Cross stitch guide
Cross stitch quilts
A cross stitch quilt is a quilt whose top is made of stitched blocks: squares of cloth, each with a cross stitch design on it, sewn together. The top is then laid over batting and a backing, quilted through all three layers and bound round the edge, like any other quilt.
On this page 9 parts
Three ways to stitch the blocks
- Stamped blocks. The design is printed on the fabric as small crosses, and you stitch over them. The print washes out afterward. Stamped blocks are sold in sets, and whole quilt tops are sold printed in one piece. Check what a set includes: the batting, the backing and the thread may have to be bought as well. Stamped cross stitch vs counted explains the difference.
- Counted blocks on Aida or evenweave. You stitch from a chart as usual. The stitched cloth is then sewn into the quilt like any other fabric.
- Counted designs on quilt cotton. Plain cotton has no squares to count, so the design is worked through waste canvas, which is pulled out afterward. See how to cross stitch on clothes with waste canvas. You can also mark the crosses on the fabric yourself: see how to make stamped cross stitch patterns of your own.
Stitch the blocks
- Leave the cloth large. Stitch each design in the middle of a piece with plenty of spare cloth, so that it fits a hoop. Cut it to size later.
- Keep the back tidy. Fasten every end under the stitches and trim it. Do not carry a thread across bare cloth, least of all a dark thread behind a pale part: it shows through from the front.
- Keep stamped blocks dry. Water removes the print, so no block is washed until all its stitching is done.
- Press each finished block from the back.
Join the blocks into a top
- Cut every block to the same size, with its design centered.
- Sew the blocks together, right sides facing. They can meet edge to edge, or be set apart with strips of fabric, as in the picture (1).
- Press the seams.
Layer, quilt and bind
The numbers are the ones in the picture.
- Layer. Lay the backing (3) face down on a flat surface and smooth it. Lay the batting (2) on it and the top (1) over that, face up. All three layers should lie flat, with no wrinkles.
- Baste. Fasten the three layers to each other so that they cannot shift while you quilt. Large safety pins spread over the whole quilt do it, and so does basting spray.
- Quilt. Sew through all three layers, by hand in running stitch or by machine. Tying is the quick alternative: a thread is taken through the layers and knotted, at points spread over the quilt.
- Bind (4). Trim the batting and the backing level with the top. Sew a long strip of fabric, the binding, round the edge so that it covers the raw edges of all three layers.
Working on a ready-made top
A stamped quilt top is one large piece of fabric with the whole design printed on it. Stitch it in a hoop or a frame. Then layer, quilt and bind it as above.
A plain top that is already pieced, or a ready-made square of it, can be stitched too. Baste waste canvas where the design is to go and work through both.
Washing a cross stitch quilt
A stamped quilt is washed once at the end, to remove the print. Until then keep it away from water. After that, wash any cross stitch quilt gently, in the way set out in how to wash cross stitch.
Common mistakes
- Wetting a stamped block too soon. The crosses you still have to stitch disappear.
- Carried threads. A thread that crosses bare cloth on the back shows as a shadow on the front of the finished quilt.
- Cutting blocks before stitching. A block cut to size is hard to hold in a hoop, and the design is harder to center.
Questions people ask
How many blocks does a quilt take? It depends on the size of the quilt, the size of the blocks, and whether strips of fabric go between them.
Can Aida go into a quilt? Yes. A stitched piece of Aida is cut to the size of a block and sewn in with the other fabrics.
Where to go next
The quilt block patterns are designs to stitch. A single stitched block also makes a pillow front: see how to make a cross stitch pillow.