Aida Cloth Count and What the Number Means
Aida count is how many stitches fit in one inch of cloth. What it does not mean is quality: 18 count is not better than 14, only smaller. The same chart worked on different counts comes out at a different finished size, and that is the whole of the decision.
The one thing count means
Count is the number of stitches that fit in one inch of cloth. Fourteen count aida has 14 little woven squares to the inch, so a chart 140 squares wide finishes 10 inches wide on it.
That is the whole definition. Everything people argue about downstream follows from it.
What it does to a design
Take one chart, 140 stitches by 112, and work it on different cloth. The chart does not change. Not one stitch moves. Only the size does.
| Count | Finished size | Piece to cut |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 12.7 by 10.2 in | 16 by 13 in |
| 14 | 10.0 by 8.0 in | 13 by 11 in |
| 16 | 8.8 by 7.0 in | 12 by 10 in |
| 18 | 7.8 by 6.2 in | 11 by 10 in |
| 22 | 6.4 by 5.1 in | 10 by 9 in |
| 28, over one thread | 5.0 by 4.0 in | 8 by 7 in |
The right hand column is the one people forget. You cut about three inches more than the design in each direction, roughly an inch and a half of spare on every side, because a hoop needs something to grip and a frame needs something to staple. Cutting to the finished size is a mistake you only make once. That inch and a half a side is what gets laced over the mounting board at the end.
Choosing a count
There are really only three questions.
How big do you want the finished thing? This is the honest starting point. If it has to fit an 8 by 10 frame, the count is decided for you once you know how many stitches the design is.
How much detail does the design need? Faces and small text need stitches close together, so they gain from a higher count. A geometric border does not care.
How long will you be looking at it? A hundred hours on 18 count in poor light is a different experience from the same hours on 14. This is not a question about skill, it is a question about your eyes at the age they are now.
If none of that decides it, use 14. Charts assume it, kits use it, and the advice you find when something goes wrong will be written about it.
Count, strands and coverage
Coarser cloth needs more thread in the needle, or the fabric shows through the stitch. The usual guidance:
- 11 count and below: three strands
- 12 to 18 count: two strands
- 19 count and above: one strand
Backstitch normally goes one strand lighter than whatever the block stitching uses, so it reads as a line rather than a rope.
Strand count also changes how far your money goes, since a skein divided into one strand goes twice as far as one divided into two. That arithmetic is set out in how much floss a piece really needs.
Fabric colour
White and cream are the defaults, and cream is kinder to look at under a lamp for long stretches.
Black aida changes more than the mood. Any thread lighter than the cloth reads brighter than it does on white, dark threads nearly vanish, and the holes are much harder to see, which is why people who work on black tend to put a white cloth on their knees. If you are converting a photo, a dark background in the picture that would have been stitched in grey can often be left as bare black cloth instead, which saves both thread and hours. That decision belongs at the photo stage, not the shopping stage.
The over-two idea
Aida is worked over one square. Evenweave and linen are usually worked over two threads of the cloth, which is why a 28 count linen gives 14 stitches to the inch and behaves like 14 count aida for sizing. Which cloths pair up at the same finished size is set out in what fabric to use.
The same rule turns up again the moment you want to stitch on something that is not cross stitch fabric at all. Waste canvas laid over a shirt is worked over two of its threads, so 14 count waste canvas gives 7 stitches to the inch and crosses about 3.6 mm across. It is the same arithmetic, and it is the thing that makes stitching on clothes possible.
Measuring what you already have
Old cloth in a cupboard rarely has a label. Put a ruler on it, count the squares in one inch, and that is your answer. Count across two inches and halve it if the squares are small.
Worth doing before you plan anything, because a chart sized for 14 count worked on the 16 count remnant you actually own comes out an inch and a bit smaller in each direction, and you will notice that when the frame does not fit. Flossgrid asks for the count first for this reason, and moves the finished inches, the piece to cut, the thread and the hours the moment you change it.
Questions that come up
What count aida should a beginner use?
Fourteen. It is the default that charts, kits and shop instructions all assume, the stitches are big enough to see without a lamp and a magnifier, and there is more advice written about it than about anything else. Eleven count is a reasonable choice if your eyes are struggling, at the cost of a much larger finished piece for the same design. Start above 16 and you are making a first project harder than it needs to be.
How do I tell what count my aida is?
Lay a ruler along the weave and count the little squares in one inch. That number is the count. If you are between two answers, count across two inches and halve it, which halves the error too. Cloth sold as 14 count really does have 14 squares to the inch, so this is a measurement rather than a guess, and it takes about twenty seconds.
Does higher count mean better quality?
No. It means smaller. An 18 count cloth is not finer cotton than a 14 count one, it just has more threads in the same inch. The trade is detail against strain: a portrait with a lot of face in it gains real definition on 18 count, and a beginner working an evening after work will hate it. Quality is about the cloth itself, and it is a separate question from the number.
What about evenweave and linen?
Both are usually worked over two threads rather than one, so a 28 count evenweave gives 14 stitches to the inch and finishes the same size as 14 count aida. That is the same over-two arithmetic used for waste canvas on clothes. The difference is the look: aida has visible squares, linen does not, and the stitches sit differently.