Why I Love to Cross-stitch

Published on by Michelle

Recently, I’ve come across several posts from people about why they like to cross-stitch, and I’ve decided to make a post of my own.

I made a short version of why in the form of a comment here, and I’d like to expand upon it. Turns out, confessionsofamessycrafter shares a very similar sentiment as I do. 🙂

I find that cross-stitching is a lot like coloring, but with thread! It’s like filling fabric with 8-bit art in the form of stitches. The stitches and the various knots, like lazy daisies and french knots to name a few, add a bit of dimension and texture to the art. As much as I do complain sometimes about how much work the knots can be, they produce a beautiful result (and I will admit they’re sometimes fun to do)!

Cross-stitching is incredibly therapeutic and I love being able to gradually see the stitches come together to form a pattern. I kinda get a rush from the sense of instant gratification, haha. What’s great is that not only do I feel the accomplishment in finishing a piece, but I feel the accomplishment in general throughout the whole process of making the stitches.

I enjoy how cross-stitching is what I consider relatively “low-maintenance”. Cross-stitching doesn’t require my mind to be constantly focused on cross-stitching itself. While I like to read novels and play piano too (lemme shamelessly link you to my YouTube account :P), my mind has to be active for those activities. With books, I have to actively keep track of the plot, characters, themes, etc.; with the piano, I have to pay attention to how I play the notes. When I’m cross-stitching, what I love is being able to stitch while doing another activity, like watch a movie or listen to music.

Learning to cross-stitch in the early stages was simple to grasp, and is one of those things you learn and never forget (aside from the more complex knots). I say this because for playing the piano, I would have to practice every day to be able to keep my skill level tip top, or I would forget how and be unable to play as well as I could or should be able to, like I do to this day. 😦

Well..that about covers everything about why I like to cross-stitch. As an afterthought, I hope to someday be inspired to cross-stitch an original piece I’d be able to come up with. It’d be a big feat since I don’t have a creative bone in my body (that I know of)! 🙂

Why do you like to cross-stitch? Feel free to comment below!

24 thoughts on “Why I Love to Cross-stitch”

  1. It was interesting to read why you like to cross stitch. For me, I enjoy seeing a blank piece of Aida slowly transform into a beautiful picture. I usually get my patterns from books, or I buy a graph pattern. I avoid buying kits if I can, as I find that in a lot of cases, the thread is not top quality. I have an extensive collection of my favourite DMC threads.

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    1. Thank you reading and taking the time to comment, Jill. 🙂

      I agree that kits can be a hit or miss with the quality of threads, although I’ve only had experience with two companies’. Some of the strands broke for one of the colors I used in the Cinderella castle kit. On the other hand, never had any issues with the Dimensions Needlecraft kits.

      How do you keep your collection of DMC threads stored? Would you say keeping a collection takes up quite a bit of space?

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      1. No, my DMC threads don’t take up too much room. I keep them wound onto cardboard in plastic boxes which have dividers. Will take a photo when I do my next cross stitch post.

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  2. In the end, it’s as simple as ‘I stitch because I enjoy it.’ There are a few things underneath that, though.

    I am not a visually-oriented person. As much as I’d love to (and have tried), I can’t draw/sketch/paint with any skill at all. But I can cross-stitch. I could never paint a reproduction of my favorite painting, but I’m currently cross-stitching one, and am overjoyed with the results so far.

    It’s a connection to my mom. Even if I’m not thinking consciously about that, it’s there. She taught me, it was something we could do together, and now that she’s gone, it’s something that can make me feel close to her again very easily. I gave it up for a while after she died because that closeness was too painful at first, but I’m very grateful for it now.

    It’s perfect for doing while watching baseball…even if I cross-stitch a LOT better than my team is playing this season. 🙂

    On the kit question, I don’t do many of those, either, also for quality reasons. I’ve also been very happy with Dimensions kits (even with the included needles), and there’s a company based in Belgium that does some of the most gorgeous charts I’ve ever seen; their kits are very high-quality, as well. Cheaper kits usually have terrible floss and sometimes very poor cloth in them, and I tend to avoid them.

    I have a big ol’ floss collection, too, much of it inherited from my mom. Keep it away from dust and direct sunlight, and it keeps forever.

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      1. If you go on YouTube and search for “Flosstube” videos you will be directed to YouTube channels entirely dedicated to Cross-Stitch ^_^ I am officially addicted! !!
        I really like :
        Jessica Marie Does Stuff
        The Lovely Array
        Tipsy Stitcher
        Ms OhSewCrafty
        CoffeeStitcher
        Stitching Joanne
        AdeleMcNaughton
        …and a lot more!
        Hope you like them too!!!

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      2. I’d add the Evergreen Needle, Kate the Queen of Starts & Kate the Stash Queen, Lindystitches, Carolyn Mazzeo (how does she get so much done? I swear she must ignore housework or have a well-trained husband) – even I’m on there now!
        Podcasts – I listen to No Such Thing As A Fish, Sorta Awesome, The Simple Show, What Should I Read Next?, Elise Gets Crafty, That Sounds Fun…

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  4. Loved your perspective on why you cross stitch. I love to cross stitch because I feel it connects me with both my right brain and left brain. Right brain for the counting and measuring and left brain for the color and creativity.

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    1. That’s a great point about cross stitching working both sides! I usually feel like I’m not creative enough to make my own pattern, but I love the counting part and feeling like I “made” something, lol.

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  5. I love how you told us why you love to cross stitch. The reason I love to cross stitch is I guess close to your reason. I love creating something just out of fabric and colours of thread and slowly watching that all come together into a beautiful piece. I love that using more strands of thread or less or using different knots can had depth to the piece. And although it requires a lot of time and patience through one piece it can turn into something very beautiful in the end.

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  6. I’m glad I find this blog post! 🙂 I adore cross stitch as well because it’s a low maintenance kind of embroidery. I like that it’s not hard to learn, but it does take some practice to understand how to get the thread to stay flat on the cloth when I’m putting in a stitch. I’m an overachiever when it comes to cross stitch, lol. In other areas of my life, I’m not as hard on myself, but with cross stitch, I love to challenge myself with both smaller and larger projects. I enjoy converting photos into cross stitch patterns and stitching them. Right now, I’m working on like 5-6 projects and I usually pick one to do per day. I love using different thread colors. My collection has gotten so big I’ve needed two boxes to organize them by number. I usually keep the threads on embroidery bobbins.

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      1. It depends on my mood, I think. If I’m feeling energetic and ready to get busy for a few hours, I will pull out one of my larger projects. If I just want to relax and take things slow, I’ll work on a smaller one. I have been doing cross stitch for about more for an a year, but I’ve never blogged about it before. I think I might take some inspiration from you and start doing that. 🙂

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