Sizing

Cross-stitch fabric size chart

Finished width in inches is stitch width divided by fabric count. Forty stitches on 14-count Aida is 40 ÷ 14 ≈ 2.86 inches. The same forty stitches on 18-count is about 2.22 inches. Height uses the same division on the row count.

The cross-stitch converter Make plan box does this live. Pick 11, 14, 16, 18, or 22. The stats line updates when the grid changes. Copy shopping list writes the inches into the text you take to the shop.

Quick table for a 40-wide chart

Assume a portrait that lands at 40×50 after conversion.

• 11-count: about 3.64 × 4.55 in
• 14-count: about 2.86 × 3.57 in
• 16-count: about 2.50 × 3.13 in
• 18-count: about 2.22 × 2.78 in
• 22-count: about 1.82 × 2.27 in

Double the width for an 80-wide chart. An 80×100 piece on 14-count is about 5.7 × 7.1 inches of stitching. That's still a lap project. A 120-wide photo on 14-count is about 8.6 inches across and a larger commitment. The on-screen symbol table stops at 80; above that, print from the large PNG or drop the width.

What fabric count doesn't change

Color count, symbol letters, and floss ids stay the same when you change fabric. Only the physical size changes. If the face is too small on 18-count, raise the converter width, don't hunt for a coarser fabric first. If the piece is too big for your hoop on 11-count, lower the width or move to 14.

Margins: leave at least 2–3 inches of bare fabric around the stitched area for finishing. A 3-inch stitched square on 14-count still wants a fabric cut closer to 7–9 inches on a side. The tool won't add that margin for you, so you'll do it on the printout.

Centimeters

Multiply inches by 2.54. 2.86 in ≈ 7.3 cm. Shopping list text includes both when you copy it from the converter. Round up when you cut fabric.

Setup photos and floss honesty notes live in photo to cross-stitch. Letter tracking is how to read a symbol chart. If you're placing drills instead of stitches, size is set by canvas pitch, not Aida count—use the diamond painting page for counts, not for fabric inches.

One habit that saves returns: write the fabric count on the printout next to the stitch size. A chart labeled only "40×50" without "14-count" is how someone buys the wrong cut a week later. The Make plan line is the sentence to copy.

Worked example: you want a pet portrait about 5 inches wide on 14-count. Stitches needed ≈ 5 × 14 = 70. Set the converter width near 70, check the meta line, then read Make plan. If height comes out 90 stitches, height ≈ 90 ÷ 14 ≈ 6.4 inches. That's the stitched rectangle. Cut fabric larger. If 70 colors explode past 20 floss numbers, drop Colors to 12 before you buy thread—size and color count are separate decisions.

Another example: a logo that must be 3 inches tall on 18-count needs about 54 stitches of height. Convert, lock Square if the logo is square, and confirm Make plan. If the letters fall apart, the grid is too coarse for that size; raise width, accept a larger physical piece, or redraw the logo with thicker strokes in a drawing app and convert again. Fabric count can't invent detail the grid already threw away.

When comparing two fabric counts for the same chart, keep width fixed and only change the dropdown. The stitch grid doesn't rebuild. Only the inch line changes. That's the clean A/B for "will this fit the hoop." Changing width rebuilds letters and floss ids; do that only when the picture needs more cells, not when you're shopping for cloth.

When inch math misleads

That'll mislead you if you forget margins, compare stitched inches to full fabric width without hoop allowance, or change width and fabric count together and wonder why symbols moved. Separate "how big on cloth" from "how many cells in the art."

Fabric shopping checklist

Stitch width and height from meta line. Fabric count chosen in Make plan. Inches copied to printout. Margin added manually. Thread shopping uses stitch counts, not inches; see how many floss skeins.

Q-snap and scroll frames still need margin beyond the stitched rectangle. Add the same 2–3 inch buffer you would add for a hoop, then convert that total cut size at the shop.

Questions

Keep going

• Cross-stitch converter
• Photo to cross-stitch
• Read the symbol chart
• Diamond painting chart

Updated 30 September 2026