How to Correct Mistakes in Your Cross Stitch Projects

June 05, 2025

We’ve all been there. One minute you’re happily working on your next cross stitch project, pleased with how smoothly it’s been going and then you suddenly spot a stitch in the wrong place. 

Often affectionately known as 'frogging', it's when you’ve made a mistake and you find yourself having to cut out and remove/rip out some of your stitches. 'Rip it, rip it', sounds much like the noise frogs make, 'ribbit, ribbit'!

The good news is that, whether you’re a complete cross stitch beginner or have been doing it for years, mistakes will happen, but they’re also easy to fix when they do.

So, before you begin to panic and throw in the towel on the design you’ve been working on, instead, take a deep breath, make yourself a cup of tea, and stick with us as we walk you through how to correct any mistakes you’ve made in your cross stitch project. Alternatively, head over to our YouTube channel, where you can learn about common cross stitching mistakes, and how to avoid them.

The Common Causes of Cross Stitch Mistakes

Before we start looking at how to correct mistakes to your cross stitch projects, it’s a good idea to look at why they happen in the first place. Learning the most common mistakes made by cross stitchers will hopefully help you to avoid making the same ones, but also how to deal with them if you do.

Here are some of the most common causes of mistakes made when cross stitching:

Counting stitches incorrectly

This is the most common mistake made by many cross stitchers, even the most experienced and advanced among us aren’t immune to this, so if you do this, then don’t worry about it too much.

Choosing the wrong colours

This is another common, yet easy mistake to make no matter how much cross stitch experience you have. Picking up the wrong colour of thread is easily done because they can often look the same, especially if you’ve been looking at them for a while or the lighting isn’t the best.

Getting distracted

Life is busy and there’s always something or someone needing your attention, so it can be very easy to make mistakes when cross stitching due to the simple distractions of daily life.

Working with complex or confusing patterns

Some cross stitch patterns are more tricky to follow than others, and this can often lead to mistakes. If you’re new to cross stitch, we generally recommend starting with some beginner cross stitch kits that contain easy-to-follow patterns and help you to build up your confidence.

Keep Your Mistake in Perspective

If you realise you’ve made a mistake, then the first thing to remember is not to panic. Mistakes are rarely as bad as they seem, and are often a lot easier to fix than you think at that moment.

To gain some perspective on the mistake made and assess how bad it really is, here are some questions to ask yourself before you throw your project in the bin in frustration:

• When was the mistake made?
• Does it significantly impact the design in a negative way?
• Would it be noticeable if you didn’t know it was there?

How you answer these questions will then help you determine if you need to take steps to fix the mistake and how to do that. Here are few options based on your answers above:

Option 1: Just ignore it

Sometimes the best course of action is no action at all, and in many cases, once you’ve evaluated the severity of the mistake, you’ll see that you don’t even need to bother doing anything with it. This is particularly true if you’re the only one who would notice it and it’s not going to have any negative impact on your finished design.

Option 2: Fill in the missing stitch

In some cases, all that’s needed is a very easy fix like adding a missing stitch. Just take your time and don’t rush it to avoid making any further mistakes.

Option 3: Cover the mistakes

Another very simple fix is to cover your mistakes by stitching over it, for example. This is generally done when you’ve used the wrong colour of thread, and once it’s done, the original mistake won’t be noticeable.

Option 4: Remove the incorrect stitch

Sometimes a cross stitch mistake may need a little extra effort and attention, and one common method used for this is called “frogging” which is basically removing the incorrect stitch by ripping it out.

Knowing When to Start Over When You Make a Mistake in Your Cross Stitch Project

In the rare case that you’ve made a mistake you don’t think can be fixed, then you can also consider giving up on this design and just starting from scratch. However, this is generally only needed (and recommended) in cases where there’s really nothing that can be done to fix the mistake or it’s causing the following issues:

• You’ve made multiple mistakes and this is leading to confusion
• The errors are noticeable no matter what you do
• It’s becoming too frustrating to try and correct your mistakes
• The mistakes are causing more harm to the design than good

If you do need to start over with your design, it’s important to not be hard on yourself. We all make mistakes, and it’s just part of the process. Look at starting over as a fresh opportunity to implement what you’ve learned and not see it as a failure, because it’s really not.

How to Avoid Future Mistakes When Cross Stitching

As much as mistakes are just part of the deal when cross stitching, they can also be quite stressful, cause delays, and depending on how severe they are, can cause you to lose valuable designs and materials, so it’s always preferable to avoid them as much as possible.

Here are some of our top tips for avoiding mistakes when cross stitching:

Use good lighting

As mentioned earlier, a common mistake is using the wrong colour of thread, and oftentimes this can be avoided by making sure that you’re in a room that’s well lit or you have a specific cross stitch lamp to help you see more clearly and distinguish between similar colours.

Use a magnifier

A magnifying glass is a very useful cross stitch accessory that can help you avoid common mistakes like adding a stitch in the wrong place. Some stitches and details can be difficult to see, so having something like this handy can prevent a lot of mistakes.

Mark progress as you go

Once you’ve worked on a section of the pattern, use a highlighter or marker to show your completed section. Tracking your progress will help you avoid mistakes, especially if you plan to come back to a project later.

Take frequent breaks

Cross stitching requires a lot of concentration and attention to detail, but it can be tiring on your eyes, so taking frequent breaks to avoid eye strain and fatigue is especially important. It’s also good practice to take a break and come back a bit refreshed to keep your concentration levels high.

Label your threads

If you work with a lot of threads in similar colours, then labelling them is a good way to avoid mistakes. You can use something simple like a post-it note or sticky folder tabs so that you always know what colour is which.

Don’t Let Potential Mistakes Put You Off Cross Stitching

Cross stitching is a wonderful way to relax and is a great hobby for those who enjoy it, so don’t be afraid to get started cross stitching or take on more challenging projects because you’re afraid of making mistakes.

Mistakes will happen, but they don’t have to ruin your project. Whether you’re just getting started with cross stitching or are looking to improve your skills, we have everything you need to keep you on track.

Browse our complete collection of cross stitch kits, colourful patterns, accessories and more for every level, from beginner to advanced.

We even share the latest cross stitch tips and tricks on our blog and YouTube tutorials.

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