Our stitching isn’t this artfully disorganised (Picture: AP)

Cross-stitching is ridiculously twee.

It’s old fashioned and fiddly and completely, totally addictive.

Because nothing is as relaxing as colour blocking in a big section of your most recent project on the sofa in front of the TV of an evening.

If you spend your free time searching the carpet for dropped needles, counting stitches and splitting skeins of thread to make yet another bookmark or coaster that you really don’t need, you should realise you’re hooked.


Here’s 21 things you only know if you cross-stitch.

1. The anticipation and buzz you get when you stretch your 14-count Aida across a frame to start a fresh stitch…



2. …Which only turns to annoyance when you remember the state your threads are in.

And once again you promise yourself that you’ll buy a proper case for them.

3. Because although those 100 different colours for peanuts off Amazon seemed like a great deal, they are now a jumbled, knotted mess at the bottom of your sewing box.

4. And even though you have what seems like an amazing technicolour dreamcoat’s range of shades, you still don’t actually have a proper skin tone.

Or a white. Or a shade of green that works for leaves.

5. The knot that appears in your thread when you are halfway through a stitch is enough to drive you insane.

6. But you would rather deal with that than the grubby thumb print or tea stain that has devastatingly appeared on your half-finished piece.

You soon learn to wash your hands before touching it again.

7. Which is an issue when you are trying to stitch on the move.

White Aida on the Tube anyone?

Get that tea away from your stitching! (Picture: TuelekZa)

MORE: 21 things you only know if you knit

8. You get sick of the cute rabbits and cup cakes that most stitching patterns seem to feature, so you decide to design your own, cool, edgy ones.

Only to realise that it’s harder than it looks.

9. But when you find the perfect pattern it’s like a match made in heaven.

10. Stitching all of the dark blue (150) thread in the pattern in one go seems like a great idea.

11. But it turns out counting across three, down 12, then stitching four across and down one and then counting across nine and down six before stitching down three, across one, down three, is harder than it looks.

12. And unpicking thirty stitches because you counted down 11 not 12 and everything is one stitch out is enough to make you want to just throw it all out of the window.

This is done now, right? (Picture: Ashley Matheny)

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13. When you’re finally finished everything is just left in the embroidery hoop, because you really can’t look at a sewing needle again for a while.

14. And it turns out the wooden hoops don’t just make handy frames.

You’ve been known to use them as coasters for hot pots, repurposed a few as quoits when there’s kids around or used one to hang your earrings off.



15. Every time cross stitching appears in a story you get ridiculously over-excited.

16. Although you really wish you’d thought of this yourself:

I'll be live-stitching the election results throughout the night, so you don't even have to watch the news… pic.twitter.com/bhmm5q7Fmx — Tom Katsumi (@tomkatsumi) May 3, 2015

MORE: This man live cross stitched the 2015 UK election

17. Because it’s got to the point you dream in cross-stitch.

18. And when you look out the world, you see it through a grid.

19. But you already have more cross-stitched coasters, Christmas decorations and cushions than one person could ever need.

20. And your friends are kind of tired of receiving them as presents, because they get a new wall hanging every year.

21. But you’re already thinking about your next project, because you’re completely hooked.

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