The white cross is the first step of the beginner method for the Rubik's Cube 3x3. You bring the four edges that have a white sticker around the white centre, so that the other sticker on each edge matches the colour of the centre on that side.
Find your case fast
Look at your cube from above and tap the picture that matches it to see how to solve it. Grey cells are stickers you can ignore.
This guide shows two ways to make the white cross: the daisy method, the easiest one for your first try, and the direct method, which is faster once you get the hang of it. Every edge position has its own picture, and every move sequence here has been tested on the EasyRubic Rubik's Cube simulator. At the end you will find how to fix a finished cross whose side colours don't match.
What does a correct cross look like?
A correct white cross needs two things:
- Four white stickers around the white centre, all facing the same way.
- The other sticker on each edge matches the centre of the side face right next to it.
The second one is easy to forget. Ruwix points out that the centres never swap places, so they are what tells you where each edge has to go (Ruwix). J Perm also says to always look at both colours of each edge, so the side colour matches straight away (J Perm).
The picture below is step 1 of the EasyRubic guide: "what you have" and "the goal of the step", which is a correct white cross.
- You start with (input)A scrambled cube
- Result you will get after finishing this stepWhite cross done
If you only want four white stickers on top and don't care about the sides, that is part of solving one face; see How to solve one face of a Rubik's Cube. To solve the whole cube, you need a correct cross like the one above.
How to read the pictures: each picture has two cubes. The left cube is the case you have, the right cube is the result after the moves written below it. Only the white edges being talked about are coloured; the other pieces are grey. The pictures only show the top, front and right faces; the caption tells you when the white sticker is on a hidden face. If you don't know the R, U, F notation yet, read Rubik's Cube notation for beginners first.
Daisy or direct: which one should you pick?
| Daisy method | Direct method | |
|---|---|---|
| How to hold the cube | Yellow on top | White on top |
| Idea | Gather the four white edges around the yellow centre first, then bring them down one by one | Put each edge straight into its correct spot |
| What to remember | Almost nothing | One short sequence for each position |
| Number of moves | More | Fewer |
| Best for | Your first time with the cube | When you can already solve the whole cube and want to go faster |
Cube.Academy uses the daisy for the first step and calls making the daisy intuitive (Cube.Academy). The EasyRubic guide and J Perm's guide go direct, with white on top (J Perm). Both ways give the same result. Our tip: use the daisy the first time, then switch to the direct method once you can solve the whole cube.
Four moves.
One at a time.
Tap each symbol and follow one piece. This is an exercise in watching the movement.
Method 1: the daisy
The daisy is the yellow centre with four white "petals" around it: the four edges with a white sticker sit on the yellow face, white sticker facing up. At this stage you don't need to worry about the other colour on each edge.
Hold the cube: yellow centre on top, green face in front. In the pictures, the right face is orange.
The only rule: before you bring an edge up to the yellow face, turn U so that the spot it is going to is empty (no petal there yet). If you don't, you will knock a petal you already have back down.
Each picture below shows the whole journey of one edge, the green-white edge: the bold moves bring it up as a petal, the other moves are the bringing-down part from step 2 (see the next section). That way the right cube always shows the edge already in its correct spot, at the bottom.
Edge in the middle layer
The edge sits between two side faces. Turn the face that does not have the white sticker, in the direction that lifts the edge up.
White sticker facing the front, edge on the right of the front face: turn U so the top-right spot is empty, then R.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
White sticker facing left, edge between the left and back faces: make the top-back spot empty, then B'.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
In this picture the edge is completely on the hidden side (left and back faces), so you can't see any of its stickers on the left cube.
Edge in the bottom layer, white sticker facing down
Turn U so the spot right above the edge is empty, then turn that side face twice. Edge under the right face: R2.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
The white sticker is on the bottom face, so it is hidden. You only see the green sticker in the middle of the bottom row of the right face.
Edge in the bottom layer, white sticker facing out
The edge is under the front face, white sticker facing the front. Do two moves: F L'. The F move brings it up to the middle layer, on the left, with the white sticker still facing the front. That is the middle-layer case above, so L' brings it up to the yellow face.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Before F, turn U so the spot above the front face is empty; before L', turn U so the top-left spot is empty.
Upside-down petal
The edge is already on the yellow face, but the white sticker faces the front instead of up. Do F R: F pushes it down to the middle layer, on the right, white sticker facing the front; R brings it back up, this time with the white sticker facing up. The top-right spot must be empty before you do R.
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Repeat until you have all four petals.
Step 2: bring the petals down into a white cross
Keep yellow on top. For each petal:
- Look at the petal's sticker that is not white, on the front face.
- Turn U so that sticker sits right above the centre of the same colour.
- Turn the front face twice: F2. The edge goes to the bottom, white sticker facing down.
For petals on the other faces, do exactly the same with that face: R2, B2 or L2. Those double turns are the moment the side colours get matched, so take your time: always match the colour first, then turn.
The picture below is the whole of step 2 on a daisy with all four petals: U F2, then U R2, then U2 B2, then U L2. Each U turn brings one petal above its own centre.
