Cross Stitch Calculator: Fabric Size and Floss

Cross stitch size calculator: design size by fabric count

How long one side of a design comes out on Aida, without any margin. Use the calculator above as a cross stitch size calculator for any other stitch count. Evenweave or linen stitched over two works like the Aida with half its count: 28 over 2 = 14-count, 32 over 2 = 16-count, 36 over 2 = 18-count.

Cross stitch fabric calculator: how much Aida do I need?

Design size

The count of a fabric is the number of stitches it takes per inch, so a higher count gives smaller stitches (DMC on Aida). On Aida you make one cross per square. Evenweave and linen are usually stitched over two threads, so 28-count linen comes out the same size as 14-count Aida (DMC on linen, Needlework FAQ). Design width = stitches wide ÷ stitches per inch, and the same for the height. 1 in = 2.54 cm.

Fabric to cut

Add fabric on every side: twice the margin to the width and twice to the height. DMC asks for a clear border of at least 3 in (8 cm) all the way around if you will mount and frame the piece (DMC, preparing fabric); the Needlework FAQ allows 3 to 4 in on each edge. We round the cut size up to the next 1/8 in or whole centimeter, because spare fabric can be trimmed and missing fabric can't be added.

What to buy

Then the fabric calculator picks the smallest common piece that holds your cut, turned either way. For Aida: 10 × 18 in (Zweigart), 11 × 18 and 14 × 18 in (Hobby Lobby), 12 × 18 in (Wichelt), 15 × 18 in (DMC), 18 × 21 in (Zweigart) and 19.7 × 24 in (DMC). Larger Aida comes off a bolt 43 in (110 cm) or 59 in (150 cm) wide (Zweigart). Linen and evenweave are sold in other cuts: a fat eighth of 13 × 18 in, a fat quarter of 18 × 27 in and a fat half of 27 × 36 in (Zweigart Cashel at 123stitch: 13 × 18, 18 × 27, 27 × 36), and by the yard from a 55 in (140 cm) wide bolt (Cashel, 140 cm). We round lengths up to 1/8 yd. Not every count comes in every size, and pre-cuts can run a little short, so measure yours.

Frames and other counts

Frames are sold by the size of picture they hold (standard frame sizes), from 4 × 6 in and square 5 × 5, 7 × 7, 8 × 8 and 12 × 12 in up to 24 × 36 in. We add your clear space to each side of the design and suggest the smallest standard frame that fits. These are US frame sizes, so in centimeters we still name the frame in inches. “Which count fits a frame?” works backward: stitches ÷ space gives the stitches per inch you need, and we show the lowest count with at least that many, which gives the largest design that still fits.

Cross stitch floss calculator: how many skeins per color?

A DMC skein is 8.7 yd (8 m) of six strands that you separate (DMC). DMC publishes only the skein length, not how many stitches per skein you get. That depends on the stitch size and on how you stitch. The cross stitch site lordlibidan.com stitched whole skeins and counted about 1,650 full crosses per skein on 14-count when stitching with knots and short lengths, 1,750 on average and 1,850 with the Danish method; 2,250 on 18-count and 1,250 on 10-count on average: 125 times the stitches per inch. We use that average, scale it by the strands you pick, divide each color's stitches by it, add your reserve and round up to whole skeins.

Published estimates differ by a factor of two. Better Cross Stitch's free pattern keys work out to about 2,450 crosses per skein on 14-count, keys made with PCStitch on SmartCrossStitch to about 1,800 to 1,900, House of Needelier uses about 1,500 and xstitch-patterns.net about 1,230 from its own floss sheets. Our plan figure, about 1,590 on 14-count with 2 strands and the default 10% reserve, is below lordlibidan.com's lowest count (1,650, with knots), Better Cross Stitch and SmartCrossStitch, but above House of Needelier's 1,500 and xstitch-patterns.net's 1,230. If you want to plan as safely as those, or you stitch with knots, short lengths or lots of confetti, pick a 20% or 30% reserve.

Half stitches and backstitch

Count a half stitch as ½ of a cross, a quarter stitch as ¼ and a three-quarter stitch as ¾, and add them to the color's full stitches. This is our estimate from the thread on the front; your key may list them separately. For backstitch, count each straight stitch one square long as about 0.6 of a cross: it uses about 3 square lengths of thread (1 on the front, 2 on the back) against about 4.8 for a full cross (two diagonals on the front, two sides on the back). Diagonal and longer backstitches use more.

Our assumptions

• We assume the skein counts on lordlibidan.com are for two strands; the post doesn't say. Two strands is the usual choice on 14- and 18-count (Needlework FAQ).
• A cross uses the same floss on Aida and on evenweave of the same stitch size, and 20- and 22-count are stitched over one.
• The half-stitch and backstitch rules above are estimates from geometry, not measured. French knots and blended colors need extra.
• Linen and evenweave in other counts (25, 32, 36) are assumed to come in the same cuts as 28-count Cashel.
• The clear space in a frame (1 in or 2.5 cm) and the 10% floss reserve are our defaults, not rules. Change them under More options.

Questions