New to cross stitch

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.

Toothpicky

It is fun! I did it when I was younger

Someone1268

Tlpony replied at 2025-1-9 06:10
For beginners start with aida 14 count. It’s east to see the holes and youcan trim it down to siz ...

Thank you, I'll check that out

Someone1268

MissPriss replied at 2025-1-9 07:15
There is already some really great advice in this thread, but I wanted to add: if you can tell us ab ...

Thank you so much!! I really want to make stuff from The Witchy Stitcher. They're kind of this dark/goth style.

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!

Someone1268

MissPriss replied at 2025-1-13 14:53
Unfortunately that designer uses a lot of black aida cloth for their designs, so there's a very li ...

Thank you so much, I really appreciate this! I will check them all out! For the black backgrounds, can't you just use white instead? It changes the aesthetic, but it's still possible right?

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.

Someone1268

MissPriss replied at 2025-1-14 03:35
Yes, you can absolutely use whatever color of cloth you want! It will change the aesthetic, though ...

Thank you so much!!!