That is exactly what you understood it to mean. The pattern is all X's -- no outline, not back stitching no anything else. Artecy makes beautiful patterns. Very easy to see the symbols in each square. The only challenge I have is that the artist uses a lot of colors that are very close in shades. You have to pay attention to that. Once you see the actual pattern you will understand. I ALWAYS make an extra copy of patterns to use for crossing out what I have stitched and then put the original away in a safe place -- just in case I need it for reference. I don't stitch a lot of large pieces but Artecy is my favorite.