Fabric count conversion: Aida, evenweave and linen

Changing the fabric does not change the design, only the size of each stitch. The stitches across stay the same: size on the pattern × stitches per inch of the pattern's fabric. On the new fabric those stitches take up their number ÷ the new stitches per inch. In one step: new size = old size × old stitches per inch ÷ new stitches per inch. A higher count makes the piece smaller, a lower count larger. One published example: a motif of 42 stitches is 42 ÷ 14 = 3 inches on fourteen count, and the charts below give its size on the others.

Stitches per inch is the count on Aida. On evenweave and linen, where a cross usually covers two threads each way, it is half the count. That is the whole of the over-two rule, and the pairs that shops and guides name are 28 count over two for 14 count Aida, 32 for 16 and 36 for 18: each can stand in for the Aida of half its number without changing the size of the design.

The size of one stitch is 25.4 mm ÷ stitches per inch, which says more about how the work will feel than the count does; the second chart lists it. Shops outside the United States label fabric by the centimeter; stitches per centimeter = stitches per inch ÷ 2.54.

Patterns print their finished size rounded, so a stitch count worked back from the size can be a stitch or two out. When the pattern does state its stitch count, the fabric calculator is the more exact route.

Chart: size of a fourteen count design on other Aida counts

Each row is a size printed on a pattern for fourteen count Aida; each cell is the same design on the count in its column. Linen over two reads as the Aida of half its count.

	Your fabric count
Width on the pattern	11	16	18	20	22
3 in	3.82 in	2.63 in	2.33 in	2.10 in	1.91 in
4 in	5.09 in	3.50 in	3.11 in	2.80 in	2.55 in
5 in	6.36 in	4.38 in	3.89 in	3.50 in	3.18 in
6 in	7.64 in	5.25 in	4.67 in	4.20 in	3.82 in
7 in	8.91 in	6.13 in	5.44 in	4.90 in	4.45 in
8 in	10.18 in	7.00 in	6.22 in	5.60 in	5.09 in
10 in	12.73 in	8.75 in	7.78 in	7.00 in	6.36 in
12 in	15.27 in	10.50 in	9.33 in	8.40 in	7.64 in
14 in	17.82 in	12.25 in	10.89 in	9.80 in	8.91 in
16 in	20.36 in	14.00 in	12.44 in	11.20 in	10.18 in

Work out your own numbers: Cross stitch count converter

Chart: size of one stitch by fabric count, over one and over two

The width of one cross on the count in each row, stitched over one square or thread, or over two threads.

	You will stitch over
Your fabric count	One square or thread (Aida)	Two threads (evenweave, linen)
11	2.31 mm	4.62 mm
14	1.81 mm	3.63 mm
16	1.59 mm	3.18 mm
18	1.41 mm	2.82 mm
20	1.27 mm	2.54 mm
22	1.15 mm	2.31 mm
25	1.02 mm	2.03 mm
28	0.91 mm	1.81 mm
32	0.79 mm	1.59 mm
36	0.71 mm	1.41 mm
40	0.63 mm	1.27 mm

Work out your own numbers: Cross stitch count converter

Chart: stitches per centimeter by fabric count per inch

For reading fabric labelled per centimeter: the stitches in one centimeter on the count per inch in each row, over one or over two threads.

	You will stitch over
Your fabric count	One square or thread (Aida)	Two threads (evenweave, linen)
11	4.33	2.17
14	5.51	2.76
16	6.30	3.15
18	7.09	3.54
20	7.87	3.94
22	8.66	4.33
25	9.84	4.92
28	11.02	5.51
32	12.60	6.30
36	14.17	7.09
40	15.75	7.87

Work out your own numbers: Cross stitch count converter

Used by

• Cross stitch count converterThe size of a design on a different fabric count.

Sources

• Stitched Modern: what does cross stitch fabric count mean
• Needlework Tips and Techniques: cross stitch calculator
• Cross Stitch Forum: 28-18 count conversion
• Yarn Tree: stitch calculator chart