| Cross stitch is a form of counted thread embroidery; it | | | | Calcutta in Bengal were given the task of stitching the |
| is dated back to the 6th or 7th century. It was used to | | | | longest chapter in the Bible, the 19th psalm. |
| decorate household items using floral and geometric | | | | Books with cross-stitch patterns were popular in |
| patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss | | | | Europe and America during the 17th century and they |
| on linen fabric. Cross-stitch was found in a Coptic | | | | would feature samples. Cross stitch patterns were |
| tomb in Upper Egypt, where it was preserved by the | | | | printed as black squares or dots, leaving the choice of |
| dry desert climate. | | | | colours to the embroiderer. The earliest surviving dated |
| Catherine of Aragon, the Spanish first wife of Henry | | | | sampler was stitched by an English girl, Jane Bostocke, |
| VIII has brought blackwork in England. Blackwork is | | | | in 1598. Jane's sampler contains floral and animal motifs |
| thought to have influenced the development of | | | | and an alphabet. It is believed that from Jane's motifs |
| cross-stitch. Catherine of Aragon used to stitch herself | | | | she must have had access to an early pattern book. |
| the King's shirts. | | | | Most cross stitchers still like to stitch and embellish |
| The most common cross stitching work were | | | | items like dishcloths and household linens, however it is |
| samples and it was usually in a form of a prayer or a | | | | now increasingly popular to stitch various designs and |
| saying. In 1797 children from the orphans school near | | | | pictures and hang them on the wall for decoration. |