How Much Thread Do You Need for Cross Stitch? Skeins, Strands and the Thread List

This guide explains how much thread you need for a cross stitch pattern, how many strands to stitch with, and how to keep your thread organized. The short answer: buy the skeins listed in the pattern’s thread list, plus one extra of any color used more than about 1,600 times. Stitch with 2 strands on 14-count fabric.

Cross stitch thread is called embroidery floss. It’s sold in small packs called skeins. Each color has a number, and DMC is the most common brand.

Quick answer

How to read the thread list

Every PDF on this site ends with a thread list. It’s your shopping list. For each color it shows:

Above the table you’ll also find the total number of stitches, the number of colors and the total skeins.

Example: the Pizza Slice. It has 350 stitches in 6 colors. The biggest color, DMC 3855, is only 92 stitches. Every color still needs one skein, so the list says 6 skeins. You’ll have plenty left for other projects.

How many skeins to buy

The thread list estimates skeins from the stitch count of each color. It assumes about 1,600 stitches per skein on 14-count fabric with 2 strands. It never lists less than 1.

Check the big colors yourself. The estimate is rounded to the nearest skein, so a color can be rounded down. Here is the Red Fox Holding a Maple Leaf:

The rule: for any color with more than about 1,600 stitches, divide its stitches by 1,600 and round up. For the Red Fox, that means 17 skeins instead of the listed 14. A spare skein costs little. Running out in the middle of a big area is much worse.

Other fabric counts: finer fabric uses less thread per stitch. On 18-count, one skein makes about 2,000 stitches. On 11-count, about 1,250.

How many strands to use

Floss is made of 6 thin strands twisted together. You separate them and stitch with only a few.

Fewer strands look lighter and show more fabric. More strands cover the fabric fully but can look bulky. If your stitches look thin, try one more strand on a spare piece of fabric first.

How to prepare the thread

1. Cut about 18 inches (45 cm). Longer pieces tangle and wear thin.
2. Pull out one strand at a time. Hold the cut end and pull one strand straight up. Then pull out the second one.
3. Put the strands back together side by side, then thread your needle.

Pulling strands out one by one stops the rest from knotting.

How to keep your thread organized

• Use bobbins or a floss card. Wind each color onto a small card bobbin, or loop it through a hole in a piece of card.
• Write two things on each one: the DMC number and the chart symbol.
• Keep similar colors apart. Many patterns use colors that look the same off the skein. For example, the Pink Rose uses five dusty pinks (DMC 963, 223, 761, 3354 and 151). Lay them out from lightest to darkest. Browns are just as tricky: the Druid Satyr with a Staff and Shield puts DMC 167, 779, 3863, 945 and 801 side by side in its fur, staff and boots.
• Keep the paper labels until the project is finished. They show the dye lot.
• Store thread away from sunlight. Light fades it.

Why buy all of one color at once

Thread is dyed in batches called dye lots. Two skeins with the same number from different batches can look slightly different. On a small design, you won’t notice. On a large area of one color, you’ll see a line where you changed skein.

So for big patterns, buy every skein of the main colors at the same time and check that the dye lot numbers match. For example, the door in the Red Fox Peeking Around a Door is 6,384 stitches of DMC 839, about 4 skeins. Buy all four together.

Questions

How much thread does a small pattern need? One skein of each color. Small patterns use very little of each.

Can I use a different brand of thread? Yes. Other brands publish charts that match their colors to DMC numbers. The colors won’t always be an exact match, so compare them in daylight.

What does “2 strands” mean? Separate 2 of the 6 thin strands from a piece of floss and stitch with those 2 together.

My thread keeps twisting. What do I do? Every few stitches, let the needle hang down so the thread untwists.

What should I read next? How to read a cross stitch pattern explains the chart and the key. How to cross stitch for beginners walks you through your first stitches. For a big project, see how to plan a large cross stitch project.