Today's #smallspacesunday shares the Extended Cross Stitch.  It's a versatile stitch suiting many stitch needs, including small spaces (duh), shading enhancement, and texture.  

The concept is very simple.  For a vertical cross, it's over one row and up three rows.  For a horizontal cross, it's over three rows and up one row.  It's always important to have the second stitch is the cross going from the lower left to the upper right.  (It's one of the "Purist Principles" I follow in needlepoint.)

For shading to show through, leave the intersection between the crosses empty.  You can fill that space with a French Knot, bead, or traditional cross stitch to add glamour or texture.

The cross stitch over one row condenses the stitch and adds a small level of bulk.  If you do not want that added texture, your thread choice should be lighter than you normally use for the specific canvas size.  As an example, I like to use DMC Pearl #5 or Kreinik Metallics Fine Braid (#8) or Tapestry Braid (#12) on 13 mesh.  Elegance or 4-ply floss is a good choice for 18 mesh.  

Truth be told, just last night, I used this stitch with a 4-ply floss on 13 mesh because 6-ply floss added way too much bulk for the stitched area.  It was a great reminder that there are guidelines in needlepoint, but you need to let your eye tell you what the right thing to do is.

These stitch diagrams, along with other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on www.pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday.  

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If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for seasonal Melissa Shirley designs.  Ten guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect space for this stitch and enjoy!