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[Tips Discussion] About Fabrics to stitch

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Post time: 2009-9-3 22:50
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EvenweaveFabric
Evenweavefabric is strictly speaking any regularly woven fabric where the warp and weftthreads have the same thread count (number of threads per inch), and which iswoven "on the square", so that a pattern of stitches worked on itwill have the same shape as the design.
It has nowcome to refer more specifically to the finer fabrics, such as Belfast linen,which are constructed of seperate single threads, as opposed to block-weavefabrics such as aida cloth, where the fabric threads are grouped together,forming fabric blocks.

What is evenweave fabric?
If youexamine evenweave closely you will see that it is made up of single threads,crossing each other at right angles. For cross stitch, evenweave fabrics arenomally worked over 2 threads of the fabric, which means you miss alternateholes when stitching.
Mostevenweaves are made either of linen or the less expensive cotton. Examples ofcommonly used evenweave linens include Belfast Linen (32 count) and CashelLinen (28-count) ; and popular cotton evenweaves include Linda (27-count) andHardanger (22-count) .
What does fabric thread count mean?
Evenweaveis classified by its thread count, which is the number of threads per inch offabric. When you stitch on 22-count evenweave you will get 11 cross stitchesper inch, working over 2 threads. 28-count fabric will give you 14 stitches perinch etc. Essentially the higher the fabric thread count, the closer the holesare together on the fabric.
The finerthe fabric used, the smaller the stitches become, and therefore the wholedesign becomes smaller. So if you want a design to be small - stitch it on32-count evenweave, and if you want it bigger - use 22 count evenweave.
What will be the finished size of my crossstitch design?
You caneasily work out how big a design will turn out, if you are stitching over 2fabric threads on your chsen fabric, by dividing the number of stitches by halfthe fabric thread count.
So forexample if your design is 140 stitches high by 112 stitches wide, and youdecide to stitch it on a piece of 28-count evenweave, working over 2 fabricthreads, you can work out the size of the finished cross stitch as follows:
Divide thedesign height (140 stitches) by half the fabric thread count (14) : - 140divided by 14 = 10".
Now dividethe design width (112 stitches) by half the fabric thread count (14): - 112divided by 14 = 8".
So thisdesign will measure 10" by 8" when stitched on the 28-countevenweave, working over 2 threads .


So what size piece of evenweave fabric do Ineed?
Start byfinding the design size. This is printed on most charts, for example 140 x 112stitches. This gives the size of the design from the top stitch to the bottomstitch. (in this case 140 stitches), and from the furthest left hand stitch tothe furthest right hand stitch (in this case 112 stitches). If the design sizeis not printed, just count the size on the chart, which is normally divided upinto blocks of 10 squares.
If you arestitching a picture to be framed later, you will need to add on say 1" ofblank fabric all around the design, unless you want the edges of the design toextend right up to the frame. You will also need about 1.5" of extrafabric all round, so that the picture framer can stretch your work onto a boardfor framing. So you need to add a total of 2.5" to the top, bottom andboth sides, which equals 5" extra.
So youwould need 15" (10" + 5") by 13" (8" + 5") inthis example, that is 15" by 13" of fabric.
Can I use aida fabric instead of evenweave?
Becausesome people find evenweave fabric difficult to see, they substitute aida fabricinstead. So if the pattern calls for 28-count evenweave stitched over 2 threadsof the fabric, they use the 14-count aida stitched into every hole instead.
The crossstitches will be the same size, so long as you select an aida whose threadcount is exactly half the thread count of the evenweave fabric. For examplesustitute 16-count aida for 32-count evenweave, and 11-count aida for 22-countevenweave.
This is acommon practice for many stitchers. Among the drawbacks of this are thedifficulty of working part stitches on aida, where an additional hole has to bemade on the fabic between 2 existing holes. With evenweave these"in-between" holes already exist, which makes the stitching easierand more accurate. Also the aida fabic will show as a more "blocky"background than the finer evenweave, in the unstitched areas.
Rememberthat aida fabric is stitched into every hole, so working out the size requiredis different. Please click about aida fabric for more information on this.

Aida Fabric
Aida fabricis used by many thousands of cross stitchers all over the world. Aida cloth wasinvented by the Zweigart company in 1890 and was an immediate success becauseit was so easy to work and made counting the stitches very easy. This is due toits construction.
What is aida fabric?

