What Does FFO Mean in Cross Stitch (and Other Acronyms)
Cross stitch has its own list of terms and acronyms that can easily confuse a stitcher who is newly joining cross stitch communities. You may run into a stitcher and hear them say, "I had two FFOs last week," which leaves you left wondering what FFO even means when related to cross stitch.
FFO
FFO stands for Fully Finished Object - this is a cross stitch piece that is fully stitched and finished for displaying or gifting.
FFO sample sentence - "I'm so excited, I have an FFO from last week to show you." or "I FFOed three projects this past weekend because I couldn't let my stitched pieces just sit in a drawer any longer."
Of course, FFO isn't the only cross stitch term/acronym that is commonly used. Listed below are other common cross stitch acronyms.
BAP
BAP stands for Big A$$ Project - this is a project that is going to take a long time to complete, such as a large full coverage cross stitch piece.
BAP sample sentence - "This Saturday, I plan to work all day on my BAP. I need to start getting some progress on that piece, or I feel like I will never get it done!"
FO
FO stands for Finished Object - this is a cross stitch piece that is fully stitched, but not fully finished (or FFOed) for displaying or gifting.
FO sample sentence - "I want to show you an FO from yesterday. There were so many colors in this piece, but every color change was worth it."
HAED
HAED stands for Heaven And Earth Designs - Heaven and Earth Designs is a cross stitch company that sells large, full coverage cross stitch pieces. Heaven and Earth Designs is commonly shortened to HAED just for ease of saying something shorter than four words.
Some people will mistakenly say HAED for any big project, but that isn't technically correct because a true HAED is only the pieces created by Heaven and Earth Designs.
HAED sample sentence - "I can't wait until my HAED piece is finished because it will look like a detailed piece of artwork."
LNS
LNS stands for Local Needlework Store - this term pretty much explains itself. An LNS is a brick and mortar needlework store that the stitcher using it in a sentence most often shops at.
LNS sample sentence - "I ran out of a floss color for my project yesterday, so I made a quick trip to my LNS to grab more."
ORT
The term ORT can be tricky. When someone talks about their cross stitch orts, they are referring to the little pieces of thread they have left over from a piece of thread they stitched with. The definition of ort (in general, not just for cross stitch) is a scrap, but some people think of ORT as an acronym that stands for Other Random Threads.
ORT sample sentence - "I have a whole jar full of ORTs. I don't want to throw them away because that seems wasteful, but I haven't thought of a way to use them yet."
RAK
RAK stands for Random Act of Kindness - I more commonly see RAK typed rather than said, but this is referring to gifts that one stitcher gives another. Sometimes instead of using RAK, a stitcher will use "stitchy gift." Cross stitchers are generally very generous people, so RAKs are common.
RAK sample sentence - "I wanted to show the cross stitch RAK I received yesterday. I love it all!"
SAL
SAL stands for Stitch Along - a stitch along (or SAL) is either a specific cross stitch piece or theme for cross stitch pieces that stitchers decide to stitch at (or around) the same time.
If there is a newly released piece that many stitchers are excited about, someone will usually start a SAL and encourage stitchers to share the progress on their piece on Facebook or Instagram
SAL sample sentence - "Want to SAL this piece with me? We both have the pattern, and I think we should stitch it at the same time."
UFO
UFO stands for Unfinished Object - this is a cross stitch piece that is not fully stitched, and the stitcher doesn't intend to finish stitching it.
Stitchers sometimes lose interest in their older projects, and some of those projects end up as pieces they have no desire to fully finish (FO).
UFO sample sentence - "I have a few UFOs. They have been under my bed for a few years now because I have lost interest in them."
WIP
WIP stands for Work in Progress - this is a cross stitch piece that is started, but not finished.
The difference between a UFO and a WIP is that with a WIP, the stitcher intends to finish the piece. They consider it a piece that they are working on whether or not they picked it up recently.
WIP sample sentence - "I probably have about thirty WIPs. That isn't too many, right?"
I hope this post answered any questions you had about cross stitch acronyms. If there are any that you can think of that I missed, feel free to share them in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
~Lindsey
P.S. Thanks for making it to the bottom of this post. As a thank you, use code ENDOFPOST10 at checkout to save 10% on your next order with Cross Stitching Supplies. Head over to the online shop -> https://www.crossstitchingsupplies.com/.
Thank you for refreshing my memory on certain terms! I didn’t realize how much I’d forgotten.
I still need to know the name of the fabric is called that I was last stitching. The holes in the corners of the squares were pretty far apart and I had to buy a much larger piece of fabric to stitch on. I know it has a special name and comes in darker colors. I also remember that the designs I did were mostly country themed. It came by the yard but sometimes I could find a remnant. I hope I’ve given you enough clues to go to your website and buy some. Thank you, Dianne