Crafts

A Short History of Cross Stitching

Cross-stitching is one of the oldest kinds of embroidery that may be found everywhere on the planet. In this blog post I will share with you some quick facts about the history of cross stitch and its evolution.

What is Cross-Stitch?

Cross stitch is a popular form in which stitches are used that remain in the form of Xs. Also use different stitches, including ¼, ½, ¾, and knit stitches. The cross stitch is sometimes created on materials of uniform and distinguishable yarn, and less frequently in non-uniform weave fabrics, placing on them a uniform weft fabric (canvas) that is removed thread by thread at the tip of the embroidery.

Documenting History

Many popular art museums have samples of fabrics decorated with this point, especially from Continental Europe and Asia. A little cross-stitch history from these humble origins, this artisan activity was evolving to become a decorative and ornamental technique.

Ancient fragments of clothing found in archaeological sites in Egypt (500 BC) or Central Asia (850 BC) have come to us, where even today it is used in the traditional costumes of those regions.

Introduction to America

This art came to America along with other traditions of the old continent. The European decorative motifs acquired new inspirations and vitality of the New World folklore. It quickly became an obligatory class for the true education of a lady.

Cross-Stich in the 10th and 12th Centuries

The cross-stitch in the 10th and 12th century was used by women to copy the motifs of the carpets brought from the East. It was also used to help women learn the letters of the alphabet.

Cross-Stich in the 17th Century

For a long time, specifically in the seventeenth century, the most widespread color used in cross-stitch was red. This color was able to withstand better than other colors when it was washed. The dyes coming from America, which allow dyeing the threads and embroidery in red on white background, fared extremely well.

Therefore, it was widely used accompanied by of different alphabets and symbols for decoration, teaching aid, and for adding ornamental details to clothing.

Cross-Stitching As a Writing Tool

Drawing the initials themselves with a needle and thread was probably for many women the first form of writing. This was initially used in samplers, marquis and essays, on which various variants of letters and numbers were embroidered. These became literacy instruments used in real reading and writing exercises.

Cross-Stitch in the 18th and 19th Centuries

By the 18th century, the drawings became more realistic. In the second half of the century the first landscapes appeared. Then, in the 19th century, the golden age of cross stitch embroidery was born. This century was the most successful for cross stitching.

Factors That Contributed to The Expansion of Cross-Stitching

The Printing Industry

The great progress of the printing industry provided the mechanism to satisfy the growing demand for designs and models. For example in 1840 more than fourteen thousand designs and models were published.

Advances in Chemistry

The advances of the chemistry and the textile industry made the work of the embroiderers more and more pleasant. For example, threads of many colors became available.

Use of Cotton and Further Expansion of Cross-Stitch

Cotton became widely used as a traditional fabric. At the same time cross-stitch was not only embroidered in the convents, but also in the classrooms and social saloons. Cross stitch went from being a compulsory subject in schools to a social fashionable pastime.

The Social Factor

Cross-stitching became a sign of typically feminine distinction. The woman affirmed her role as “angel of the home” decorating every angle of her house. The decorations included towels, table centers, cushions, footrests, chair covers, rugs, curtains, railings, fire panels, etc.

Other things that did not escape the creativity horizon of cross-stitching include the slippers and protections for the clocks used by their husbands (or the lovers). Even the writer and intellectual George Sand, trapped by the passion for her Venetian lover, embroidered a whole room in cross stitch.

Cross-Stitch by the End of the 19th Century

Towards the end of the 19th century, with a taste for the exotic, in particular for the Chinese, the pleasure of luminous colors and purely decorative objects was again acquired.

Cross-Stitch in the 20th Century and Beyond

In the first decades of the 20th century came the decline of the cross stitch. It was only taught and practiced in schools or in special paid sessions. Therefore, school children quickly forgot it.

In some cases the children transitioned to more complex and refined embroidery techniques. In others they developed a definite hate for anything to do with the needle and thread.

Although the practice of embroidery has been disappearing day by day, in the eighties it unexpectedly came back to life. The taste and passion for cross-stitch technique returned to old Europe from the United States. This was because the descendants of the pioneers had been able to restore freshness and inventiveness to the tradition of their ancestors.

Perhaps this was driven by the nostalgia of less frantic times than ours. On the other hand it was evident that they began to ignore the prejudice implied by “feminine works” and the perception of being a waste of time.

Instead, cross-stitching was no longer considered a repetitive activity that require an inordinate amount of time setting women back. The women of this century (and beyond) discovered the pleasure of creativity, as well as the desire to leave a unique and personal mark through the use of the needle and thread.

Samplers serve to document history. They are pieces of cross-stitching (or embroidery) produced as a specimen of achievement, demonstration or a test of skill in needlework. It often includes the alphabet, figures, motifs, decorative borders and sometimes the name of the person who embroidered it and the date.

The oldest surviving samplers were constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Samplers often included the alphabet, figures, motifs, decorative borders and sometimes the name of the person who embroidered it and the date. The word sampler is derived from the Latin exemplum – an example.

In this video from the Antiques TV YouTube Channel, Expert Joy Jarrett shows part of her rare collection and explains some of the history behind them.

Conclusion

In this blog post I provided you some basic definition of what is cross-stitch and a summary of its evolution through history. Also, I offered information on the key factors that contributed to the advancement of cross-stitch. These factors included the printing industry, advancements in chemistry, the wide spread use of cotton, and social acceptability as a teaching tool overcoming prejudices, as well as misconceptions.

Cross-stitch has become an energy distractor of our day, which gives us immense tranquility, filling us with peace and harmony those difficult days of our lives.

While I do practice cross-stitch, I learned a lot doing research for this blog post. How about you? Anything you would like to add? Do you cross-stitch? I would love to hear your experiences stitching.

For references purposes I recommend the following books that document the history and other aspects of cross-stitching: