Charting a design
Each square is one cross stitch, and the bold lines every 10 squares let you count in tens, the way printed charts are ruled. Color the squares in with pencils or markers, or mark them with symbols and a key, which copies better in black and white. To find the middle of a design, count to the middle bold lines of your motif; find the middle of the fabric by folding it in half both ways.
Working out the finished size
Because this paper is printed at true 14-count size, the chart is also a life-size preview: hold the sheet up to a frame or a pillow and you see how big the stitched piece will be. For any other count, divide the number of stitches by the count:
- 140 stitches on 14-count Aida: 140 ÷ 14 = 10 inches.
- The same 140 stitches on 18-count: about 7.8 inches.
- On 11-count: about 12.7 inches.
A full US Letter page here holds 110 × 140 squares, a design of about 7.9 × 10 inches at 14 count; an A4 page holds 100 × 150. Buy fabric larger than the design, so there is room to hold it in a hoop and to frame it.
Printing tips
- Choose light lines (blue or gray, Hairline or Fine) so your colors and symbols stand out from the grid.
- Print at Actual size. The PDF keeps every square exactly 1/14 inch, which a PNG image or a Fit to page setting can’t guarantee.
- Need bigger squares to see the chart from across a table? Pick ¼ inch on the graph paper generator; the bold lines every 10 still work, but the sheet is no longer life-size.
For drawing in 3D rather than stitching flat, see isometric graph paper.
How this page sets up the sheet
- Square grid.
- 1/14 in (1.81 mm) squares, 14 per inch; bold line every 10.
It opens in inches wherever you are, because that is how this kind of paper is measured. The paper size follows your browser too: Letter in the US, A4 elsewhere. Everything stays editable. Your own page settings, such as margins, are remembered for next time; the grid itself always opens as set up here. To start from a blank setup, use the graph paper generator.