Cross stitches

Cross stitch has been called "probably the most widely used stitch of all"[1] and is part of the needlework traditions of the Balkans, Middle East, Afghanistan, Colonial America and Victorian England.

Herringbone, fishbone, Van Dyke, and related crossed stitches are used in crewel embroidery, especially to add texture to stems, leaves, and similar objects.

Basic cross stitch is used to fill backgrounds in Assisi work.

[3] Cross stitch was widely used to mark household linens in the 18th and 19th centuries, and girls' skills in this essential task were demonstrated with elaborate samplers embroidered with cross-stitched alphabets, numbers, birds and other animals, and the crowns and coronets sewn onto the linens of the nobility.

Berlin Woolwork and similar stitches petit point are reminiscent of the heavily brushed, luxurious styles of cross-stitch embroidery, and sometimes paper-printed diagrams are also used.