Step 1 / 7

The white cross

Place the 4 white edges around the white center, on the bottom.

Goal of this step

The white center is on the bottom (yellow is on top). The goal of this step is to place the 4 white edges around it to form a cross.

Careful: a white cross on the bottom is not enough. Each edge’s second color must also line up with the center of its face (red with red, green with green…).

This step is mostly intuitive. Here are the two most common situations, with the edge that needs to go to the bottom front.

Cases and algorithms

Edge on top, white facing up: turn U until its other color is above its matching center, then F2.

F2

Edge on top, white facing front: it is "flipped", this algorithm flips it while inserting it.

U' R' F R

Tips

Each edge has two colors: white, and a color that must match the center of its side face.
If a white edge is in the middle layer, bring it to the top with a single move, then use one of the cases below.
If an edge is on the bottom but in the wrong spot, take it out to the top with F2 (after bringing it to the front), then place it again.