Bulgarian thread

The cross stitch is one of the most popular in embroidery. The direction of sewing is left to right in diagonal stitches over one or two squares of the canvas. It starts at the bottom left, and the second stitch is done in the top right corner of the square(s). Once the line is finished, you switch the direction from right to left over the line you just did to form a cross ‘X’. In this round, you start at the bottom right corner and finish the stitch at the top left.
In the example I have provided, the red thread () shows how the stitch is supposed to look at the front of the canvas, and the pink thread () represents how it should look on the back of the canvas.

An angled stitch is often used as an outline of an embroidery element or as an edge stitch of a clothing/fabric. The direction of sewing is from top to bottom in a straight line and moving left to right, over one or two squares. Once the line of straight stitches is done, you start making diagonal stitches from right to left, from the top right to the bottom left corner of the square(s) over the line you just did.
Again, the red thread () shows how the stitch is supposed to look at the front of the canvas, and the pink thread () represents how it should look on the back of the canvas. You should note that once you have completed this stitch, the back and front of it should look mirrored. Simply put, in the first round of this stitch, you make the straight lines at the front and the angled lines at the back. And in the second round, it is the opposite – you make the angled stitch at the front and the straight one at the back.

For embroidery canvas, in Bulgaria, the most commonly used are cotton and wool. Again, as with thread, if you strive for an authentic project, you should try to find a canvas made of one of the two materials. However, if you choose to use a different material, it will not affect the outcome of your project.
If you are a beginner, I would recommend that you use an embroidery-specific canvas, which is a type of canvas made in a grid pattern with evenly spaced holes. The canvas is usually referred to as an Aida # count fabric, where the count number refers to how stiff the canvas is – the lower the number, the stiffer the fabric is. This type of canvas is great for beginners, as it visually guides you into making evenly spaced stitches.

The needle you use should be for hand sewing and not for a sewing machine. The needle size depends on the type of fabric you decide to use and your experience. For example, if you use a 14 count embroidery fabric (a looser fabric) and you do not have much embroidery experience, a bigger needle would be more suitable. However, you should be careful not to choose a needle that is too big, as this would cause disruption to the fabric and make it harder for you to push the needle through the fabric holes. Usually, they come in a pack of varying sizes, which makes it easy to choose the right one.