The Stitch Pattern / Guides

How to read a cross stitch chart

A chart is a map of squares. Once you know what the four markings on it mean — symbols, heavy lines, edge numbers and centre arrows — any chart from any designer reads the same way.

One square is one stitch

Every square on the chart is one full cross stitch, worked over one square of Aida (or over two threads of evenweave and linen). The chart is not printed at the size of the finished piece, and it does not need to be: what matters is the count, not the scale. A chart 140 squares wide worked on 14-count Aida finishes at exactly 10 inches across, because 14-count means fourteen stitches to the inch.

The symbol tells you the colour

Each square holds a symbol, and each symbol belongs to exactly one DMC number. The floss list pairs them up: symbol, DMC number, colour name, and how many skeins to buy. Good charts avoid symbols that look alike at small sizes — no capital I next to a lower case l, no letter O next to a zero — because you will be reading them for hours under a lamp.

Colour charts print the symbol on top of the colour itself, which is easier to follow when you are placing large areas. Black and white charts print symbols only, which is easier to mark off with a pencil and much cheaper to print. Most patterns, including the ones made here, include both so you can pick.

Heavy lines every ten squares

The grid has a light line between every square and a heavy line every tenth square. Those heavy lines are for counting. Instead of counting twenty-three squares one at a time, you count two heavy blocks and three squares. Nearly every miscount in cross stitch comes from ignoring them.

Numbers around the edge

The numbers along all four edges count stitches from the top-left corner of the whole design, not of the page you are holding. On a multi-page chart, sheet four might start at stitch 95 and run to stitch 143. That is what lets you find your place again after you put the work down.

Centre arrows

Small arrows on the edges mark the middle of the design. Fold your fabric in half twice, mark that centre with a loose tacking stitch, and line it up with the arrows. Starting from the centre is what keeps the design from sliding off the edge of the fabric — the single most common way a first project goes wrong.

Taping the pages together

A chart bigger than one sheet is tiled across several. Well-made charts repeat a couple of rows and columns on the adjoining sheets so you can overlap them, and the edge numbers tell you exactly how far. Line up the numbers, not the paper edges — printers rarely place the margin identically on every sheet.

A quick glossary

• How much floss do I actually need? →
• Which photos make good cross stitch patterns? →