It’s truly incredible what you can create with a simple cross-shaped stitch. Ideal for beginners, cross stitch only uses one stitch, the cross stitch, and occasionally a straight backstitch for outlining. It’s a decorative technique that's used to mend or embellish clothes. It's usually worked on aida, a fabric specifically designed for cross stitch, that makes it easy to achieve neat and even stitches.

Usually, a stranded embroidery thread, such as Six-Strand Embroidery Floss is used with a blunt needle that easily slips through the clearly defined holes in aida rather than piercing it. The size of cross stitch is determined by the holes in the aida. The “count” of aida refers to the number of stitches you make in an inch. So, the higher the count the smaller the stitches. We recommend beginners use 14-count aida.

If you already love cross stitch you’ll probably want to dive right in and select your own favorite threads and patterns. Our 1000 patterns program is a huge and growing repository of patterns that can be downloaded for free. We regularly release new patterns. Sign up to have them sent directly to your inbox.

If you prefer something that has been chosen for you, we have developed a range of cross stitch kits with everything you need including our iconic threads (loved by professionals and artists as well as hobbyists).