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Flip the cube over and you will see the white cross on the bottom face. With the daisy method you don't need to flip it: the next step, how to solve the first layer, holds the cube exactly like this, yellow on top and white on the bottom.
Method 2: direct, white on top
This way is the same as step 1 of the guide. Hold the cube with the white centre on top. Find an edge with a white sticker, check its other colour (for example green), then turn the whole cube so the green centre is in front. The edge will go straight to the spot between the white face and the green face.
Every picture below shows the green-white edge; the other three white edges are already in place.
Edge in the bottom layer
Turn D so the edge is right under the green centre. White sticker facing down: F2.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
White sticker facing the front: D R F' R'. The D move takes the edge under the right face, R brings it up to the middle layer, F' brings it up into its spot, and R' puts the right face back.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Edge in the middle layer, at the front
Edge on the right of the front face, white sticker facing right: F'.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Right of the front face, white sticker facing the front: U' R U. U' moves the white edge in the top-right spot out of the way, R brings the edge up, and U puts the pieces back where they were.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Left of the front face, white sticker facing left: F.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
The white sticker is on the left face, so it is hidden; you see the green sticker in the middle of the left column of the front face.
Left of the front face, white sticker facing the front: U L' U'.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Edge in the middle layer, at the back
Edge between the right and back faces, white sticker facing right: R2 F' R2. R2 brings it to the front (white sticker still facing right), F' brings it up, and R2 puts the white edge in the top-right spot back.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
White sticker facing the back: U' R' U.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Between the left and back faces, white sticker facing left: L2 F L2.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
White sticker facing the back: U L U'.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
In these last four pictures the edge is on a hidden face. Tilt the cube to see which way the white sticker faces, then pick the sequence.
Edge on the white face but wrong
In the right spot but with the white sticker facing the front: F U' R U. F pushes it down to the right of the front face, U' moves the white edge in the top-right spot out of the way, R brings the edge up with the white sticker facing up, and U puts everything back. Ruwix uses exactly this idea for a flipped edge (Ruwix).
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
White sticker facing up but in the wrong spot, for example the top-right spot: R2 D' F2. R2 takes it down to the bottom, D' moves it under the green face, and F2 brings it up into its spot.
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Fixing a white cross with wrong side colours
If you already have a cross but the side colours don't match (this often happens when you followed the "one face" way), you don't need to start over. Hold white on top.
Step 1: turn U until at least two edges match
Turn the top face one move at a time and count how many edges match the centre below them. There is always a turn that makes at least two edges match; we checked all 24 ways the four edges can be arranged on the simulator. If all four match, you're done:
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Step 2: swap the other two edges
If the two wrong edges are next to each other, turn the whole cube so they are on the front and right faces, then do F2 D R2 D' F2. F2 takes the front edge down to the bottom, D moves it under the right face, R2 swaps it with the right edge, and D' and F2 bring the other edge up to the front face.
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
If the two wrong edges are opposite each other, turn the whole cube so they are on the front and back faces, then do F2 B2 D2 F2 B2: take both down, swap them with D2, then bring them back up.
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the side colours. Four white stickers on top is not enough. Check each edge: its side sticker matches the centre next to it.
- Knocking off a petal. In the daisy method, always turn U so the spot is empty before you bring an edge up.
- Bringing a petal down before the colour matches. In step 2 of the daisy, only do the double turn once the petal's side sticker is above the centre of the same colour.
- The last edge is the hardest. Ruwix says the same: at that point any move can break the three edges you have already done (Ruwix). Use the move sequences above; each one puts the other three edges back where they were.
Next step
With a correct white cross, you move on to the four white corners to finish the first layer: see How to solve the first layer or step 2 of the guide. The whole seven-step process is in How to solve a Rubik's Cube 3x3 for beginners.
Once you're comfortable, try making the cross on the bottom face right from the start, without flipping the cube. That is the cross of the CFOP method, covered in How to do the CFOP cross.
Use the EasyRubic 3x3 timer to see how long your cross takes. With the EasyRubic app, you can scan your real cube with the camera and follow the solution step by step on a 3D cube. Get EasyRubic and give it a go.
Video
Want to see it in motion? The short video below from the DucToanCubing channel on YouTube shows more of what this post covers. The video belongs to that channel and is embedded straight from YouTube.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Is the white cross the same as the white plus sign?
Yes. They are two names for the same step: four white edges around the white centre, with the side colours matching. In CFOP, this step is called the cross.
Do you need to memorise algorithms to make the white cross?
No, you don't have to. The daisy method is almost all intuition. The direct method uses sequences of one to four moves that are easy to follow from the pictures.
Why do you hold yellow on top for the daisy?
Because the yellow face is opposite the white face. Gather the petals around the yellow centre, then turn each side face twice, and each edge goes straight over to the white side with its white sticker facing down.
My white cross is done but the side colours don't match. What now?
Turn U until at least two edges match, then swap the other two with F2 D R2 D' F2 (next to each other) or F2 B2 D2 F2 B2 (opposite), as in the section "Fixing a white cross with wrong side colours".
Do you have to start with white?
No. Every colour works the same way. Most beginner guides start with white, so picking white makes it easier to follow other guides.