New to cross stitch

Im new to cross stitching, but I would love to be able to create beautiful pieces. If you have any tips, tricks or advice for me, please let me know!
Thank you all in advance!

cindyxs234

I have been cross stitching for many many years. First thing I would do is to find a chart that has very few colors like maybe 10 and limited back stitching. If you have access to buying a kit that would be great that way all of your supplies are there. If not then I would start out with 14 count aida, buy your threads and a pack of size 24 'tapestry' needles.

There is so much information on the Internet for begining cross stitch that you can search for. It would be too hard to type out instructions here in a few paragraphs. There are books here posted on the forum for beginning cross stitch also that explains the process and give you patterns to try. They are excellent at explaining the process.

Also, do a search on the Internet for free cross stitch patterns. You can also narrow it down to subjects like Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc. You can also narrow those subjects down further Christmas Tree, Easter Bunny, Halloween Witch, etc.  Whatever your Holiday theme and subject is.  Similar to what you search for here. There are a ton of free patterns out there. A lot of designers on there own personal websites have free patterns too.

Start out small and easy. I would say nothing bigger than 5x7 size. Once you gain confidence then move onto bigger more intricate patterns.

You see people here post their completed projects here on the forum. Some of those are more intricate patterns and take a lot of time and patience especially the Dimensions brand and others with lots of colors. Those I would not do in the beginning to learn cross stitch. The kits come with all you need but if you keep making mistakes then you will run out of floss. The floss in those kits are not all dmc so they are not easily matched to to just go and buy a skien of it to finish.

Take your time and have fun. Enjoy the process

Tlpony

Vitaminchen replied at 2025-1-9 00:52
Some really great advice here, thank you!

I was wondering what you guys do with the finished art? D ...

There’s lots you can do besides framing it. For smaller projects you can make little bookmarks or if you’re giving gifts then make cards out of it or even Christmas decorations!

MissPriss

Someone1268 replied at 2025-1-14 01:40
Thank you so much, I really appreciate this! I will check them all out! For the black backgrounds, ...

Yes, you can absolutely use whatever color of cloth you want! It will change the aesthetic, though, and it can be difficult to visualize what it will look like without the use of cross stitch software that has previews and allows you to change out backgrounds.

It can be very demotivating to finish a cross stitch project and feel like it doesn't look good. For that reason, I personally will never change out the background color without previewing it first. If it's a small cross stitch with very few stitches, it's not that big of a deal, but if it's a larger project, that's a lot of time to lose to get an inferior end result. :( A lot of the darker goth/witch/folk aesthetics are designed specifically with a dark background, and many times the colors simply do not look right on a lighter background.

As for cross stitch software, I don't have any firm recommendations. I suggest looking up the common ones and watching youtube reviews, and trial a few to see what you like.I know a lot of people swear by the .xsd format over PDFs, because their patterns take up a lot less space on their devices.

MissPriss

Someone1268 replied at 2025-1-12 16:30
Thank you so much!! I really want to make stuff from The Witchy Stitcher. They're kind of this dark ...

Unfortunately that designer uses a lot of black aida cloth for their designs, so there's a very limited pool to choose from for beginner recommendations. There are a lot of free patterns that are very simple and have non-black backgrounds, though. You can find them at:

thewitchystitcher.com/freebies

My beginner recommendations are: Witch, Mini Samhain, Spooky Birthday Cupcakes (this one is more ambitious and would be better as a second or third cross stitch)

When you're ready to try any of the designs with a black background, I would pick a very small and simple one, and try the "chalkboard black" aida cloth. It's much easier to see the holes in that one vs the black aida cloth. However, it may not give you quite the aesthetic you desire, so it's a personal decision.

When you are more experienced, you may be interested in this pattern (I *do not* recommend this at a beginner level!):

XCrossStitchPatternX - Butteflies And Insects Series
www.pindiy.com/forum.php?mod=vie ... &fromuid=372895

It seems like it might be your aesthetic. It's certainly mine. :) I see similar cross stitch designs on etsy, and I wish more of that aesthetic were available here!

MissPriss

There is already some really great advice in this thread, but I wanted to add: if you can tell us about what style(s) you like and maybe link some examples, more experienced people might be able to find some similar designs that would be suitable for a beginner.

My piece of advice is to avoid black cross stitch fabric until you are at an intermediate level, even if the cross stitch pattern itself is simple. Black cross stitch fabric is notoriously difficult to work with, as it's very hard to see the holes, and it's easy to make mistakes.

Tlpony

Vitaminchen replied at 2025-1-9 03:37
Oh that sounds so fun - where do you find resources on how to do that? Just on google or are there ...

Google and YouTube! I’m someone who prefers videos so I can follow along easier so I would suggest watching a couple of YouTube vids till you get the hang of it then go crazy!

Irmo

Well the one advice I'd give - don't be afraid to start. Everything takes time and effort, just even if it is a couple of stitches a day - in the end you will get the result you want.
When I started to stitch several years ago I couldn't imagine I'd have patience to finish some pieces I have now.

Vitaminchen

I also want to try cross stitch so I hope people have some good tips in this thread :)
Thank you for posting, I’ll be following!

Someone1268

Hi, thank you so much,  yes I hope that people habe some good advice for us!

Brazinhaa

So cute! Thanks!

Вероока

Начинайте с несложных сюжетов... это как в школе от простого к более сложному.  И старайтесь вначале брать небольшие по размеру работы (быстрый результат всегда способствует вдохновению вышить еще..)

Someone1268

Irmo replied at 2025-1-3 02:09
Well the one advice I'd give - don't be afraid to start. Everything takes time and effort, just even ...

Thank you so much for your reply!!

celiamerula

Cross stitch magazines are a good way to start.  They often have several patterns of mixed size starting from really easy (I did my first project from a magazine).  Some books too.   If you know where to look you can get free downloads of some ("Aarh! me hearties!", and others).  
Also, nothing ever goes to waste.  I have a big drawer full of thread and a box of fabric.  Even the smallest scrap can be used for a little butterfly, eg.  And I have been known to unpick a project I've only done a little bit of and then use the fabric for another one.
The best thing I ever bought was a shade card that has samples of actual thread in all the colours (I favour DMC, but that's just me).  That way you can try to find a match for the colour in your pattern.  There are also lots of color conversion (eg Anchor to DMC) online.
My cardinal rule is: any pattern you don't love before you start, you'll not love stitching it.  Of course, it doesn't always work...
I hope you come to love it as much as the rest of us :)

Vitaminchen

Some really great advice here, thank you!

I was wondering what you guys do with the finished art? Do you just frame it or use it as fabric to sew something?