16 count cross stitch paper
The count that makes a design fit. Sixteen blocks to the inch takes about twelve per cent off every measurement without changing a single stitch.
Sixteen count Aida exists to solve one problem: the design is too big for the frame. Nothing about the chart changes, only the cloth under it, and the same 100 stitches that measured 7.14 inches on 14 count come out at 6.25 inches (159 mm) here. Twelve per cent does not sound like much until it is the difference between a mount that fits and one that has to be cut.
The squares are 1.59 mm, so the weave is still clearly a grid and the holes are still obvious in daylight. Most stitchers who move up from 14 count stop here and never go further, because 18 count asks real questions about coverage and this does not.
Two strands still cover, though they sit tighter in the hole than they do on 14 count, and a size 26 needle passes more sweetly than a 24. Where 16 count does catch people is in floss quantity: the stitches are shorter, so a skein goes further, and a chart's thread estimate worked out for 14 count leaves you with spares rather than shortages.
Cross stitch paper by count
- Cross stitch paper, any countThe full generator — any count from 6 to 40
- 11 count cross stitch paper11 stitches per inch · 2.31 mm squares
- 14 count cross stitch paper14 stitches per inch · 1.81 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
How much smaller is 16 count than 14 count?
About 12%. A design 100 stitches wide measures 7.14 inches on 14 count and 6.25 inches on 16 count, because the stitch count has not changed and the stitches have.
Do I need fewer strands on 16 count?
Usually not. Two strands still cover the block, and stitchers who find them tight change needle rather than thread — a size 26 tapestry needle opens the hole less than a 24 does. One strand is for backstitch, as on 14 count.
Is 16 count Aida the same size as 32 count linen?
In finished measurement, yes. Linen is worked over two threads, so 32 count linen stitches at sixteen to the inch and a chart lands at the identical size on either. What differs is the handling: Aida has a hole to aim at and linen does not.
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.
