Part of the process
Needle and size
Cross stitch on aida uses a blunt tapestry needle: size 24 for 14 count, 26 for 16 count, 28 for 18 count. Surface embroidery uses a sharp embroidery (crewel) needle sized to the strands. A bigger number is a finer needle.
- 14 count aida
- tapestry needle, size 24
- 2 or 3 strands, surface work
- embroidery needle, size 7
Two needles cover almost everything. A tapestry needle has a blunt tip and a large eye; it slips through the holes of aida and evenweave without splitting the fabric threads, so it is the cross stitch needle. An embroidery needle, also called a crewel needle, has a sharp point and a long eye and is used to pierce plain fabric in surface embroidery.
Needle sizes run backwards: the bigger the number, the finer the needle. For cross stitch the size follows the fabric count: 22 for 11 count, 24 for 14 count, 26 for 16 count, 28 for 18 count. The cross stitch needle chart covers evenweave and linen too. For surface work the size follows the thread: about size 7 for 2 or 3 strands, size 3 for all six. See the hand embroidery needle size chart.
The test is the hole. A needle should open the fabric just enough for the thread to follow and no more. Too large a needle leaves visible holes and stretches aida; too small a needle is hard to thread and drags on the floss. A regular sewing needle has the same shaft as an embroidery needle but a small round eye, and that is the whole difference: see embroidery needle vs sewing needle.
Common mistakes at this stage
- Using a sharp needle on aida and splitting the fabric threads.
- Reading size 28 as the biggest needle: it is the finest.
- Forcing six strands through a small eye instead of changing the needle.