Cross Stitch Calculator

Every cross stitch chart gives its size in stitches, such as “140w × 100h”. The finished size depends only on how many stitches fit in an inch of your fabric: finished size = stitches ÷ stitches per inch, worked out for the width and the height separately. On 14-count Aida, 140 stitches is 140 ÷ 14 = 10 inches and 100 stitches is 7.14 inches. The same chart on 18-count Aida comes out at 7.78 × 5.56 inches, because the stitches are smaller.

Then add bare fabric around the design for hooping, framing or finishing: fabric to cut = finished size + 2 × margin. With 3 inches per side the 10 × 7.14-inch design needs 16 × 13.14 inches of fabric. The calculator rounds the cut size up to the next ¼ inch (or whole centimetre), so the piece is never short.

Fabric count is the number of threads per inch, or for Aida the number of woven blocks per inch. Aida is woven in blocks with a hole at each corner, so each cross covers one block and 14-count Aida gives 14 stitches per inch. Evenweave and linen are plain weaves with single threads, and the usual way to stitch them is over two threads each way, which halves the stitch count: 28-count evenweave worked over two gives 14 stitches per inch, the same size as 14-count Aida. Stitching over one thread on 28-count gives 28 per inch and halves the design size.

Fabric sold by the metre is often labelled in threads per centimetre. Multiply by 2.54 to get the count per inch: 5.5 stitches per cm is 14-count, and 11 threads per cm is 28-count. Linen is a natural fibre and is not always woven with exactly the same number of threads each way, so a design on linen can come out slightly longer in one direction than the calculator shows.

Finished design size in inches for common stitch counts, computed with the formula above. Look up the width and the height of your chart separately. Fabrics in the same column stitch up at the same size.

3 inches (about 7.5 cm) on every side is a common allowance and the calculator’s default. It leaves room to hold the work in a hoop or frame while you stitch and enough fabric for a framer to stretch, lace or mount the finished piece. Many framers prefer at least that much, so ask yours before you cut if the piece is going to be framed. If you work in a hoop, the fabric also has to be wider than the hoop so the outer ring can grip it all round.

Small pieces finished as ornaments, cards or patches can get by with 1–2 inches. Large pieces on scroll frames, or anything you plan to finish as a cushion with a seam allowance, may want more. Aida and evenweave also fray at the cut edge, so overcasting or zigzagging the edges before you start keeps the margin intact. Enter whatever margin your finish needs; the cut size follows it.

A skein of six-strand floss such as DMC Mouliné is 8 metres (8.7 yards) of six strands, and you stitch with a few strands at a time, so one skein gives six single-strand lengths or three two-strand lengths. A full cross on a stitch of side s puts two diagonals on the front and, worked in rows, two short vertical passes on the back: (2√2 + 2) × s, about 4.83 times the stitch size. The calculator adds 75% to that for thread tails, the end held in the needle and travel on the back.

On 14-count with two strands that gives about 1,565 full crosses per skein, at the cautious end of the usual 1,500–1,800 rule of thumb. Smaller stitches use less thread, so the same skein goes further on 18-count. Count the stitches for each colour from the chart key, enter that number, and round up. Backstitch, French knots and fractional stitches are not included, and confetti stitching with lots of isolated stitches wastes more thread, so add a skein for those colours. Pattern software that lists skeins per colour is more accurate than any estimate.

A chart of 200 stitches wide by 250 high, stitched over two threads on 28-count evenweave, with 3 inches of margin per side.

1. Stitches per inch: 28 ÷ 2 = 14.
2. Finished size: 200 ÷ 14 = 14.29 inches wide, 250 ÷ 14 = 17.86 inches high.
3. Fabric: (14.29 + 6) × (17.86 + 6) = 20.29 × 23.86 inches → cut 20 ½ × 24 inches.
4. Floss for a colour with 2,400 stitches at two strands: 2,400 ÷ 1,565 stitches per skein = 1.53 → buy 2 skeins.

Switch to 16-count Aida and the design shrinks to 12.5 × 15.63 inches, so the piece to cut drops to 18 ½ × 21 ¾ inches. The comparison table under the calculator shows every common fabric at once, which helps when a design has to fit a particular frame.