Center a Cross Stitch Pattern

By Natalie Naito

Learn to Center Your Cross Stitch Patterns

Learn a simple technique to center your cross stitch projects in their hoops before stitching so you can avoid ironing! 

I love this trick because you don’t need any special materials, there’s no math involved, and it saves me time so I can focus on the fun part of cross stitch, the stitching! 

For this tutorial I’m using the new Fruit Salad Cross Stitch Kit that Jennie and I designed together! It’s sold exclusively at Jenny Lemons and on my site. 

Materials List

Prepare your cross stitch hoop

Separate your cross stitch hoop. Using your pen or pencil, trace the outside edge of the inner ring of your hoop onto your paper. 

Cut out the circle and fold it into quarters.

Then poke a hole in the center of the circle where your two folds intersect.

Line up your embroidery hoop

Put your aida cloth in your embroidery hoop. 

Lay your paper circle on top of your aida cloth so that it’s lined up with the embroidery hoop. 

Then poke your pin or needle into your aida cloth through the hole in your circle. The point in your fabric where you poked is the center. This spot corresponds to the center of your design.

Find the center of your design on your cross stitch pattern.

In The Stranded Stitch kits this is marked with a star, in other patterns it’s marked with arrows. 

Start stitching!

I like to find the closest stitch on the pattern to the center of the design and start there, but you can also count from where your pin is to another section of your pattern if you’d rather start somewhere else.

I hope this trick saves you from getting out your ironing board. It’s great for cross stitch projects you plan on framing in an embroidery hoop.

Did you chance upon this page? Welcome! Check out all the details about cross stitch and embroidery kits here.

Natalie Naito

is the cross stitcher, pattern designer, and kit maker behind The Stranded Stitch. 

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