When you’ve finished a cross stitch you have a few options on what to do with it. You can frame it for display or just store it. Traditionally, these are the only two things people think of doing with cross stitch. But there is another way; sell it.
 
Now, before we start, I’m not going to suggest you can make a business out of selling completed cross stitches, but you can get some extra cash to fuel your hobby. And after all, with all of those cross stitches in storage, never to be seen again, you might as well do something with them. So here is how to sell your completed cross stitches.

Etsy

I’ve said before that Etsy is a good thing for the cross stitch world and I’ll say it again. As not only is Etsy the powerhouse of cross stitch pattern suppliers, but there are loads of people selling completed cross stitch too. In fact, of all the options on the list, we found the highest prices on Etsy, even though there weren’t as many actual pieces for sale.
Just sign up, list your item (cost is 20 cents) and set your price. Etsy takes about 5% of the whole transaction price.

Ebay

eBay is the second on our list and is by far the largest of the market places for completed cross stitch. The one big benefit of eBay over something like Etsy is cost. eBay doesn’t charge to list your item, meaning you can keep the listing up for however long it takes to sell.
Sign up, list your item (free for personal users) and set your price. eBay take a beefy 10% of the transaction price though.

Shopify/Your Own Website

If those transaction fees seem a little steep, how about setting up your own store? You can use online tools like Shopify to make a store or make your own. People like Shopify can take from 2% to 10% depending on your set up, but you can get an online store through SquareSpace for about $15 a month.
Find your preferred store, make a website, list your items and market your website.

Craft Fairs

Away from the internet, how about craft fairs? Most cities and some towns host monthly or yearly craft fairs, and usually, you can get a free stand. You have to think about costs here though, as they quickly rack up. You need to cover your transport, booth fees (if there are any), booth decoration, lunch on the day, etc.
Look in local papers for upcoming events, reach out to the organizer to get a booth, work out your costs, set your prices and sell!

Take Custom Orders

Finally, we’re going to talk about custom orders. This is a slightly different ball game, as you don’t get to stitch what you want; you stitch what someone else wants. The prices are usually 1-2 cents per stitch, meaning on something 6×6 on 14 count, you can earn $140. This is by far, the best in terms of profit of anything on our list. If you’re lucky you can even find jobs going for up to 5 cents per stitch.
Getting these gigs is harder than the rest as well. You’ll have to reach out to cross stitch designers directly. Most designers create patterns to sell on platforms like Etsy and eBay, but don’t have time to stitch them up. However, they’re all very much aware that having a photo of the completed piece helps you sell cross stitch patterns.

I often see people talking about stitching on linen, evenweave or monk’s cloth, and people in the comments are quiet. It took me a while to work it out, but people aren’t aware you can cross stitch on other fabrics. Most people see just the standard cross stitch fabrics like aida and evenweave, but you can pretty much cross stitch on any fabric out there. You have to change the way you go about stitching sometimes, but there really is a world of fabrics out there to cross stitch on.

Aida

When it comes to cross stitching, you probably learned with aida. It’s the go-to fabric to use for cross stitch as its uniform in size and shape, comes in different counts and makes nice cross stitches. In all likelihood, you know how to stitch on aida, so I won’t dwell, but if not, check out our guide on how to cross stitch.
What I will say, however, is that cross stitching on aida requires you to go through the closest hole to the one you started with. In short, 1 over 1.

Linen/Evenweave

Before we start, let’s talk about the differences between Linen and Evenweave. In fabrics like cotton and Aida, the vertical threads (Weft) and the horizontal threads (Warp) (see our cross stitch terms guide for more info) are evenly spaced out, meaning you get nice square blocks to stitch on. Linen is NOT like this. In most cases, linen is bigger in one direction than it is the other. There is nothing stopping you stitching on linen, but be aware your cross stitches may be a bit irregularly shaped. Evenweave however, is linen that is specifically made to be nice and uniform.

Can You Cross Stitch On Monk’s Cloth?

Yes. Monk’s cloth is another name for evenweave, and you can cross stitch on it the same way you would evenweave.

Cotton

Whilst aida, linen and evenweave are the most common fabrics to cross stitch on, you can also stitch on others. One big one people often forget about is cotton fabrics, polyesters, and general clothing fabrics. Unlike the other examples on the list, you actually need something else to stitch on; waste canvas. It works very much like aida when stitching, however once you’re done you wet it, and pull out all the fabric threads. This leaves you with cross stitch in neat shapes, despite the fabric under it.

Knitting/Crochet

What about knitting, or crochet? We mentioned that knitting and crochet is a great additional hobby to cross stitch, so you may already do one of them, and you can cross stitch straight onto it! It works the same as aida, so it does make your knitting one sided, but you can really make a piece stand out by adding a bit of cross stitch.

