Embroider in miniature

Miniature cross-stitch is made on a unifil fabric such as linen, cheesecloth or silk gauze.
Its special feature is that it is embroidered on 1 warp thread x 1 weft thread of the fabric instead of 2 x 2 for classic cross-stitch, using a fine embroidery thread (1 strand of mouliné, 1 Mako 40 or 80 thread or 1 silk thread, for example).
The result is a stitch 4 times smaller than a normal stitch.

The "petit point" technique

When working in miniature on unifil fabric, the thread tends to run under the fabric and “eat” the stitch. This is normal, since when you embroider on a single thread, there's nothing to hold it in place!

That's why, when I do miniatures, I opt for the "petit point" technique, also known as canvas stitch.
It's an oblique stitch that locks the thread in place on the fabric.
The principle: embroider in reverse!

• Row to row: embroider in the order shown in the diagram aside, i.e. from right to left, unlike conventional cross-stitch. On the back of the work, you'll no longer have vertical stitches, but large diagonals. These will prevent the stitches from slipping under the weft.
• Return row: now that the threads are fixed, you can work the return half-stitches as normal.

This technique may not be very “academic”, but I find it gives a good result, with regular stitches that last over time.

How do you embroider 2 mixed colors when working with a single thread?

There's a simple technique I've illustrated here with 3 color blocks. The purpose of double colors is to create a transition between two “solid” colors.

So, at the top you'll see a block normally embroidered with orange thread, and at the bottom a block normally embroidered with red thread. To switch from one color to the other in the classic two-thread embroidered version, we'd take one thread of each color in the needle. Except that here, we only embroider with one thread.

You can see the first step in block 2: the outward half-stitches are embroidered with orange thread.
Then, in block 3, the return half-stitches are embroidered with red thread. You can see that block 3 appears in a color halfway between the orange and red blocks. If we want to be more precise, you'll notice with a little experience that the color of the return thread is a little more visible than that of the forward thread.
This can guide your choice for fine-tuning gradients.

This technique can be extended to any single-thread embroidery. In fact, as you can see from my photo, I've embroidered the example on aida fabric for greater clarity.

Our tip: when using this technique, I recommend that you prepare two needles, one of each color, to avoid having to keep changing them as you work. It'll also help you remember to change colors when you get back.