11 count cross stitch paper
The count you can see. Eleven blocks to the inch, holes you do not have to hunt for, and a chart that comes out big enough to read across a room.
Eleven count Aida is the coarsest weave most shops carry, and coarse is the point. The blocks measure 2.31 mm, which is wide enough to count with your eyes rather than a needle tip, and the corner holes are open enough that a threaded needle drops through without being aimed. That is why it is the fabric under most children's kits, and why a stitcher whose eyes have changed usually moves here rather than giving the hobby up.
The trade is size. A chart is a count of stitches, not a measurement, so the same chart grows as the fabric gets coarser: 100 stitches across finish 9.09 inches (231 mm) here, against 7.14 inches on 14 count — about 27 per cent more cloth in each direction. Work that out before you buy, and add three inches on every side for the hoop and the frame rebate.
Floss behaves differently at this size too. Two strands, the 14 count habit, leave the white of the cloth showing between the legs of the stitch; three is the usual starting point on 11 count, and a size 22 tapestry needle carries them without fraying. Perle cotton and fine tapestry wool both cover it as well, which is the other reason it ends up in classrooms.
Cross stitch paper by count
- Cross stitch paper, any countThe full generator — any count from 6 to 40
- 14 count cross stitch paper14 stitches per inch · 1.81 mm squares
- 16 count cross stitch paper16 stitches per inch · 1.59 mm squares
- 18 count cross stitch paper18 stitches per inch · 1.41 mm squares
- 22 count cross stitch paper11 stitches per inch · 2.31 mm squares
- 25 count cross stitch paper12.5 stitches per inch · 2.03 mm squares
- 28 count cross stitch paper14 stitches per inch · 1.81 mm squares
- 32 count cross stitch paper16 stitches per inch · 1.59 mm squares
Questions
Is 11 count good for a beginner?
It is the easiest of the common counts to see, and the holes are unmistakable, so it is a reasonable place to start. The trade-off is size: a design worked at eleven stitches to the inch takes up noticeably more fabric than the same design at fourteen.
How many strands of floss should I use on 11 count?
Three is the usual starting point, and stitchers who like heavy coverage go to four. Two strands will stitch perfectly well but the fabric shows through, so if you are converting a 14 count kit, buy more floss than the chart asks for — a third more thread goes into the same number of stitches.
Can I work an 11 count chart on 22 count Hardanger?
Yes. Hardanger is woven in pairs and cross stitch goes over a pair, so 22 threads to the inch is eleven stitches to the inch — the same stitch size, on a much finer cloth. The design finishes at exactly 9.09 inches per 100 stitches either way.
Other tools
- Staff and tab paperBlank manuscript and tablature ruled to a staff height you can measure with a ruler, not to whatever the PDF you found happened to be.
- Beading graph paperCharting paper drawn from the bead's own measurements, so the beads on the page are the size of the beads in the tube.
- Cross stitch pattern paperCharting paper at the size your stitches will actually be, for the count of fabric you actually have.
- English paper piecing templatesPick a shape, type the side length you actually want, and print it at true size.
- Bubble answer sheet generatorScantron-style answer sheets, built to your question count.
- Blank clock facesClock faces with hands drawn where they genuinely belong — at 3:45 the hour hand sits three quarters of the way to four, because that is what a clock does.
- Blank periodic tableEvery blank periodic table online is a fixed image.
- Attendance sheet and gradebook gridsPaste twenty-eight names, choose a month, print.
- Printable graph paperAny spacing you like, in millimetres or inches, printed at true size.
- Printable dot grid paperDot paper at the spacing you actually use — 5 mm for a bullet journal, or whatever you type.
- Printable lined paperCollege ruled, wide ruled, or handwriting paper with a dashed midline — at the real spacings, not an approximation.
- Year in pixelsOne cell a day for a whole year, drawn for the year you name — so February is the right length and the months stop where they actually stop.
- Savings and goal colouring chartsType your goal and how many cells you want.
