Embroidery vs Cross Stitch: What Is the Difference?

Cross stitch is one type of embroidery. Embroidery is the umbrella word for decorating fabric with stitched thread, using any of hundreds of stitches placed freely wherever the design needs them. Cross stitch uses mainly one stitch, a small X, placed square by square on an even-weave fabric such as Aida, by counting the threads from a gridded chart. So all cross stitch is embroidery, but most embroidery is not cross stitch.

Embroidery vs cross stitch: the main differences

• Stitches. Cross stitch relies on the X-shaped cross stitch, plus a few helpers such as half stitches and backstitch for outlines. General embroidery draws on a huge range: backstitch, stem stitch, satin stitch, chain stitch, French knots and many more. The Crewel Ghoul, an embroidery teaching site, puts it as hundreds of different stitches and knots.
• Fabric. Cross stitch is usually worked on an even-weave fabric, most often Aida, which has a visible grid of holes so each X is the same size. Embroidery can go on almost any fabric: cotton, linen, a sweatshirt, a tote bag, denim.
• How you follow the design. In counted cross stitch you read a gridded chart where each square is one stitch, and count threads on the fabric to place it. Herrschners also describes stamped cross stitch, where the X marks are already printed on the fabric. In freehand embroidery the design is usually traced or printed onto the fabric and you stitch along the lines, without counting.
• The look. Cross stitch has a pixel-like, tiled look, a bit like a mosaic, because every stitch sits in a square. Embroidery can have smooth curves, raised texture, shading and lettering that follows any shape.

Is embroidery the same as needlepoint?

No, although needlepoint is also a form of needlework and is sometimes grouped with embroidery. Herrschners describes needlepoint as designs made with tapestry wool stitched on a mesh canvas. That is the difference: needlepoint is worked on a stiff, open canvas, and the stitches usually cover the whole canvas so no background shows. The result is thick and durable, which is why needlepoint is used for pillows, belts, eyeglass cases and ornaments. Embroidery usually leaves much of the fabric showing, and cross stitch often does too.

Is embroidery hard to learn?

Hand embroidery is one of the easier needlecrafts to start. You need a needle, embroidery floss, a piece of plain cotton or linen, and a hoop to keep it taut. With a few basic stitches, such as running stitch, backstitch, stem stitch and a French knot, you can stitch names, outlines and simple flowers.

The harder parts come later: smooth satin stitch that does not pucker, neat small lettering, and shading with long-and-short stitch. Those take practice rather than special talent.

Which is easier, cross stitch or embroidery? They are hard in different ways, as The Crewel Ghoul notes. Cross stitch has only one or two stitches to learn, so the first afternoon is simple, but a large chart means a lot of careful counting and can take a long time. Embroidery has more stitches to learn, but you can begin with a few easy ones and you never have to count. Stamped cross stitch kits, where the pattern is printed on the fabric, are the gentlest start of all.

What is machine embroidery?

Machine embroidery is embroidery stitched by a computer-controlled embroidery machine instead of by hand. Wikipedia describes the basic workflow:

1. Digitizing. A design is turned into a stitch file that tells the machine where every stitch goes, in what order and with which thread color. A drawing or a photo cannot simply be “printed” in thread; someone has to plan the stitches.
2. Hooping. The fabric is clamped in a hoop, with a stabilizer behind it so the fabric does not stretch or pucker under the needle.
3. Stitching. The machine moves the hoop under the needle and stitches the design from the file. Narrow parts and lettering are usually done in satin stitch; larger areas use a fill stitch, sometimes called tatami.
4. Finishing. Extra stabilizer is trimmed away and loose threads are cut.

Machine embroidery is still real embroidery: it is thread stitched into the fabric, not ink on top of it. It is not cross stitch, even though some machine designs imitate the X look. Because the hoop has a fixed size, a design has a maximum size, too. The shop’s custom name sweatshirt listing, for example, notes a hoop width of about 9 inches and that the design stays the same size on every garment size, so it looks a little smaller on a larger sweatshirt.

For how stitched designs compare with printed ones on clothing, see embroidered vs printed sweatshirts. To keep embroidery looking good in the wash, see how to wash embroidered clothes.

Hand embroidery or machine embroidery: how to tell

• Back of the work. Machine embroidery usually has stabilizer on the back and a regular bobbin thread pattern. Hand embroidery has knots or woven-in thread ends and no stabilizer.
• Evenness. Machine satin stitches are very uniform in length and spacing. Hand stitches vary slightly.
• Repetition. Two machine-embroidered pieces of the same design look almost identical.

Quick answers

• Is embroidery the same as cross stitch? No. Cross stitch is one kind of embroidery, built from small X stitches on a grid.
• Is embroidery the same as needlepoint? No. Needlepoint is stitched on a stiff mesh canvas, usually covering it completely.
• Is embroidery hard to learn? Not to start. A few basic stitches are enough for simple designs.
• Is cross stitch easier than embroidery? It has fewer stitches to learn, but large charts take careful counting.
• Is machine embroidery real embroidery? Yes. It is thread stitched into fabric, placed by a machine from a digitized design.

From the shop

The shop’s embroidered pieces are machine embroidered. Two examples: a family names Christmas hoop ornament, machine embroidered and hand-finished in a wood hoop, and a custom name Christmas sweatshirt.