Smyrna Diamond Stitch

The Smyrna diamond stitch is a beautiful decorative stitch formed by stitching two layers of crosses at different angles with a small cross stitched on top of a large cross. Smyrna diamond stitches can be used to fill in large background areas with texture and dimension or can be worked on top of continental stitching as decorative embellishment stitches.

1. Stitch the large cross first by working a long vertical straight stitch and long horizontal straight stitch. Bring the needle up through the canvas (1), skip the holes, and then bring the needle back down through the canvas (2).
2. Stitch the horizontal portion of the large cross by bringing needle up through the canvas two holes to the left of the straight stitch (3) and down two holes to the right of the straight stitch (4).
3. Stitch the small cross on top of the large cross by working a cross stitch over three holes, coming up at 5 and down at 6, then up at 7 and down at 8.