How to start cross stitch: everything you need for a first chart
Five things and an evening. Nothing here costs more than a coffee.
The shopping list
Aida fabric in 14-count, a skein of each DMC colour the chart names, a size 24 tapestry needle, a 6-inch embroidery hoop, and small sharp scissors. A pattern tells you the colours; everything else is standard and sold in any craft shop or online.
Buy a piece of aida at least three inches bigger than the finished size on every side. A 130-stitch chart finishes about 9.3 inches on 14-count, so a 15-inch square is comfortable.
Why 14-count first
The count is squares per inch. Fourteen is the standard: the holes are easy to see, a size 24 needle fits, and two strands of floss cover each square properly. Sixteen and eighteen make the same chart smaller and finer, and are better left for a second project.
The one mistake
Starting in a corner. A chart is counted from its centre: fold the fabric in half both ways, mark the middle with a pin, and begin with the stitch the chart marks as centre. Every count after that is short, and the design ends up where it should.
The first stitch
Cut about 18 inches of floss, separate two of the six strands, thread the needle and come up from the back in the bottom-left hole of a square. Go down top-right, up bottom-right, down top-left. That X is the whole craft; the rest is doing it again in the colour the chart says.
