Best Books For Beginners
The Mr X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch
Difficulty: X to XX
Perfect for the beginner, it doesn’t get too technical, and everything is written with an entertaining edge. It’s fun, chatty and includes some awesome modern patterns.
The New Cross Stitcher’s Bible
Difficulty: X to XXXX
A staple in many cross stitchers’ collections, the Jane Greenoff Cross Stitch Bible has been updated a number of times over the years, and covers everything from the very basics to complex theories and stitches. It can be a great learning resource, but is a bit hard to get into.
Cross Stitch: A Beginner’s Step-by-Step Guide
Difficulty: X to XX
A general beginners book with a focus on smaller projects, this book offers clear and concise advice without going off topic. Small, at only 48 pages.
Best Intermediate Books
Mega Mini Cross Stitch
Difficulty: XX to XXX
A compendium of small cross stitches by Japanese cross stitch master Makoto Oozu, with over 900 simple patterns and some basic instructions. The difficulty comes from the language, as the whole book is in Japanese.
Cross-Stitch to Calm: Stitch and De-Stress
Difficulty: XX to XXX
These simple patterns, mostly using fewer than 5 colors, are great practice, but offer little in the way of very complicated designs. The 40 patterns included are all well made, however, making each one a worthwhile stitch.
The Cross-Stitch Garden
Difficulty: XX to XXX
A great selection of delicate patterns and designs make this an intermediate book, capable of stretching newer and more advanced stitchers alike.
Best Advanced Books
Storyland Cross Stitch
Difficulty: XX to XXXX
A great book with a series of interesting patterns ranging from fairly simple to advanced, with each pattern having its own kit items attached, ready for stitching.
Criss Crossing Paris
Difficulty: XXX to XXXX
Our personal all-time favorite cross stitch book. Criss Crossing Paris takes a fresh look at cross stitch, and how sometimes not sticking to the pattern can produce a fantastic piece.
Lord Libidan’s Small Cross Stitch Alphabets
Difficulty: XX to XXX
A collection of small, stitchable alphabet fonts, great if you love the free alphabets on this site and want even more fonts to work with.
Do-It-Yourself Stitch People
Difficulty: XXX to XXXX
A book with no guide at all seems like a bad idea, however this fantastic resource allows you to create your own cross stitch people by picking hair, faces, bodies, legs and accessories. As a result there is no pattern to follow, meaning you have to work it out yourself.
Best Novelty & Gift Books
A Bitch in Time: 30 Sarcastic Stitches For You To Stab
Difficulty: [X to XX]
Thirty sarcastic patterns that go well beyond the usual quote-in-a-pretty-font formula, think neon signs, cactus pots, and packets of pants. Even if sarky stitches aren’t usually your thing, there’s a lot to learn here about design.
Subversive Cross Stitch
Difficulty: XXX to XXXX
Rude and lewd, but a great set of patterns, made specifically to make you chuckle. While the book does have basic instructions, its patterns are far from simple.
Best Nature & Wildlife Books
Cross-Stitching Beautiful Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies
Difficulty: X to XX
25+ counted aida-based projects with proper charts and keys, plus a standout alphabet section (Alphabuget) built from insect-inspired letters. A traditional, well-explained book that’s especially good for beginners.
Rare Books
Rosey Grier’s Needlepoint for Men
Difficulty: X to XXX
Out of print and something of a cult object in the cross stitch and needlepoint world. We wrote about why it matters in The Godfather of Modern Cross Stitch.
Out of print, resale prices swing wildly. We’re not listing a price here as it changes constantly, check the current Amazon listing for what it’s going for today.
Cross Stitch Letters Bible
Difficulty: X to XXXX
An enormous, out-of-print reference of 844 alphabets and number sets in different fonts and sizes, a genuine holy grail for stitchers who love lettering.
Out of print. Linking to an eBay search rather than one specific listing, since individual listings for this book sell and disappear quickly.
Last updated: August 2026
Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan
Do you know if there is a list anywhere that matches DMC colours to Fuzzy Stuff. With no actual needlework shops in Ireland I can’t make the comparisons myself
I’m afraid not, sorry!