Guides / Stitching
Half stitch, three-quarter stitch and backstitch
Many charts add a few partial stitches and an outline to the whole crosses. They are easy to read and worked with the same thread and the same needle.
A stitch cut in two or in four softens a curve; backstitch draws the fine lines a cross cannot. Same thread, same needle as the crosses.
What you need
- Prepared thread, often 1 strand for outlines
- A size 24 tapestry needle, or a finer 26
- The chart and its key
Half stitch
The first diagonal of a cross, without the second. The colour is there, lighter, with the fabric showing through.
- On the chart: a square crossed by one line, or a symbol of its own in the key.
- For light backgrounds, shadows, reflections.
- The direction of whole crosses: see how to cross stitch.
- ✓ Every half stitch the same way: the chart's, or your crosses'.
- ✗ Half stitches going both ways: the surface looks muddled.
Quarter and three-quarter stitch
A quarter runs from a corner to the centre of the block; a three-quarter is a half stitch plus a quarter. They round off stepped curves.
Partial stitches: a half stitch is one diagonal, a quarter runs from a corner to the centre, a three-quarter adds the two.- On the chart: a square split into two triangles, often in two colours.
- Stitch the half stitch first, the full diagonal.
- Come up through a free corner and go down in the centre: there is no hole, the tip pierces the block.
- That quarter lies over the half stitch and holds it in the middle.
Tip. A square shared by two colours: a three-quarter in the main one, a quarter in the other. On linen, the centre is a real hole.
Backstitch
It draws lines: an outline, a stem, whiskers, lettering. It is stitched last, over the crosses.
Backstitch: one hole back on the front, two holes ahead on the back. It goes on last, over the crosses, with a single strand.1 strand for outlines, on almost every fabric
- Come up on the front one square after the start of the line.
- Go down backwards into the hole where the line begins: that is the first segment.
- At the back, move two squares along and come up.
- Go down backwards into the end of the last segment. And so on.
Tip. Start and end this thread under the crosses at the back, as in starting and ending a thread.
A clean outline
Outlines are usually a dark colour, and the choice of thread changes the whole drawing.
Backstitch goes in after the crosses: a fine dark line that sets off the walls and the windows. Photo: Boyce Duprey, CC BY-SA 2.0- ✓ Segments of one square, two at most on a straight line: the line follows the shape.
- ✗ Segments of 3 or 4 squares: the thread is loose, moves and catches.
French knot, for an eye
For an eye, a button, a star. Charts often mark it with a small circle.
Thread wrapped around the needle makes a small raised bead: just right for an eye or a flower's heart. Photo: Hey Paul Studios, CC BY 2.02 wraps round the needle, with the thread held taut
- Come up in the right hole and wrap the thread twice round the needle.
- Go down very close to where you came up, not in the same hole, keeping the thread taut with your other hand.
- Pull gently all the way through: the knot forms on the front.
Tip. One strand makes a small, discreet knot, two a nice round one. For the glint in an eye, a knot in B5200 works as well as a cross.
On this site's charts
Charts from the converter are in whole stitches, with no partial ones. The outline is added when you download.
- When you download, turn on the “Backstitch” option and choose its colour.
- Stitch all the crosses first.
- Then the outline, in backstitch, with 1 strand.
Tip. For a line in one precise place, a whisker or a stem, open the chart in the pattern maker. These signs on paper: reading a chart.