Expert: Kris - 1/31/2010

Question
I am doing a Christmas stocking as it calls for 25 count fabric but I want to use 14 count. The finished size on the 25 count is 11" x 18". What size should I cut my fabric using 14 count?

Answer
Michelle,

I love Christmas stockings. You said that the pattern calls for 25 count fabric. The biggest question to determine fabric size for 14 count is whether the pattern is called to be stitched over 1 or over 2. A lot of the time with the higher count fabrics (25 count and up) you stitch over 2, When you do this you get half the number of stitches as the fabric count. On 25 count, you would get 12 1/2 stitches per inch. If it is over 1 , then you will get 25 stitches per inch.

So the best way to determine the size of the fabric is to use the stitch count and divide it by the fabric count. Say your design is 125 stitches x 225 stitches and you wanted to stitch it on 14 count. You would divide the stitch count by the fabric size -

125/14= 8.9285 (round up to 9) and 225/14 = 16.07 (round down to 16). I always add 2 or 3 inches to each side for finishing (so 4 or 6 inches both horizontally and vertically), so 9 x 16 would become 13 x 20.

I hope this was helpful.
Happy Stitching!
Kris