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.
Now we have that out of the way, let’s talk about actually stitching on it. Unlike aida, you have to stitch 1 over 2. Pull your needle through the first hole, jump a hole, and then put it in the next one. The reason we do this is that unlike aida that is woven together with starch, linen and evenweave are loose weaves, meaning threads can move from one row to another by jumping over/under threads.
By doing this you reduce the overall count by half, however with a 28 count evenweave you can get a 14 count cross stitch, with a nicer background fabric.
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.
Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cross stitch on linen or clothes?
Yes, you can cross stitch on any material that you can puncture with a needle. In order to do this you may have to use waste canvas or dissolving canvas, as it is hard to identify regularly spaced cells for your stitches on fabrics and materials other than aida.
What count fabric is best for beginners?
11-count aida fabric is usually the best count for cross stitch beginners as it offers the easiest time.
Do I need waste canvas for non-Aida fabrics?
No, you can also use waste canvas or disolving canvas for cross stitching on non-aida fabrics.
Need instruction for cross stitching on fleece. Thank You.
Can I ask what type of fleece it is? Assuming it’s not too think or not a ‘fluffy’ fleece, then you should be able to stitch on it using wast canvas. The water soluble stuff just won’t work.