How to Print a Cross Stitch Pattern You Can Actually Read
This guide shows you how to print a cross stitch pattern so the chart is easy to read. You choose three things: how many sheets, which paper size and color or black and white. The goal is chart squares at least 4 mm wide. Below that, the symbols get hard to read and you start miscounting.
Quick answer
| Pattern size | Sheets | Paper | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (up to about 60 stitches each way) | 4 | US Letter or A4 | Full color |
| Medium (60 to 130 stitches) | 9 or 16 | US Letter or A4 | Color or black and white |
| Large (over 130 stitches) | 16 | A3 (print shop) or US Legal | Black and white |
Always print at “Actual size” or 100%. The “Fit to page” option shrinks the squares.
What’s in the PDF
When you click “Get the Pattern” on a pattern page, you answer four questions: the name for the cover, how many sheets, the paper size, and color or black and white. The PDF is made in your browser. It has these pages, in this order:
- Cover: the name you typed, a picture of the design and its key facts.
- Overview: the whole design on one page.
- Chart pages: the pages you stitch from. Each one shows which part of the design it covers, a small map of the whole design, and the key for the colors on that page.
- Thread list: every color, its DMC number, how many stitches use it and how many skeins to buy.
You don’t have to print the cover. You need the chart pages and the thread list.
How many sheets
More sheets = fewer stitches per page = bigger squares. Here are the real square sizes on US Letter paper:
| Pattern | Stitches | 4 sheets | 9 sheets | 16 sheets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza Slice | 28 x 24 | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm |
| Coffee Mug | 52 x 59 | 6.2 mm | 9.3 mm | 12.4 mm |
| Wizard Owl with Star Wand | 75 x 82 | 4.5 mm | 6.6 mm | 8.9 mm |
| Red Fox Holding a Maple Leaf | 129 x 166 | 2.2 mm | 3.3 mm | 4.5 mm |
| Witch Kitten with Skull and Pumpkins | 256 x 238 | 1.6 mm | 2.3 mm | 3.1 mm |
- Aim for 4 mm or more. 3 mm works in good light.
- 12.7 mm (half an inch) is the biggest square the PDF prints. A tiny pattern like the Pizza Slice is already at full size on 4 sheets. More sheets just use more paper.
- The page count can be a little higher than you chose for very large charts. The PDF picks the split that gives the biggest squares for the pattern’s shape.
Which paper size
| Paper | Size | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| US Letter | 8.5 x 11 in | Your home printer uses it (USA, Canada) |
| A4 | 210 x 297 mm | Your home printer uses it (most other countries) |
| US Legal | 8.5 x 14 in | You want bigger squares and your printer takes 14-inch paper (often through the manual tray) |
| A3 | 297 x 420 mm | You want the biggest squares; print shops can print it |
Example: the Red Fox on 16 sheets has 4.5 mm squares on Letter, 6.2 mm on Legal and 7.8 mm on A3.
Color or black and white
| Full color | Black and white | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | Each square filled with its thread color, symbol on top | White squares with a black symbol |
| Best for | Small, bright designs | Large designs, especially dark ones |
| Ink | Uses a lot | Uses very little |
| Marking progress | Harder to see highlighter | Easy: color over finished squares and still read the symbol |
Example: on the Witch Kitten, one dark navy (DMC 939) is 11,767 of the 37,299 stitches. In color, about a third of every page would be dark ink.
Always read the symbol, not the color. Two close shades, like the two near-blacks in the Witch Cat on a Broomstick, can look the same once printed. Their symbols are always different.
Tips for working from printed pages
- Keep the pages loose. Don’t tape them together. The header on each page tells you which columns and rows it covers.
- Count in tens. Every 10th grid line is bold.
- Start at the center. The arrows on the chart edges mark the center column and row.
- Use the key on each page. You rarely need to turn to the thread list while stitching.
Questions
Can I print a pattern on one page? No. The smallest choice is 4 sheets, so the squares are big enough to read.
Should I print the cover page? Only if you want to keep it. You stitch from the chart pages and shop from the thread list.
My printer can’t do A3. What can I do? Send the PDF to a print or copy shop, or choose US Legal if your printer takes 14-inch paper.
What if I’ve never read a chart? Read how to read a cross stitch pattern first. For a chart over 15,000 stitches, also read how to plan a large cross stitch project.
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