If youexamine aida closely you will see that it is made up not of single threads, butof groups of threads woven together. Where the thread groups intersect theholes are clearly defined, which helps to make the stitching easy and accurate.You can see this clearly on the illustration at the top of this page.
What does fabric stitch count mean?
Aida isclassified by its stitch count, which is the number of stitches per inch offabric. When you stitch on 11-count aida fabric you will get 11 cross stitchesper inch. 14-count fabric will give you 14 stitches per inch etc. Essentiallythe higher the fabric stitch count, the closer the holes are together on thefabric.
The finerthe fabric used, the smaller the stitches become, and therefore the wholedesign becomes smaller. So if you want a design to be very small - stitch it on18-count aida, and if you want it very big - use 11 count aida
What will be the finished size of my crossstitch design?
You caneasily work out how big a design will turn out, on each different aida fabric,by simply dividing the number of stitches in the design by the stitch count ofthe chosen fabric. So for example if your design is 140 stitches high by 112stitches wide, and you decide to stitch it on a piece of 14-count aida, you canwork out the size of the finished cross stitch as follows:
Divide thedesign height (140 stitches) by the fabric stitch count (14-count): - 140divided by 14 = 10".
Now dividethe design width (112 stitches) by the fabric stitch count (14-count): - 112divided by 14 = 8".
So thisdesign will measure 10" by 8" when completed on the 14-count aida
What size piece of aida fabric do I need?
First findthe design size. The design size is printed on most charts, for example 140 x112 stitches. This gives the size of the design from the very top stitch to thevery bottom stitch. (in this case 140 stitches), and from the extreme left handstitch to the extreme right hand stitch.(in this case 112 stitches). If thedesign size is not given, it is quite easy to count the stitches on the chart,which is normally divided up into blocks of 10 squares.
Work outhow big this design will be on your chosen fabric, as shown above. So let's sayyou decided to use 14-count aida. Then your finished cross stitch would measure10" (140 divided by 14) by 8"(112 divided by 14).
If you arestitching a picture to frame, you may need to add on say 1" of blankfabric all around the design, unless you want the edges of the design right upto the frame. The picture framer will also need about 1.5" of extra fabricall round so that he can stretch your work onto a board before framing it. Soin total you need to add 2.5" to the top, bottom and both sides, whichequals 5" extra.

So youwould need 15" (10" + 5") by 13" (8" + 5") inthis example, that is 15" by 13" of fabric.
Which aida fabric should I use?



Think abouthow big you would like your cross stitch to be, and how it will fit into yourhome. Remember that the higher your fabric stitch count the smaller your designwill be, and the less thread will be required. But it will also be moredifficult to see, especially if you do not have the best eye sight.
Oneadvantage of using the higher stitch-count fabric is that the finishedstitching looks fine and detailed. After all, you are stitching crosses and thesmaller these become the more they lose their "cross" shape andbecome pixels of colour in the design.
Therecommendations of the chart designer are a good guide here, as they will havegiven a lot of thought to fabric to use. Also if you are doing a kit andyou decide to use different fabric to make the design bigger, you will almostcertainly need more thread.
Can I use linen evenweave fabric?
Linenevenweave fabrics are finer fabrics which are constructed differently from aidafabric, and are normally worked over 2 threads. So working out the sizes etc isquite different. Please click About evenweave fabric for information on this.

Aida                                       Linen

                       

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Post time: 2021-4-12 03:48
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Thank you for this very useful information.
Where I live I can only find Aida 11 and 14. There are no evenwave linens, but there is a very cheap fabric that I think it is used as lining, and it is called Osnaburgo (?), and is similar to a 26-28 count  evenwave, it also has some blunts in the threads, it depends on the quality. I use it sometimes for cross sticth, I do tea and coffe dyes and it looks very nice.
Thanks again for this thread!! Regards!!
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Post time: 2021-3-29 22:32
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TheOraclePatter 2021-3-24 14:50
There's also Hardanger fabric (22 count), which looks more like Aida but has 2 threads instead of a  ...

That's what hardanger is, thank you. very useful.
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Post time: 2021-3-24 14:50
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There's also Hardanger fabric (22 count), which looks more like Aida but has 2 threads instead of a block.

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That's what hardanger is, thank you. very useful.  Details Reply Post time 2021-3-29 22:32
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Post time: 2020-3-6 19:03
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Мэри, спасибо за интересную тему. Вышиваю на любых тканях, в зависимости от дизайна
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Post time: 2021-4-11 23:37
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Has anyone stitched on congress cloth? Is it more like canvas or more like fabric?
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Post time: 2020-2-8 11:55
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This is very useful for when I teach friends to cross stitch, thank you
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Post time: 2024-3-27 09:26
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Thank you very much for the info! Very helpful.
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Post time: 2021-3-25 04:20
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Merci pour les infos pratiques.
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Post time: 2020-3-29 01:30
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Very useful article, thank you
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Post time: 2020-3-31 04:55
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Thank you for the lecture!
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Post time: 2009-9-3 23:55
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this is a very useful thread,thank you.
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Post time: 2009-9-4 09:37
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thanks Mary for the useful information!
i use only Aida fabric, because this is the only fabric that i can buy easily ....:P
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Post time: 2009-9-4 16:42
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I think for me stitch on aida fabric is easier than evenweave fabric......maybe in the future, my skill have been improved a lot, i will use evenweave fabric.
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 Author| Post time: 2009-9-4 22:18
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I like stitch in both .... here in Brazil for while we cannot found linen ...now we can buy here !! that´s let happy .... and we can found even DMC threads ... before only Anchor ....
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Post time: 2009-9-30 21:07
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For cross stitch I use Aida, because its easier, but for other type of stitch I use linen or other fabrics.
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Post time: 2010-1-7 02:57
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Thanks Mary! Very useful information
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Post time: 2010-2-1 22:05
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I use Aida because in my place, there aren't  any store sells linen.
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Post time: 2010-6-27 01:08
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It's not easy to buy Evenweave fabric in Hong Kong. :(
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Post time: 2010-11-8 12:11
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I usually use aida but I do have a teresa wentzler project I'd like to stitch on linen someday.  Thanks for posting the information for everybody
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