff, I highly recommend utilizing waste canvas to stabilize your work. This is available at embroidery shops and online, and can sometimes be found at big box craft stores.

Hoops/frames/stretchers

Stitched Modern has a great explainer on different types of hoops/frames.

This is another great explainer on various types of frames.

When stitching on a fabric that is less stiff, usually a frame is used to stretch the fabric taut so your stitches don’t distort/pull on the fabric. Hoops are the most commonly found, are circular, and made of wood, plastic or metal (careful with metal and some wood—it can sometimes stain your cloth). These are inexpensive, and can also double as a frame for your finished work.

My favorite stitching frame is called a Q-Snap frame (that’s the brand—there’s a few others on the market, too), which is made of plastic and are squares or rectangular in shape. I like these because they are gentler on your fabric, and can be mixed to make different size frames.

For larger pieces, scroll frames are great. These come in plastic and wood, and function literally like a scroll—you roll the fabric up and down as you work.

Stretchers are usually used for needlepoint, but can be used for cross stitch and also are an easy DIY project. Basically, you staple or tack fabric right to a wood frame. You can also staple your fabric around the back of the frame, like you would a canvas for painting. Any painting stretcher frame, or basic wood frame can be used.

Patterns

These are for personal use only, and not to be sold or distributed.