Can You Cross Stitch on Canvas? Yes! Here’s How

Turn a quote into a unique piece of art with this simple cross stitch on canvas tutorial! This project is fully customizable and so much fun to make – perfect for gifts or home decor. I’ve included my free pattern in the post.

Skills Required: Beginner. You need to know how to paint canvas and the basics of cross stitch to complete this project.

I’m so excited to share this project with you! It’s one of my favorite projects EVER. Do you have any favorite quotes or song lyrics that you love? You know, they make you happy when you read them on a page or hear them sung on the radio.

The Beatles songs are like that for me – my mom loved listening to them when I was young, and we used to sing the lyrics in the car on rides home from school.

To remind me of those fun times when I was little, I cross stitched on canvas with The Beatles lyrics “all you need is love.” If you have a phrase that bring a smile to your face, this project is fun (and easy!).

This canvas makes a sweet gift if you personalize it for the recipient. If you do what I did, this canvas makes a great Valentine’s Day decoration, too. Here’s what you’re going to need.

Gather These Supplies

• Printer and plain white paper
• 12” x 24” canvas
• FolkArt acrylic paint – Aqua (or color of your choice)
• Printed pattern of a quote or lyrics (here’s mine)
• Embroidery thread – for my pattern, one skein covered about three letters – I used four skeins of white and one skein each of a few shades of pink
• Embroidery needles
• Tool to puncture your canvas – I used a bead reamer like any of these
• Scissors
• Painter’s tape

REMEMBER TO REVERSE THE PATTERN if you use letters. You are taping the pattern to the back of the canvas, and you want it to show up correctly on the front.

ALSO IMPORTANT: every stretch canvas like I used has a wood frame. That means that you can’t make your pattern the full size of of the canvas because you can’t stitch edge to edge.

You’ll need to consider the measurements inside of the wood frame as the size of your stitching area. If your canvas has a wood crossbar, that’s fine. Those are easy to stitch behind and around.

Get the printable how to card below:

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How to Cross Stitch on Canvas

Learn how to cross stitch on a cotton duck, stapled canvas from the craft store using embroidery floss.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Active Time6 hours hrs

Dry Time2 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Type: Wall Art

Yield: 1 canvas

Cost: $12

Equipment

• Printer with plain white paper
• Scissors
• Tool to puncture your canvas bead reamer or awl
• Embroidery needles

Materials

• 1 12” x 24” canvas
• 2-3 bottles FolkArt acrylic paint Aqua or color of your choice
• Printed pattern of a quote or lyrics here’s mine
• 6 skeins Embroidery floss for my pattern one skein covered about three letters – I used four skeins of white and one skein each of a few shades of pink
• 1 roll Painter’s tape

Instructions

• Paint the canvas with acrylic paint. Give it three layers (completely cover it) and let dry.
  
• Print your cross-stitch pattern and tape the pages together . . . then tape the pattern inside the back of the canvas (in the center). Make sure that it fits within the wood frame, or you’ll need to print again until it fits.
  
• Use the bead reamer to puncture through the paper pattern and canvas from back to front, at each corner of every "X" on the pattern. If your bead reamer has a sharp tip, it’s very easy to punch through.
  
• Thread your embroidery floss through the needle and tie a knot (several times) at one end. Begin cross stitching your canvas, following your pattern exactly.
  
• This is how the back will look. When you finish a strand, tie off the floss by threading under several stitches. Then begin a new strand.
  
• When you get to the last word(or whatever word you would like to highlight), change the floss to another color. Finish in the same way.
  

Notes

Step 2: Here’s how I created my pattern. I searched for “cross-stitch letter patterns” online, and then used Excel to place x’s in the boxes to duplicate the letters. I then reversed the pattern (since I was taping to the back) and printed to fit. You might have to print a few times to make sure that your pattern fits your canvas – see my attached pattern document for a sample.

Step 3: Just be careful as you are punching– don’t rest the canvas on your leg!

Step 4: I did not remove individual threads from the floss strands – I just used the strand as a whole.

This is one of my favorite home decor projects of all time – it makes me happy every time I see it on the wall. Now you have to make one for yourself, right?

I’d love to hear what you think of this project in the comments. I’d also like it if you checked out these other cross stitch and wall projects:

DIY Pillow • Flower Sweater • Glue Art • Hand Embroidered Magnets • Magazine Collage Art • Mod Podge Canvas • Pom Pom Wall Hanging • Poster Hanger • Song Lyric Art • Wall Decals • Yarn Wall Art • Yarn Wall Hanging