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1735 Germany Stickmuster

My own.. using..

Cross-stitch is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches in a tiled pattern are used to form a picture. The stitcher counts the threads in each direction so that the stitches are of uniform size and appearance. Cross-stitch is one of the oldest forms of embroidery and can be found all over the world.^[1] Many folk museums show examples of clothing decorated with cross-stitch, especially from continental Europe and Asia.

Two-dimensional (unshaded) cross-stitch in floral and geometric patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss on linen, is characteristic of folk embroidery in Eastern and Central Europe.^[2]

In the United States, the earliest known cross-stitch sampler is currently housed at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Itwas created by Loara Standish, daughter of Captain Myles Standish and pioneer of the Leviathan stitch, 1653.

Multicoloured, shaded, painting-like patterns as we know them today are a recent development, deriving from similar shaded patterns ofBerlin wool work of the mid-nineteenth century.

Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like dishcloths, household linens, and doilies (only a small portion of which would actually be embroidered, such as a border). Although there are many cross-stitchers who still employ it in this fashion, especially in Europe, it is now increasingly popular to simply embroider pieces of fabric and hang them on the wall for decoration.