Cross Stitch Calculator
Free cross stitch calculator — get your exact fabric size, cut size, and needle in seconds. Enter your stitch count and fabric, and see the finished design in inches and centimetres. No sign-up, works entirely in your browser.
Results
- Finished design size
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- Fabric to cut (with margin)
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- Stitches / inch
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- Suggested needle
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Tip: buy a little extra fabric — you can trim, but you can't add.
How to use the cross stitch calculator
- 1
Enter your stitch count
Type the design's width and height in stitches — it's printed on your pattern as the "stitch count" or grid size.
- 2
Pick your fabric
Choose Aida 11–22, or linen/evenweave worked over 2. Set the margin you want around the design.
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Read your results
Get the finished design size, the fabric to cut, and a suggested needle — in both inches and centimetres.
Why use this cross stitch calculator
Aida and linen
Works for Aida and for linen/evenweave over 1 or over 2 — most calculators only do Aida.
Built-in count converter
Jump to the Aida count converter to compare 11, 14, 16, 18 and 22 count side by side.
Inches and centimetres
Every result is shown in both units, so it works wherever you stitch.
Adjustable margin
Set the framing allowance you actually use instead of a fixed guess.
Dark mode & mobile-first
Comfortable to read on your phone next to your project, day or night.
No clutter, no sign-up
No accounts, no pop-ups, no wall of ads — just the tool.
How cross stitch fabric size is calculated
Working out how big a cross stitch design will be — and how much fabric to buy — comes down to two numbers: your stitch count and your fabric count. The stitch count is how many stitches wide and tall the pattern is. The fabric count is how many stitches fit in one inch of cloth. Divide one by the other and you have the finished size: a 150 × 180 stitch design on 14-count Aida is about 10.7 × 12.9 inches, because 150 ÷ 14 ≈ 10.7 and 180 ÷ 14 ≈ 12.9.
Higher-count fabric packs more stitches into each inch, so the same pattern comes out smaller on 18 count than on 14 count, and smaller again on 22 count. That's the single most useful thing to understand when you choose fabric: the count changes the size, never the stitch count. If a finished piece needs to fit a particular frame or hoop, this calculator lets you try a few counts until the design size matches.
Linen and evenweave work a little differently. Most stitchers work them "over 2" threads, so two fabric threads make one stitch. That effectively halves the count — 28-count linen over 2 gives 14 stitches per inch, the same finished size as 14-count Aida. Select a linen option above and the calculator handles the "over 2" maths for you.
Finally, always add a margin. You need spare fabric around the stitched area to mount the piece in a hoop, stretch it over a frame, or leave a border for finishing. Three inches on every side is a safe default for framing; drop to two inches for small ornaments. The "fabric to cut" figure above already adds your margin to all four sides, so the number you see is the piece of Aida or linen to buy or cut. Treat every result as a planning estimate and round up — it's always easier to trim spare fabric than to wish you had more.