Needlestack Tips & Tricks

How do I calculate my fabric size?

We get this question all the time, both for needlepoint and cross-stitch. You have a design that gives you a stitch count (or you've counted it for yourself) and now you need to know how much fabric to buy. You'll need to know the stitch count, your fabric count and what use you plan for the design. The reason you need the latter is that you need more margin for a piece that's going to be framed and matted vs. a piece that's going to be framed or something turned into a pillow.

We have a handy Fabric Calculations page that gives you all the details you need to know so you can do this calculation yourself. You're always welcome to ask us to figure it out for you and we'll ask you for the 3 things mentioned above. The page is a PDF file you can print and keep with your stitching for reference. And the math really is not hard :-).

Optional Colors for The Drawn Thread's Open Heart

Many customers have asked for the colors I used in my version of The Drawn Thread's An Open Heart. I used all Au ver a soie Soie 100/3 thread, which is a buttohole twist thread. You can use more than one strand and I did so for all of the whitework border. You do have to lay this thread when using more than a single strand since it is very round and if they wrap over each other you will not be pleased with the look. You'll need 3 spools of the Creme since it gets used for the whitework border and it'll use all of 2 spools and a small amount of the third one. You may need two spools of the #557 as well. I used a single strand for most of my stitches on 34 count but in places I used 2 strands because I liked the more dense look the stitching gave with 2 strands.