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Cross stitch guides
Practical, illustrated how-tos for making and stitching your own patterns — from choosing a photo to buying the right amount of floss.
- How to turn a photo into a cross stitch patternStep-by-step guide to converting a photo into a cross stitch pattern: choosing the photo, size and number of DMC colors, cleaning up confetti and printing.
- Aida cloth count guide: 11, 14, 16 or 18?What Aida count means, how it changes the finished size of your cross stitch, which count to choose, and how many strands of floss to use — with size charts.
- How much embroidery floss do I need?How to estimate how many skeins of DMC floss a cross stitch pattern needs from stitch count, fabric count and strands — with a reference table and buying tips.
- How to read a cross stitch patternA beginner-friendly guide to reading cross stitch charts: symbols, the floss key, grid lines, finding the center, page layouts and the most common stitch types.
- How to choose the best photo for a cross stitch patternWhich photos make good cross stitch patterns and how to prepare them: cropping, lighting, contrast, backgrounds and size — with before-and-after examples.
- What are confetti stitches (and how to avoid them)?Confetti stitches are isolated single stitches that make patterns slow and wasteful. Why they happen in photo patterns, how to stitch them and how to remove them.
- How to transfer a cross stitch pattern onto fabricGridding, water-soluble pens, light-box tracing, printable fabric, waste canvas and more: how to get a cross stitch pattern onto fabric, and which method to use when.