How To Finish Cross Stitch In A Hoop

This quick and easy tutorial will show you how to finish cross stitch in a hoop. This way of finishing cross stitch projects is very similar to the way you can back an embroidery project, but there are a few additional considerations you should keep in mind!

Supplies You’ll Need

Fabric
Finished Cross Stitch Project
Embroidery Hoop
Scissors
Pinking Sheers
Hot Glue Gun

Considerations

Make sure to choose an embroidery hoop that fits around your cross stitch design but also gives you enough room to center your design and allow for a little extra fabric around the sides. This will make it way easier to adjust the design and smooth out the fabric in the hoop.

My favorite way to finish cross stitch and embroidery projects is with a piece of fabric on the back to hide the stitches on the back, but if you’re a super neat stitcher and you like to keep the back exposed, you don’t need to use it.

Make sure you choose a fabric that won’t show through to the front of your cross stitch. (i.e. if you are using lighter Aida fabric and you back it with dark patterned fabric, the backing fabric may show the holes in the fabric through to the front)

Choose a nice embroidery hoop that is made of nice wood and finished with high quality hardware so that your project has a nice finish to it. Take a look at this post for the best embroidery hoops.

Pinking sheers are a must if you used Aida fabric for your cross stitch project. They cut a zigzag edge in the fabric that helps prevent any fraying from occurring.

Backing With Fabric

The first way is the quickest way to finish a project and the way I personally finish most of my embroideries and cross stitch projects. It’s a neat, no-sew method and it also prevents the edges of the fabric from fraying. I also enjoy finishing cross stitch projects in the hoop this way because there are lots of beautiful cotton quilting fabrics you can choose from that can make the back look interesting!

Since I used white cotton Aida fabric for the design, I chose a white marbled cotton fabric to ensure it wouldn’t show through to the front.

Place the backing fabric front side down on a flat surface. Then place the cross stitch face up on top of the backing fabric.
Loosen the hardware on the hoop and separate the inner and outer rings of the embroidery hoop. Place both layers of fabric between the inner and outer rings of the embroidery hoop.
Once the design is centered to your liking, smooth out any wrinkles on both layers of fabric and tighten the screw.
Trim the excess fabric with pinking shears leaving about an inch of fabric.
Trim the bottom layer of fabric with regular scissors so it sits flush with the embroidery hoop (so you don’t have to glue both layers!)
Place hot glue around the inner ring of the hoop.
Firmly press the fabric into the glue. You may want to use an awl or pencil so you don’t burn yourself.

Backing With Felt

Another way to finish cross stitch in the hoop is by backing it using felt. This is a great option if you don’t have or don’t want to use hot glue on your project and involves making a running stitch or blanket stitch along the back of the embroidery to secure a circle of felt. You can learn how to do this in this tutorial here.