Pretty Much Anything

We wrap up this list with, everything. Yeh, everything. Thanks to things like waste canvas you can stitch on any soft material, but by using a drill you can actually cross stitch on any hard surface without waste canvas.

You can get cross stitch inspiration pretty much anywhere, but after hitting a few dozen massive projects, you sometimes want a change. And whilst looking for unique cross stitch ideas I came across people who mixed cross stitch with interior design.
 
Unlike other projects, which are destined to go into cross stitch storage, by making something to do in your house, you’ll always be able to enjoy it.

Peg Board

The easiest way to get into interior design cross stitch, or super massive cross stitch for that matter, is peg board. It comes in loads of different sizes and its rather cheap. You can paint it, stain it, or cross stitch on it. It might not be the most traditional cross stitch fabric, but it sure works for a great addition to any room. You can also turn it into things like stools for an added factor.

Ikea Hacks

If you don’t want to make something the the wall however, you could always pop down to your local Ikea. Not only is it stocked full of items with regular holes in them (think chairs, floor mats, lamps, etc), but there are items made from peg board, meaning you can have a functioning bit of furnature with a sweet cross stitch edge.

Paint

How about something a little more refined? By ditching the needle and thread and picking up a paint brush you can add a cross stitch design to literally anything that takes paint. You can find a great guide from homeheartcraft if you’re interested.

Fences

But just because the inside of your home can be cross stitched up, doesn’t mean it has to stop there. By using gardeners yard you can use things like fences to add cross stitch characters. It’s actually been seen in big cities before with the illegal cross stitch movement. Maybe its safer to stick to your own garden though.

Cross Stitch On Anything!

However, let’s be honest here, you can actually cross stitch on anything, and we mean anything. Cross stitching can be done with something called waste canvas, or you can even cross stitch without waste canvas by drilling holes. The great thing about this is that you aren’t limited by size or count, you can do your own thing.

Frame It!

We however, quite like the old fashioned framed cross stitch. You can get really inventive with framing with bright matting and frames, and as it goes up in your own home, it doesn’t matter if anyone else likes it or not. You could even not put glass in your cross stitch frame.

We like epic cross stitch patterns here, and we’ve helped on how to tackle epic cross stitch projects, but one big thing is getting the aida. With epic cross stitch patterns covering meters and meters, finding someone that sells good quality aida, that is huge, can be a struggle. Until now…

Simplify What You Need

First thing first, what do you actually need? Now, I know the obvious response here is a big piece of aida, but if you’re attempting an epic cross stitch project, you’ll need to work out two things. The first is color, and the second is count. And once you’ve done that, we have some bad news.
High count (higher than 14 count) aida doesn’t hold together as well as lower count aida. In short, it’s about the levels of starch in the fabric, but it means that in very large sizes high count aida breaks apart. This means that you’re going to need to stick to 14m or 11 count aida.
Secondly, finding large sections of aida in a specific color can be hard. So you probably want to buy a white piece.

If Needed; Dye The Aida

But what if you want a different color I hear you say! Well, dye it. In fact, dying aida really isn’t hard at all. Unless it’s ironed, you can use any normal fabric dye to change the color of your aida to whatever you want. Buy it white, and make it whatever color you want.

Look For Fabric Stores

So now you know that you’re probably looking for 14 count white aida, its time to get your hands on some. The fact that you’re reading this means you might be struggling to find someone selling some large enough. Well, I have the answer for you! Fabric stores.
Yes, we mean brick and mortar stores selling fabric to sewing enthusiasts. It turns out that aida, sometimes called “Java Cloth” (its original name) is a common fabric used for stitching in curtains and upholstery. Because of this, fabric stores often hold stock of white aida you can buy by the meter. The usual brand they hold is Zweigart too, meaning its good quality.

Contact The Manufacturers Direct

It might seem a little odd, but you can contact manufacturers of aida directly. Sure, it’s not a mainstay of their business, but I’ve heard of many people getting large sections of aida direct from the manufacturer. It costs a little more money than you would buy from a store, but you can get MASSIVE bits of aida this way.
Worst case, manufacturers can help find a reseller who can supply it for you.

Do You NEED A Massive Piece?

Ha, I know, this seems similar to the first point; but it’s not. You see, if you can’t get that huge piece you need, you can actually use smaller pieces. Before I tell you how, I will advise that there is an issue with this, and you should only use it in the worst of situations; always try to find a single bit first.
You can’t frame it. Yes, that’s right. Once you try to frame joined aida, it will open up in a way that will be obvious. So as long as the thing your creating won’t be stretched, made into a throw for example, you can attach aida.

So how do you do it?

Well, in short, you place two bits on top of each other. So long as you line up the holes in aida, you can stitch through both pieces at once and the cross stitches will naturally hold the two bits together. So long as you have a full coverage pattern, it will be fine.