How to Make Fractional Stitches Quarter stitch To make a quarter stitch, bring the needle out at one corner of the square and insert it into the central hole to form a quarter stitch.

Three-quarter stitch To make a three-quarter stitch, form a quarter stitch and then work a half stitch so that it crosses the quarter stitch in the opposite direction.

Half stitch To make a half stitch, bring the needle out at the bottom corner of the square and insert in at the opposite diagonal corner to form a half stitch.

Half stitches Sometimes, an entire area with a motif is worked in half stitches. Generally it is a good idea to slant each half stitch in the same direction as the top half of your cross stitch. This enables the stitches to blend in with the rest of the design, giving a smooth finish to your stitching. The only exception to this is if you are adding something like feathers to a bird or fur to an animal, when the stitches should be slanted to follow the direction of the fur or feathers. Half stitches are also used to create light shading to an area of a design where a full cross stitch would be too heavy, and for this reason they are often used to create a feeling of depth and distant to pictures.

Which fabric to use It's easiest to work fractional stitches on an evenweave fabric as the hole is already provide for working a quarter stitch (see picture below). If you are working on aida fabric you'll need to pierce the centre block of the fabric using a small crewel needle and this can be rather fiddly.

There is often some confusion as to how to work fractional stitches and how to interpret them as they are shown on a chart. There is nothing particularly complicated about them - you only need to follow a few basic rules to produce very professional looking results. If you are new to fractional stitches, then using them in a project will demand some extra concentration; but with practice, they will become second nature.