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How to Knit the Indian Cross Stitch

January 11, 2017 6 Comments

The Indian Cross Stitch is a beautiful way to change up your knitting. Formed by knitting elongated stitches out of order, the Indian Cross Stitch is a particularly unique and beautiful addition to your knitting. Click through for an easy to follow video tutorial.

The Indian Cross Stitch is a beautiful way to change up your knitting, and it’s a stitch you don’t come across all that often. Formed by knitting elongated stitches out of order, the Indian Cross Stitch provides a particularly unique and beautiful addition to your knitting. There are so many different ways to knit the Indian Cross Stitch since it can be worked at a variety of lengths and over different stitch counts too. This video walks you through the tricky part – how exactly to elongate your stitches and cross them over without twists or tangles. Once you wrap your brain around this stitch you can incorporate it into your knitting in so many ways!

If you’re doing the Exquisite Mystery Knit Along (or even reading this after the MKAL for reference), variations on this stitch are featured in the second section of the Exquisite Mystery pattern.

The Indian Cross Stitch is a beautiful way to change up your knitting. Formed by knitting elongated stitches out of order, the Indian Cross Stitch is a particularly unique and beautiful addition to your knitting. Click through for an easy to follow video tutorial.

These instructions demonstrate how to work the Indian Cross Stitch as defined in Barbara Walker’s first Treasury of Knitting Patterns, but the stitch length and count may be adapted to a variety of lengths or stitch counts.

The Indian Cross Stitch is a beautiful way to change up your knitting. Formed by knitting elongated stitches out of order, the Indian Cross Stitch is a particularly unique and beautiful addition to your knitting. Click through for an easy to follow video tutorial.

Yarn support for the Exquisite Mystery design was provided by Dream in Color yarn. To learn more about the Exquisite Mystery Knit Along, check out this overview post, the Exquisite Mystery KAL Ravelry Thread, and order the pattern here.

Filed Under: Knit Along, Knitting Tagged With: exquisite mystery knit along, exquisitemkal, indian cross, indian cross stitch, kal, knit along, knitting tutorial, mkal, video tutorial

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Bennie-Ruth Dean

    January 14, 2017 at 2:35 pm

    I really like this stitch. Have you used this pattern in a blanket or maybe a sweater? -positioned verically or horizontally? I guess I am wondering how weight would affect the stitch. Is it possible for me to store all of your stitch videos together? They are do very helpful.
    Thanks so much
    B-R

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 19, 2017 at 10:15 am

      Hi B-R!

      This pattern uses the stitch on a really small scale in a shawl for a textural effect. As far as fit, I’ll point you toward this pullover and this cardigan. I haven’t found a lot of patterns using indian cross stitch if they’re looking for a closely fitted garment, but it makes a statement and is a nice alternative to lace! If you’re looking to lighten up the stitch, you could do fewer garter repeats between crosses, and make your crosses shorter as well.

      I’m so glad to hear you like the videos! To organize them, I recommend using YouTube’s playlist feature, creating a list of bookmarks in your web browser, or using Pinterest. Here are some tutorials to help teach you how to do the YouTube and Pinterest ideas:
      -https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57792?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
      -http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/technology/how-to-use-pinterest

      Let me know if you have any questions or other ideas for this stitch!
      Heidi

      Reply
  2. Mary

    January 14, 2017 at 4:12 pm

    Love your videos, clear, succint and no unecessary extras(i.e.showing how to wrap the sts 8xs). You have the best presentations!!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 14, 2017 at 4:16 pm

      Thanks so much, Mary! That makes my day. :)

      Reply
  3. Kathleen Brosemer

    January 21, 2023 at 3:24 pm

    Why is it called Indian cross stitch? Is it referring to India, or the indigenous peoples of the Americas? I can’t find that anywhere. Hoping someone here would know. I’m using it in a lovely shawl by Melanie Berg and am going to get questions when I wear it!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 24, 2023 at 10:51 am

      I don’t know, but I found this stitch in Barbara Walker’s first Treasury of Knitting Patterns, under the name “Indian Cross Stitch.” Hopefully that will help – I’d love to hear what your research turns up. :)

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

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Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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