Cross stitch size calculator

Counted cross stitch is the rare craft where the size of the finished piece is not an estimate. Each stitch takes one square of the fabric and the count printed on the bolt says how many squares fit in an inch, so a design of known stitch count comes out at exactly one size on 14-count aida and exactly another on 18-count. This works out both, adds the margin you need for a frame or a hoop, and gives a floor for how much floss the piece will drink.

How it is worked out

finished size = stitches ÷ stitches per inch; floss = stitches × 2 diagonals × waste

Aida gives one stitch per hole, so its count is the stitches per inch directly. Evenweave and linen are worked over two threads, so a 28-count evenweave stitches at 14 to the inch — the same as 14-count aida. The floss figure is geometry: one stitch is two diagonals of a square whose side is one over the stitch count, multiplied by the strands in your needle and by a factor for what disappears behind the work.

Source: one stitch per square, and two diagonals per stitch

Questions people ask

Why do 28-count and 14-count give the same size?

Because evenweave and linen are stitched over two threads rather than one. The count is threads per inch, not stitches per inch, so a 28-count fabric worked over two puts fourteen stitches in an inch — identical to 14-count aida, where each stitch sits in one visible hole. Choosing between them is about the look and the ease of counting, not about size.

How much margin should I leave?

Seven centimetres on each side is the usual advice and the default here: enough to mount the work in a hoop without the design running under the ring, and enough for a framer to stretch it. Add more if the piece will be framed with a wide mount, and never trim before you know how it will be finished — fabric can be cut later and cannot be added back.

Is the floss figure per colour or for the whole piece?

For the whole piece, at the coverage you set. It is deliberately a floor rather than a promise: the geometry knows the two diagonals of each stitch but not the travel behind the work, the tails you start and finish with, or the thread you unpick. The default factor allows for a good deal of that; a design with many colour changes in a small area will still want more.

What does coverage mean?

The share of the grid that actually gets stitched. A dense sampler is near 100%, while a delicate motif on an otherwise empty ground might be 30%. It does not change the size of the fabric — the design still spans the same number of squares — only how much floss it takes.

Does the number of strands change the fabric size?

No, only the floss. Strand count is about coverage and texture: two strands on 14-count aida is the common pairing, one strand on 18-count for a finer look, three on 11-count so the stitches sit fully over the weave. Each extra strand multiplies the thread you need by the same proportion.

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