Floss Field.
SearchSaved
All crafts

Tent stitches · Beginner

Half cross stitch

Looks the same as continental from the front but travels straight up the back, so it uses the least thread of the three tent stitches.

Half cross stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, twelve stitches, all slanting up to the right, in two colors
The finished stitch on canvas. Every stitch runs from one hole to another; the two colors are only there to tell the stitches apart. In the steps, new stitches are red, and the numbers give the order: up at an odd number, down at the next even one.

How to work it

  1. Come up at the left end of the row

    Half cross stitch, step 1: bare canvas, with a dot in the hole where the needle comes up. Numeral 1 marks that hole.

    Start at the left end of the row. Bring the needle up at the lower left of the first intersection.

  2. Cross one intersection

    Half cross stitch, step 2: the first stitch on the canvas. Numerals 1 and 2 mark its ends, in working order.

    Go down at the upper right.

  3. Repeat, working left to right

    Half cross stitch, step 3: six stitches on the canvas, the five this step adds in red. Numerals 3 and 4 mark the ends of the first new stitch, in working order.

    Come up directly below, in the hole to the right of where you started, and repeat, working left to right.

  4. The row back

    Half cross stitch, step 4: twelve stitches on the canvas, the six this step adds in red.

    Work the next row back from right to left with the stitch reversed: up at the upper right, down at the lower left, with the needle pointing up on the back.

At a glance

Also called
half stitch
Used for
saving thread; pieces that will be framed
Coverage
Full on the front; thin back
Direction
Slanted up to the right
Stitch length
Over 1 intersection

Because the back is only short upright stitches, half cross gives a thin fabric with little padding. It is the least hard-wearing of the three tent stitches: fine for a framed picture and a poor choice for a belt, a chair seat or anything that will be rubbed. It also sits badly on mono canvas, where the threads are free to move and get pulled out of line; it does better on interlock or penelope canvas.

Tips

  • Do not mix half cross and continental in the same flat area. The different padding on the back leaves the surface uneven.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides