The next best thing to a long cross stitching session is upgrading your stash with a cool new accessory. The right product can make your stitching more comfortable, faster and more enjoyable.
Whether you’ve been cross stitching for years, or are a total newbie looking to get started, there’s always an accessory that’ll make a difference to your next project.
In Gathered’s round-up of our favourite cross stitching accessories, we’ve mixed luxury buys with affordable options so you can identify the best pick to level up your hobby.
Which will you choose to advance your cross stitch craft?
12 best cross stitch accessories
1. PURElite LED magnifying 3-in-1 crafters lamp
Best for flexibility around the number of threads you own
Straining your eyes in a dimly lit corner of the room is never a good idea, particularly with a craft like cross stitch. It’s important to see every millimetre when you’re working on intricate designs and colour changes. A magnified lamp is the best solution when you need laser focus.
We love the versatility of this crafter’s essential that converts from a floor lamp to a table or clip-on lamp. It contains 21 LED lights and a 2 x magnification, which is bright enough to work on the most detailed project. A flexible neck gives you a wide range of position options. The lamp is mains or battery operated so you can take your projects anywhere.
Pros: Produces minimum heat
Cons: Some might even find it too bright!
- Buy PURElite LED magnifying 3-in-1 crafters lamp from Lakeside Needlecraft
2. DMC storage box
Best for being organised
Okay, confession time. We’ve all been lazy with our bobbin storage at some point in our cross stitch journey. There’s no better way to learn to be organised than by rummaging around frustrated looking for a shade or watching a bobbin spin away uncontrollably under the sofa.
Keep all your bobbins colour coordinated and easy to find (as well as replace) with a storage box. You can stash 50 bobbins and you’ll never run out of that must-have colour again.
Pros: Helps keep your thread clean
Cons: Threads not included
- Buy DMC storage box from Lakeside Needlecraft
3. 8" x 8" Q Snap Plastic Snap Frame
Best for keeping tension
This is an absolute must-have accessory for cross stitchers, particularly if you don’t get along with hoops. All stitchers know how crucial it is that the fabric is kept taut and secure. Unlike a hoop, these Q Snap frames don’t need to be adjusted to keep the tension, and the grip is super tight. Simply snap and go!
The Q Snap frames come in various sizes and are easy to assemble too.
Pros: Easy to adjust tension
Cons: Frame is thicker than a traditional wooden hoop
- Buy 8" x 8" Q Snap Plastic Snap Frame from Lakeside Needlecraft
4. Embroidery hoop stand
Best for faster stitching on small projects
A great hack for speedy stitching! An embroidery hoop stand holds your hoop securely, so you can have your hand above and below the fabric. This makes it much faster to pass your thread back and forth through the fabric as you build your design.
The adjustable arms let you position the hoop at the height that’s right for you. There’s an adjustable chart holder you can position at eye level as well.
The stand’s beach chassis base is wide enough to stand on a table or secure it under your leg for maximum stability and stitching speed.
Pros: Handmade, attractive, natural wood
Cons: Hoop not included as part of the set
- Buy an adjustable embroidery hoop stand from Etsy
5. Magnetic fabric clips
Best for large projects with lots of fabric
For larger cross stitch projects, you need big pieces of fabric. Hundreds of cross stitching hours later, that fabric is likely to be over-handled and dirty – unless you take steps to keep it clean.
Magnet clips make it easy to roll that fabric away and keep it safe from sunlight, dust and the oil from your hands.
The magnetic fastening won’t mark the fabric. No holes are used to secure it, so fabric stays controlled, non-bulky and pristine until you’re ready to cross stitch on it.
Pros: Easy to fasten, no fuss
Cons: Short connector strips restricts use with bulky fabrics
- Buy Magnetic fabric clips from Etsy
6. Butterfly thread tail tucker
Best for cross stitchers who push their luck
Best for cross stitchers who push their luck
You are cross stitching with just a few stitches left in the colour you have threaded. You pull your thread tight to try to avoid cutting and threading a new one for just a few stitches.
Familiar scenario?
We all do it! But it leaves you with a thread end on the front of your stitching that’s too short for your needle to get back into the fabric.
Thread tail tuckers let you put the very short lengths to the back of your work. We especially like this handmade butterfly one.
Pros: Saves time rethreading, maximise your thread use
Cons: Fragile, and easy to lose if you aren’t careful
- Buy a Butterfly tail tucker fromEtsy
7. Needle Park Avenue thread organiser
Best for cross stitchers who hate re-threading needles
With the Needle Park Avenue, you can ditch your chart key altogether. Instead, write the symbols in the slots, thread up needles with the colour codes you need, and you’re ready to go.
You grab the threaded needle for the stitches you need, then snip the thread and park it right back in its symbol spot. There’s foam attached to the board to hold the needle in place.
The whole board attaches to your projects with magnets to keep everything close to hand.
Pros: Easy to use, and good for projects with lots of scattered stitches
Cons: Only 9 slots on the board, but you can double up with two symbols in each bay if needed
- Buy Needle Park Avenue from Etsy
8. Magnificent Pro Daylight lamp
Best for stitching on evenweave or coloured fabrics
With this clever craft lamp, use a magnifier lens or directional light, or clip the two together to use both!
The lamp comes with two options to adjust its height, so you can make it really tall if you want a floor lamp, or shorter to stand it on a table.
You get 600 Lumens of light from cool-running LEDs. The light sits as a halo around your magnifier. You can also remove the lens to look through to your project, bathed in all that (Day)light.
Pros: Class A energy efficiency, see colours accurately, place stitches precisely
Cons: You need to craft near a power socket to use it
- Buy a Magnificent Pro Daylight Lamp from Amazon
9.DMC Soluble canvas
Best for cross stitching on clothes
Cross stitch is worked on aida and evenweave fabric because they both have a clear grid in their structure. But what if you want to cross stitch on a non-gridded fabric, like regular clothing?
Soluble canvas gives you the grid you need to make your cross stitches on. Stitch through the soluble canvas and onto the fabric behind.
Once you’ve finished your design, you don’t need that grid guide anymore, so soak your fabric in water and watch the soluble canvas dissolve!
Pros: Let’s you cross stitch on any washable fabric
Cons: Washing adds an extra step to your project
- Buy DMC Soluble canvas from Etsy
How to cross stitch on clothes
Want to embellish your threads? Make your wardrobe unique with cross stitch motifs.
We show you how easy soluble canvas is to use in our How to cross stitch on clothes article. Take a look!
10. One More Row pattern marker
Best for large, complicated cross stitch patterns
The pattern marker sits framing your cross stitch pattern, and helps you keep track of where you are working in the chart.
You can do this with a Post-It note, but this handmade wooden version with stitcher’s saying decoration is much more pleasing to see every time you stitch. It comes in two pieces that fasten together through the chart with magnets to keep your place securely and clearly marked.
Pros: Handmade, easy to use, attractive
Cons: More expensive than a Post-It note
- Buy One More Row pattern marker from Etsy
11. 14-count aida
Best for everyday cross stitch cards and pictures
14-count aida fabric is the ultimate cross stitch accessory! It’s the most common fabric count and the easiest fabric type for beginners.
Colours and printed patterns are fun, but white or cream 14-count aida is the cross stitchers daily bread. You never want to run out of it!
Pros: Easy to stitch on, great for beginners, versatile
Cons:You need to pierce the fabric for fractional stitches
- Buy white 14-count aida fabric from Etsy
12. Easy Guide ball-tipped needles™
Best for cross stitch on aida
Cross stitch uses a size 24 tapestry needle on the most common cross stitch fabrics – 14-count aida 28-count evenweave. With their big eyes, these needles are user-friendly and easy to thread. The needles have blunt tips as you don’t need a sharp point to go through gridded fabric.
Adding a ball tip makes it easier to locate the hole in your fabric. The ball catches and helps guide the needle and thread through the right spot. Ball tip needles are designed especially for cross stitching. If you’ve not tried them, test them out, as they could make a big difference and enhance the joy of stitching.
Pros: Designed especially for cross stitch, great with aida fabrics
Cons: More expensive than standard tapestry needles
- Buy Easy Guide ball-tipped needles™ exclusively from Lakeside Needlecraft
Cross stitch more in less time
Finding ways to stitch faster and more comfortably will let you finish more cross stitch projects and advance your craft quicker. Investing in the right materials and equipment lets you place stitches more accurately for a neater look and cleaner finish. Discovering new products opens you up to new techniques too, giving you time to plan personalised presents for loved ones. You can treat yourself too, though! As they say: no time like the present.
Give the gift of cross stitch
Got a birthday or special occasion coming up?
Whether you are treating yourself or suggesting craft buys for others to get for you, check out Gathered’s best cross stitch gifts. We’ve got ideas for every occasion, so you’re bound to find something you’ll love.
Find your next cross stitch gift.
