Brief History of Cross Stitch

Cross stitch is a form of embroidery worked in small X stitches to form a picture or pattern.

Embroidery in some style has been with us as a form of art for thousands of years, it's not a new hobby, the Ancient Egyptians were doing this thousands of years ago and many embroidered and cross stitched items have been found in the tombs of Egypt, including the most famous Tutankhamun at the Valley of Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Some of the oldest designs are the Celtic designs and date back to around 500 BC.

Cross stitch has also been found decorating the costumes of the Ancient Maori of New Zealand and cross stitch samplers and cloths have been discovered in old churches around Europe and in just about all the world's museums there are some cross stitched or embroidered clothing or linen displayed from times long past. It is an ancient decorative art still used today and produces the most stunning pieces of textile artistry by all kinds of people, young and old, women and even men!

The oldest printed patterns date back to 1525 AD, but printed patterns didn’t really take off until the early 1800’s when a print salesman from Berlin by the name of Phillipson started to mass produce coloured block patterns. Naturally this led to other entrepreneurs following on and by 1840 there were in excess of 14,000 printed designs sold each year.

The invention of the sewing machine in 1851 did cause a decline in hand stitching, but during the 1960’s Counted Cross Stitch had a rapid rise in popularity and carried on increasing up to the present day when it is one of the most widely used and loved hobbies for all ages. Young Cross Stitcher numbers have grown and continue to rise over the last few years with well over 50% of first timers becoming ‘hooked’ progressing on to try out more difficult, and more rewarding patterns.

Cross stitch is worked with silk or cotton embroidery thread onto an ‘even-weave’ fabric such as Aida or Linen. The most popular and easier to use fabric is Aida although many of the more elaborate designs such as those of Mirabilia are worked on evenweave Linen, the cross stitch in the image is worked on 32 count Linen fabric and the chart is from Mirabilia Designs. As an example, this design took one of our staff about 6 months to complete just stitching in the evenings and is one of her most prized works of art!

references:
http://www.love-cross-stitch.com/history-of-cross-stitch/