How to Cross Stitch Your Own Designs

I've been cross stitching for many years, and many of my designs are ones that I've made myself. I find it much easier to work with a pattern that you have made yourself, so in this instructable, I will share my process of making my own designs!

For my cross stitches, I like to use these materials:

For the Cross-stich

1. Aida cloth
2. I use size 14, but a bigger size might be better if you are just starting out
3. 6-thread embroidery floss
4. I tend to use either DMC or Iris brand
5. Small sewing needles
6. Scissors
7. Cross-stitch hoop (optional)
8. I usually don't use hoops, as they usually warp the aida cloth and they feel a little restricting when working. I use some kind of tape (I recommend medical tape) around the edges of the cloth so it doesn't fray
9. Needle threader (optional)
10. Needle threaders can come in handy when working with a needle with a small eye and or multiple strings at once

For the Design (This depends on if you'd rather work with paper or digitally)

For Paper Design

1. Grid paper
2. Colored pencils or markers
3. Highlighters
4. To highlight the parts of the stitch you have completed

For Digital Design

1. A pixel art software
2. I recommend pixilart.com
3. A cross-stitch website
4. I recommend flosscross.com. I mostly use this website for back stitching my patterns, but not that often.

Before you can do anything, you need an idea. I look around on Pinterest, search on Google, or anything else that can get me some source of inspiration.

I cross-stitch the things I like, and you should too! You can be inspired by a show, movie, band, song, painting, artist, etc. Do what makes you happy!

Now, designing the cross-stitch comes down to personal preference.

If you like to have the design physically in front of you while you work, you might want to make the design on paper. Working on paper allows for mistakes to be erased, and you don't have to worry about the complexity of working on a digital program.

If you prefer to work on a computer, you can easily start up a new design on your prefer pixel art program and start designing. I go between either medium, and recommend using either when making your design.

Use a reference when working, it really helps. On my paper designs, I used different stickers and pictures I found online and revised the design until I thought it was perfect.

Follow the list at the top for the supplies you will need. The most important things that you need are the string, aida cloth, needle, and scissors, but everything else is just for personal preference. For string, try to find the best match to the colors you used in your design. You might need to revise your design with a few color changes, and that's okay! Your design isn't going to be perfect on the first try.

I suggest keeping all of your materials in the same spot. This makes finding everything much easier. When I make a new project, I label all of the different colors I used with their brand and ID number. If I end up remaking the stitch, I want to know what colors I used for it.

If you don't know how to cross stitch, here is a basic how to:

1. Thread needle with 1-3 strands of string. I usually use 2 strands for cross' and 1 strand for backstitching
2. Knot the end of the string
3. Start by putting the threaded needle through the back of one of the holes in the aida cloth
4. Make diagonal lines down, making a row of your color
5. Start going back up, making the other diagonal line, finishing the "x" shape
6. When done with string, knot the string in the back of the aida cloth, and cut off excess string

Go row by row, making sure not to forget any colors or stitches. If you mess up, you can either cut it off with scissors or a seam ripper.

If something isn't working, than take a break! If you're getting frustrated, take some time away from stitching. It usually helps when you go back to working.

If there are difficulties about the pattern along the way, reflect and change. And if you still feel like the pattern isn't working, then find something else. Maybe you need to just redesign.

Fix up your design and finish up. Frame it, and be proud of your hard work!