Subversive Cross Stitch

I find subversive cross stitch hilarious- the incongruity of the sweet old-fashioned homey look of cross stitch combined with highly sarcastic or downright offensive messages. There are a number of funny ideas if you browse subversive cross stitch, including on Pinterest. I’ve never done cross stitch before, so I thought I would give it a try. First, I checked out a book from the library, Subversive Cross Stitch: 50 F*cking Clever Designs by Julie Jackson, which did a pretty good job of explaining the basics.

I had my own sentiment in mind, so I had to create my own pattern. You can print cross stitch grid paper from many sources, I downloaded grid paper from www.cyberstitchers.com. I bought an inexpensive 6” X 8” frame and sized my grid pattern to fit within the frame. The count size of your Aida fabric must be accounted for in the scale of your pattern- I purchased a piece of 12” X 18” 14ct Aida on Amazon for $4. 

I used an online text pattern generator at www.stitchpoint.com, using the Amsterdam text type to create my own text pattern, then transferred the text pattern to my paper grid pattern, using the designated center of the grid as a reference. Next, I had to create a basic border to meet the dimensions I wanted. I used a Scandinavian border pattern from www.Dreamstime.com. Use pencil for this, since you have to figure out and adjust stitch counts to fit your intended size.

I bought 4 colors of embroidery floss at a craft store and I was ready to go with my old embroidery hoop. Baste two lines to indicate the center, and start counting from the pattern to place your stitches. Use 2 threads of floss at a time when stitching.

Once you get going, it’s pretty mindless. You do have to stitch the legs of your stitches in the same order to maintain symmetry. It’s a good thing to do while watching a show you don’t need to pay much attention to.

The finished project

Here is a link to my pattern.