How to calculate what fabric size you need for cross stitch

How to calculate what fabric size you need for cross stitch

How to Calculate What Size Fabric You Need for Cross Stitch

One of the first questions you’ll usually have when starting a new cross stitch project is:

What size fabric do I actually need?

It can look confusing at first, especially when charts are listed in stitches rather than centimetres or inches, but the calculation is actually very simple once you know the formula.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to work out the finished size of your design, how much extra fabric to allow around the edges, and how fabric count affects the overall size of your project.

What does stitch count mean?

Cross stitch charts are usually given as a number of stitches wide by a number of stitches high.

For example:

400 stitches wide × 500 stitches high

This tells you the size of the chart in stitches, but not the physical size of the finished design.

To work that out, you need to know the fabric count you plan to stitch on.

What is fabric count?

Fabric count tells you how many fabric squares or threads there are in one inch.

For example:

  • 14 count = 14 stitches per inch

  • 16 count = 16 stitches per inch

  • 18 count = 18 stitches per inch

  • 20 count = 20 stitches per inch

The higher the fabric count, the smaller the finished design will be.

So the same chart stitched on 14 count fabric will be larger than it would be on 20 count fabric.

The basic fabric size calculation

The formula is:

Number of stitches ÷ fabric count = finished size in inches

You calculate the width and height separately.

For example, imagine your chart is:

400 × 500 stitches

and you want to stitch it on 20 count fabric.

Width

400 ÷ 20 = 20 inches

Height

500 ÷ 20 = 25 inches

So the finished stitched area will be:

20 × 25 inches

To convert that to centimetres, multiply by 2.54.

That gives approximately:

50.8 × 63.5 cm

Don’t forget extra fabric around the edges

The finished stitched size is not the same as the fabric size you should buy.

You also need to allow extra fabric around every side of the design.

This gives you room for:

  • framing

  • mounting

  • finishing

  • holding the fabric in a hoop, frame or Q-Snap

  • preventing your stitching from sitting too close to the edge

A common allowance is around 3 inches on each side.

That means adding:

6 inches to the total width

and

6 inches to the total height

Using our 20 × 25 inch example:

  • Finished design: 20 × 25 inches

  • Add 3 inches to each side

  • Recommended fabric size: 26 × 31 inches

That is approximately:

66 × 78.7 cm

You can choose a smaller or larger margin depending on how you plan to finish your piece, but it is always better to have a little too much fabric than not enough.

How different fabric counts change the finished size

One of the useful things about knowing the formula is that you can easily compare different fabric counts before deciding what to use.

For a 400 × 500 stitch design:

Fabric count Approximate finished size
14 count 28.6 × 35.7 in
16 count 25 × 31.3 in
18 count 22.2 × 27.8 in
20 count 20 × 25 in
22 count 18.2 × 22.7 in
25 count 16 × 20 in
28 count 14.3 × 17.9 in
32 count 12.5 × 15.6 in

This can be especially helpful with large full-coverage designs, where moving to a higher fabric count can reduce the overall finished size quite significantly.

What does “over 1” and “over 2” mean?

If you stitch on Aida, you will normally stitch over 1, meaning each cross stitch is worked over one fabric square.

With evenweave or linen, some stitchers work over 2 threads instead.

When stitching over 2, the effective stitch count is halved.

For example:

  • 28 count over 2 gives the same finished size as 14 count over 1

  • 32 count over 2 gives the same finished size as 16 count over 1

So if you are using linen or evenweave, make sure you take this into account when calculating your fabric size.

The easiest way to calculate your fabric size

You can absolutely calculate everything manually, but if you are comparing several fabric counts or working with a very large chart, it is much easier to let a calculator do the maths for you.

I’ve created a simple Cross Stitch Fabric Calculator that lets you enter:

  • your chart width in stitches

  • your chart height in stitches

  • your chosen fabric count

  • whether you are stitching over 1 or over 2

  • how much extra fabric you want around the design

It will then show you both:

the finished stitched size

and

the recommended fabric size including your chosen margin

Use the Cross Stitch Fabric Calculator linked below

Enter the stitch count from your chart and choose your fabric to see exactly how much fabric you need.

FABRIC CALCULATOR