Cross Stitch

Cross stitch is one of the oldest forms of embroidery and can be found all over the world. Many folk museums show examples of clothing decorated with cross stitch, especially from continental Europe and Asia. Two-dimensional cross stitch in floral and geometric patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss on linen, is characteristic of folk embroidery in Eastern and Central Europe. Multi colored, shaded, painting like patterns as we know them today are a recent development, deriving from similar shaded patterns of Berlin wool work of the mid-nineteenth century. Traditionally, cross stitch was used to embellish items like dishcloths, household linens, and doilies (only a small portion of which would actually be embroidered, such as a border). Although there are many embroiders who still employ it in this fashion, especially in Europe, it is now increasingly popular to simply embroider pieces of fabric and hang them on the wall for decoration.