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Crossed stitches · Beginner

Smyrna cross stitch

A cross stitch with an upright cross worked on top of it, making a raised square bump.

Smyrna cross stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, 24 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. Start with a cross stitch

    Smyrna cross stitch, step 1: the first two stitches on the canvas. Numerals 1 to 4 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Work a cross stitch over two canvas threads each way: lower left to upper right, then lower right to upper left.

  2. Add an upright stitch

    Smyrna cross stitch, step 2: three stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 5 and 6 mark its ends, in working order.

    Work an upright stitch over the middle of it, from bottom to top.

  3. The horizontal stitch on top

    Smyrna cross stitch, step 3: four stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 7 and 8 mark its ends, in working order.

    Finish with a horizontal stitch across the middle, from left to right.

  4. The next cross and the next row

    Smyrna cross stitch, step 4: 24 stitches on the canvas, the 20 this step adds in red.

    Work the next cross beside it on the next two threads, so that the two share the holes along the edge between them, and the next row directly below in the same way.

At a glance

Also called
double cross, Leviathan stitch
Used for
accents; snowflakes; small areas; bumpy fillings
Coverage
Full, raised
Direction
Slanted, upright and level
Stitch length
Over 2 canvas threads

Each Smyrna cross makes a small raised bump. It suits small design areas and accents such as snowflakes, and worked in rows it makes a bumpy, textured filling. The same stitch is also worked larger, over four threads each way.

The stitch has had many names. One stitch reference lists railway stitch among them, a name said to come from how quickly it covers the ground. It was a Berlin wool work stitch, popular in the Victorian period and again in the 1950s and 1960s.

Worked over two threads it is a raised stitch for small places: a single one makes a snowflake, a button or a small bush, and a row or two makes a border. Set beside plain cross stitches over a single intersection, which are smaller, it gives a sense of depth.

It pairs with plain cross stitch: one teacher uses the two together, small crosses for the tiniest snowflakes and Smyrna crosses for larger ones.

Tips

  • Work the four stitches in the same order on every cross, finishing each cross before starting the next. The horizontal stitch goes on last.

When it goes wrong

The stitch looks like a blob.
A highly metallic thread reflects so much light that the separate stitches of a layered stitch cannot be seen. Choose a less reflective thread.
The crosses are bulky.
Crossed stitches are layered. Use a slightly thinner thread than you would otherwise.

Variations

  • Leviathan or double cross. The same stitch worked larger. Some writers keep the name Smyrna for the small version; one stitch reference uses the names for one stitch. A nineteenth-century encyclopedia also works it over six or seven threads, with more stitches added.
  • Double straight cross. The reverse order: a large upright cross first, with a small diagonal cross on top.

Questions

How big is a Smyrna cross?
Two canvas threads each way in the small version, so it fills the same square as a mosaic box. The larger version covers four.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides