Stitches

What are the differences between cross-stitch, needlepoint, and crewel?

How are they different? Is one any easier or harder than the others to learn? Thanks in advance for your time and expertise!

Public Comments

1. Cross stitch is a type of stitch in which you make little X's on the fabric. You stich one direction and then go back the other way and make an X. Needlepoint is generally just half of an X and is done on something like plastic canvis. Crewel usually refers to anything done on tightly woven fabric and involves many different types of stitches. Needlepoint is probably the easiest to learn.
2. Cross Stitch: Cross-stitch is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. Other stitches are also commonly used in cross-stitch, among them, 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4 stitches and backstitches. Cross-stitch is usually executed on easily countable evenweave fabric, or more rarely on non-countable fabric, on which a countable fabric is applied that is removed later, by drawing out every thread of it under the embroidery. This fabric is called waste canvas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_stitch Tutorials: http://home.comcast.net/~kathydyer/nf_xstitch_tut.html http://yarntree.com/007begin.htm (VERY easy, clear beginner site) Needlepoint is a form of canvas work using thread stitches on canvas. The canvas ground may vary in the weave, whether it is mono woven canvas or interlock. Canvas thread counts vary from 5 threads per inch to 24 threads per inch, where mesh size refer to the number of threads per inch. Popular mesh sizes of canvas include 10,12,14,18, and 24 (Congress Cloth). Unlike other forms of embroidery, needlepoint uses the canvas, or ground fabric, to create a new fabric. Silk gauze (counts 24 and higher) is another type of fabric often used for miniature needlepoint, which is traditionally referred to as petit-point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needlepoint Tutorials: http://www.needlepointers.com/displaypage.aspx?ArticleID=26263&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.caron-net.com%2foct00files%2foct00cla.html http://www.needlepoint-for-fun.com/how-to-needlepoint.html Crewel embroidery, or Crewelwork, is a decorative form of surface embroidery using wool and a variety of different embroidery stitches to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old. It was used in the Bayeux Tapestry, in Jacobean embroidery and in the Quaker tapestry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crewel_Work Tutorial: http://thecraftyworld.com/?cat=5 I've been doing cross stitch and other forms of embrodiery for quite a few years. I did embroidery when I was younger, then taught myself how to do cross stitch a few years ago. I love doing it and it was really easy to learn. In fact, I bought a simple project at the craftstore and almost immediately found that it was too easy, so I went and bought something more complicated. I'm very comfortable with it now, so much so that I've done my own designs, changed colors, made new patterns, etc.
3. cross stitch is making little x stitches to fill in a design which is on paper and you must count the threads and put your x in the right place, needlepoint is done on a grid canvas and is usually just a half of an x , more like/ though you can learn other stitches once you get going on it, usually they are printed on the canvas and you fill it in, sometimes the pretty part is done and you just stitch the back, its usually done in yarn, crewel embroidery is done on many kinds of fabrics, usually with wool yarn that is very fine, you can do hundreds of different stitches, and there are many many books on it, one of the best known specialists in this form is Erica Wilson. libraries have her books, it might be a little more involved to learn, but the designs are usually printed on fabric and once you get the hang of it you can even draw your own designs or trace them on a light table right from ericas books, you have an endless supply of designs you can do from fairly simple to very involved, so you can really learn to grow with your work. I learned regular embroidery first, thats just with thread on fabric, and ive done all of the above things and am doing cross stitch at the moment, but real Crewel work was the passion of the Elizabethian court and it is what the Bayou Tapestry was done in. go look at all of the examples in a library and you will get an idea of what you can try. Good luck.