Backstitch outlines and fractional stitches
Add crisp outlines and smooth curves with backstitch and quarter or three-quarter stitches.
Step by step
- Work all the cross stitches first, then do backstitch on top.
- Backstitch usually uses one strand; follow the chart key.
- Come up one hole ahead, go down one hole back, and repeat along the line.
- For a quarter stitch, come up in a corner and go down in the centre of the square, easing the needle between the Aida fibres.
- For a three-quarter stitch, add a half stitch across the square to a quarter stitch.
- Keep the top diagonals leaning the same way as your full stitches.
Watch
Quick Beginner's Backstitch Tutorial | Caterpillar Cross Stitch (6:35)
By Caterpillar Cross Stitch · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 6-minute video from Caterpillar Cross Stitch on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
All guides ›Cross stitch
Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.