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Fabric Design Allowance
Enter the chart grid in stitches.
Width
stitches
Measure the actual cloth when washing or dyeing may have changed the labeled count.
count/in
Allow room for hooping, stretching, mounting, matting, or framing.
Value
This allowance is added outside the framing margin.
Value
Applied before upward cut rounding.
%
Use the measured usable area after excluding selvedge or defects.
Width
Changes total fabric area only; one project leaves the per-piece cut unchanged.
projects
Two decimals is the default and does not alter the canonical cut dimensions.
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A chart records cross stitch as a grid of squares, while fabric turns that grid into a physical size. The same 180-stitch-wide design measures about 12.86 inches on 14-count Aida, 10 inches on 18-count Aida, or 11.25 inches on 32-count linen worked over two threads. Choosing the cloth therefore changes the finished dimensions even though the chart never changes.

Fabric count describes how many Aida squares or woven threads fit in one inch. On Aida, one cross usually occupies one square. On linen and evenweave, a cross often spans two threads in each direction, so the usable stitch density is the fabric count divided by two. A 28-count evenweave worked over two has 14 stitches per inch and produces the same design dimensions as 14-count Aida worked over one.

Stitched area
The width and height covered by the chart stitches alone.
Framing margin
Clear fabric around the stitching for hooping, stretching, lacing, matting, or framing.
Finishing allowance
Extra cloth outside the framing margin for a hem, seam, ornament edge, or other finish.
Cut size
The final fabric dimensions after both side allowances, any shrink reserve, and upward rounding.

The border is not wasted space. A piece cut to the stitched dimensions leaves nothing to grip in a hoop or mount in a frame. Small projects may need a border that looks generous beside the motif, while large full-coverage designs may need more handling room because they remain on a frame for months or years.

Labeled count is also a planning value rather than a guarantee. Dyeing, washing, finishing, or uneven weave can change the actual threads per inch, and the horizontal and vertical counts may differ slightly. Measuring the cloth before cutting matters most when the design nearly fills a frame, when the fabric is hand dyed, or when there is little spare stock.

The safest cut plan keeps four decisions separate: the chart size, the effective stitches per inch, the purpose of the border, and the usable dimensions of the fabric on hand. A mathematically correct stitched area can still be an impractical cut if the grain direction, selvedge, defects, shrinkage, or finishing method is ignored.

How to Use This Tool:

Start from the chart and the fabric you will actually use. Presets are useful starting points, but a measured count is better for washed or hand-dyed cloth.

  1. Choose a Project preset or enter the Pattern stitch width x height printed on the chart.
  2. Select a Fabric preset, then confirm Fabric count and Stitching over. Use over 2 only when each cross is meant to span two fabric threads.
  3. Enter the Framing margin per side and any separate Finishing allowance per side. Each value is added to both edges of a dimension.
  4. Choose Cut rounding and add a Shrink reserve only when the cloth may contract or its measured count is uncertain. Rounding always goes upward after the reserve.
  5. Enter both dimensions of the available Fabric piece to check normal and rotated fit. Leave both at zero when no stock check is needed.
  6. Read the cut dimensions first, then review the allowance and stock-fit checks before marking the cloth.

Interpreting Results:

The cut width and height are the dimensions to mark, not the stitched area. Confirm that the per-side allowance matches the intended finish and that a nonzero shrink reserve reflects a real risk rather than a guess.

  • Fits means the cut dimensions fit the entered stock orientation.
  • Fits when rotated means swapping width and height works mathematically; still check grain, pattern direction, dye variation, and usable selvedge.
  • Too small means neither orientation contains the full rounded cut.
  • A low-margin warning is a prompt to review handling and finishing needs, not a universal rule that every project requires the same border.

Technical Details:

Counted-fabric sizing is a density conversion followed by allowances. The stitch-over value reduces the effective stitches per inch, so increasing that value makes the stitched design larger for the same nominal fabric count.

Formula Core

The stitched dimension divides the chart stitches by the effective fabric count.

Ceffective = CO D = NCeffective

Here, C is fabric count in threads or squares per inch, O is the stitch-over value, N is the chart stitch count for one dimension, and D is the stitched dimension in inches.

The cut calculation adds the framing and finishing allowances to both sides, applies the shrink reserve, and then rounds upward to the chosen increment.

Dcut = R↑ ( [D+2(M+F)] (1+S100) )

M is framing margin per side, F is finishing allowance per side, S is shrink reserve as a percentage, and R↑ rounds upward to exact size, 0.25 inch, 0.5 inch, or 1 inch. Inches are the canonical calculation unit; centimeter entries use 2.54 centimeters per inch.

Stage What changes Important rule
Effective count Nominal count is divided by stitch-over. 32-count over 2 becomes 16 stitches per inch.
Allowances Margin and finishing allowance are added twice per dimension. They apply to every side, not once to the whole width or height.
Shrink reserve The full pre-shrink dimension is multiplied by 1 plus the reserve rate. The supported reserve is 0% to 25%.
Cut rounding Each reserved dimension rounds upward independently. Rounding never reduces the planned cut.
Stock fit Cut width and height are tested in both orientations. Rotation proves dimensional fit only.

Substitution example

For a 180 x 140 stitch chart on 14-count Aida over 1, the stitched area is about 12.857 x 10 inches. A 3-inch framing margin and 0.5-inch finishing allowance add 7 inches to each dimension. With no shrink reserve and half-inch upward rounding, the required cut is 20 x 17 inches.

References: