As we have already discussed, most of the time when stitching on evenweave or linen, we are stitching over two threads of the fabric. Occasionally, however, your chart may ask you to stitch over one thread. You may wonder why that is and how to work over one so I will try my best to explain here.

Why Stitch Over One?

An 'over one' stitch- sometimes known as a petit point stitch or quarter stitch- is a quarter the size of a regular 'over two' cross-stitch, so it takes four 'over 1' stitches to make one regular sized 'over two' stitch. These tiny stitches allow a designer to get a much greater level of detail in areas such as faces or skin. That's why the most common place to find a section of over one stitching is in a Fancy Lady design (Mirabilia, Lavender and Lace, Bella Filipina etc.). In these charts the technique is often used to produce a face that is much more realistic and detailed. In our Angel of Christmas sample piece, the angel's face and hands are stitched over one whilst her dress, wings, hair and so on are stitched over two strands of the 32 count linen. 

How to Stitch Over One

When stitching over one, the stitches are so small that using two strands of cotton thread to make a full cross is nearly impossible as it's too bulky. Therefore, I would recommend you chose one of the following methods:

1) Stitching a Full Cross With One Strands of Cotton

To work this method, use only one strand of cotton to make both the bottom and top legs of each cross stitch. Remember, we are working over one, so you will be skipping over only one thread of the fabric and working into every hole. This is different to working over two where we work into every second hole of the fabric. 

Our angel's face is stitched with full crosses using one strand of cotton.

2) Stitching a Half Cross with Two Strands of Cotton

With this method, you work with two strands of cotton so you can use your loop-start method as normal, if you wish. You are only working the bottom leg of each stitch so, rather than crosses, you will have lots of little diagonal lines that look a little like forward slashes (or back slashes, if you work your legs in the opposite direction). Please remember to always keep your legs facing the same direction. 

The angel's hands are stitched using half crosses worked with two strands of cotton

Which Method is Better?

Although I prefer the first method (working a full cross with a single strand of cotton), it is, as always, down to personal preference. The second method is faster (because you are only making half a stitch) but I find it can be harder to place the stitches in the right spot.