Floss Field.
SearchSaved
All crafts

Crossed stitches · Intermediate

Rhodes stitch

Long stitches that cross the center of a square in turn, building a raised, faceted pyramid.

Rhodes stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, eight stitches, lying several ways, 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. Stitch corner to corner

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

    Bring the needle up at the bottom left corner of the square and go down at the top right corner.

  2. Move one hole along at each end

    Rhodes stitch, step 2: two stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 3 and 4 mark its ends, in working order.

    Come up one hole to the right along the bottom edge and go down one hole to the left along the top edge.

  3. Keep moving counterclockwise

    Rhodes stitch, step 3: five stitches on the canvas, the three this step adds in red. Numerals 5 to 10 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Keep moving one hole counterclockwise at each end, so every stitch crosses the center.

  4. Go all the way around

    Rhodes stitch, step 4: eight stitches on the canvas, the three this step adds in red. Numerals 11 to 16 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Continue around until every hole on the edge of the square has been used.

At a glance

Used for
accents and focal points; corners; borders worked in a row
Coverage
Full, strongly raised
Direction
Slanted, upright and level
Stitch length
Over 4 canvas threads

The stitches pile up where they cross, so a Rhodes stitch forms a raised bump in the center of its square. It can be worked at any size, smaller or larger; the diagram shows a square of four threads. Use it for accents, corners and focal points, or in a row as a border.

Stitch diagrams differ on which corner to start from and which way to travel round the square. Any of them works, as long as you do every Rhodes stitch in a piece the same way.

Tips

  • Use a smooth thread and keep the stitches from twisting; a laying tool helps.
  • Start every Rhodes stitch at the same place so the top stitches all slant alike.
  • On a very large Rhodes stitch, a single tent stitch over the center holds the last long stitch down.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides