What is the difference between needlepoint and cross stitch?

There are so many fun types of embrodiery and fiber arts to explore! I have found, that once you get the hang of one, it is much easier to learn another form of fiber art - so keep exploring!

Needlepoint and Cross Stitch are two crafts that I see confused most often. While there are many similarities between them there are a few distinct differences that make it easy to distinguish needlepoint from cross stitch.

1. The first difference is the material. Needlepoint is stiched on a mesh canvas and cross stitch is stitched on fabric. Here is an example of the most common materials.

This is the mesh canvas used for needlepoint:

This is aida fabric used for cross stitch:

2. The second main difference is the basic stitch.

While there are a variety of decorative stitches, the standard needlepoint stitch is called a tent stitch. A tent stitch is a diagonal stitch that covers a canvas insection going from the bottom left to the top right.

As its name suggests, a cross stich is made up of two stitches forming a cross. The first part of the stitch begins the same as a needlepoint stitch, covering a canvas intersection from the bottom left to top right, but is then followed by a second stitch from the bottom right to the top left to create the cross.

For more information on cross stitch, I'd recommend visiting DMC's introduction to cross stitch - you can find tutorials as well as purchase materials from them here.