How Many Strands for Cross Stitch? Skeins Explained

You thread the needle, then stop. Two strands? Three? All six? The label does not say, and the chart only lists thread numbers.

Here is how many strands for cross stitch on each common fabric, and what your choice does to the skeins you buy. We ran a Labrador face chart through the Threadhood converter and counted the thread every way.

How many strands of floss for 14-count Aida?

Two. That is the default for 14-count Aida, and for 16 and 18-count too. Use three on 11-count Aida.

Evenweave and linen follow the matching Aida count when you stitch over two threads. So 28-count evenweave stitches like 14-count, and 32-count linen stitches like 16-count. DMC says that over-two stitches are "commonly made" this way:

"If you prefer to stitch on linen or evenweave the stitches are commonly made "over 2" meaning each stitch is made across two intersections of thread as shown in the diagrams here."

DMC, What is cross stitch?

So how many strands for cross stitch on other fabrics? It follows the count. Smaller holes take less thread. On 18-count Aida, three strands tend to crowd the hole. On 11-count, two strands tend to let the fabric show through between the crosses. Pick the number that covers the cloth without forcing the needle.

Your chart or kit may suggest something else, and that is fine. Follow it. These are only starting points.

What is in a skein

Most cross stitch thread, such as DMC floss, comes as a skein of six thin strands twisted together. You pull out the number of strands you want, then thread them together.

A skein is 8 meters long. That is the figure the Threadhood skein math uses: 8 meters of six strands. It counts full crosses only, and adds half again to the thread length for tails and travel between stitches. Real life varies, because stitchers waste different amounts, but half again is a sensible allowance.

On 14-count Aida with 2 strands, that works out to about 1,826 stitches a skein. Here is the same math for the other counts and strand choices.

How many stitches does one skein cover?

Table 1. Full crosses per skein, by fabric count and strands. Figures from the Threadhood converter, run on 3 November 2026.

Two patterns jump out. First, read across a row. Add a strand and the stitches per skein fall. Two strands cover 1,826 stitches on 14-count, and four cover 913, exactly half. Second, read down a column. A higher count means smaller crosses, so each skein goes further. On 18-count with 2 strands, one skein covers 2,348 stitches.

Aida and its look-alikes line up. A 28-count evenweave worked over two has the same 1,826 per skein as 14-count Aida. A 32-count linen over two matches 16-count at 2,087.

How many skeins do I need for a cross stitch?

Now the real test. Our Labrador face chart is 80 stitches wide and 51 high, which is 4,080 stitches in 20 DMC threads. Here is the thread it needs at each count and strand choice.

Table 2. Thread for the 80 x 51 Labrador face chart. Exact skeins add up all the thread; skeins to buy round up for each color. Figures from the Threadhood converter, run on 3 November 2026.

The middle column is the thread you will actually use, added across all 20 colors. On 14-count with 2 strands, that is 2.2 skeins' worth. The last column is what you buy. It is 20 every time.

Why? Each color is its own skein. The chart has 20 colors, and even the smallest ones, Cocoa (3860) and Turquoise (597) at 44 stitches each, need a whole skein to be stitched. You cannot buy a fifth of a skein.

That tells you something useful about how many strands for cross stitch is the right choice: changing the number of strands barely changes what you buy at the shop. It changes how much thread is left over. So with a many-colored photo chart, choose strands for how the stitches look, not to save money.

The picture changes for charts with big blocks of one color. The busiest thread in our chart is Avocado Green Very Light (471), with 607 stitches. One skein covers that on 14-count, with 2 strands, at 1,826. But on 11-count with 4 strands, a skein holds 717, and 607 is most of it. Push the strands higher or the stitch count up and the busiest color will want a second skein. The floss calculator checks every thread for you.

What is tweeded cross stitch?

Sometimes you want fewer colors but a richer blend. Tweeding does that. DMC explains:

"Tweeded Cross stitch is a way of blending colors by combining strands of different colored embroidery floss in your needle."

DMC, What is cross stitch?

So on 14-count, you might put one strand of each of two colors in the needle instead of two strands of one. You still use two strands, but the thread comes from two skeins. Each one is used at one strand, so each goes about twice as far as it would at two strands. Counting skeins for a tweed is a job for your own chart: work out the stitches for each blend, then check each thread's share.

Threadhood charts use one thread per stitch. If you want a tweed, plan it by hand on top of the chart. Our DMC color chart helps you pick two threads that blend, and DMC's cross stitch tutorials show the basics of getting the thread into the needle.

A quick way to decide

• Standard Aida, 14-count: 2 strands.
• Finer Aida, 16 or 18-count: 2 strands.
• Chunky 11-count: 3 strands.
• Evenweave or linen, over two: use the strands for the matching Aida count.
• Photo charts with many colors: you will buy about one skein per color whichever you choose.

For the fabric side, our guide to 14-count Aida shows what each count does to a chart.

Want exact numbers for your own picture? Make a chart in the Threadhood Studio and it lists every thread with its skeins. You can see the thread bill before you spend a cent.