How many skeins of thread do I need?
Short answer
As a working figure on 14-count Aida with two strands, one DMC skein covers roughly a thousand stitches of a single colour. So count the stitches of each colour — not the stitches in the whole pattern — and divide by a thousand, rounding up. A 6,000-stitch design in ten colours does not need six skeins; it needs one skein of most colours and two or three of the two or three that dominate it.
Count per colour, not per pattern
This is the mistake that sends people back to the shop. Thread is bought one colour at a time, so the number that matters is how many stitches each colour does. In a portrait, two or three mid-tones usually carry half the piece while a dozen accent colours do a few hundred stitches between them.
Every pattern from The X Stitch Room lists this for you: the thread list gives the stitch count and the estimated skeins for each DMC colour separately, and it is on its own page in the PDF so you can take it to the shop.
Skeins by stitch count, one colour, 14-count Aida
| Stitches of that colour | Skeins |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,000 | 1 |
| 2,000 | 2 |
| 3,000 | 3 |
| 5,000 | 4 |
| 8,000 | 7 |
These are the figures the pattern generator itself uses, assuming two strands of a six-strand skein and a 15% margin.
Why the estimate is deliberately generous
The estimate assumes two strands, adds 15% and then rounds up, which lands well above the bare length of thread a stitch consumes. That is on purpose.
Thread is not used at 100%: every colour change leaves a tail, the last few centimetres of a length are too short to work with, and unpicking happens. More to the point, DMC floss is dyed in batches, and two skeins of the same number from different batches can differ enough to show in a solid area. Running out halfway through a sky is a genuinely annoying problem; a spare skein costs about a euro.
What changes the number
- Strands. Two is standard on 14-count. Three covers better on 11-count and uses about half as much again; one strand on 18-count and finer uses less.
- Fabric count. A finer fabric makes smaller stitches, so each one uses slightly less thread — but the same design also finishes smaller.
- Your tension and your starts. Long loose carries on the back eat thread. So does starting a new length for every short run.
- Full coverage. A design stitched edge to edge with no bare fabric uses much more than an outline-and-highlight one.
Buying advice that has nothing to do with maths
Buy all the thread for one project at the same time, from the same shop, so the dye lots match. Keep the paper band on the skein — it carries the colour number, and an unlabelled skein of mid-grey is indistinguishable from four other mid-greys.
If a colour is doing more than about 2,000 stitches, buy one more than the estimate. If it is doing under 500, one skein is plenty and will still have most of itself left afterwards.
Common questions
- How many stitches does one DMC skein cover?
- Roughly a thousand stitches of one colour on 14-count Aida with two strands, allowing for waste and a safety margin. The bare length of thread in a skein goes considerably further, but real stitching does not use all of it.
- How long is a DMC skein?
- A standard DMC Mouliné skein is 8 metres of six-strand floss. Split into the two strands most cross stitch uses, that is a lot of working thread — but tails, short ends and colour changes mean you should not plan on using all of it.
- Do I need more thread for a bigger fabric count?
- Slightly less per stitch on a finer count, because the stitches are smaller. But a coarser fabric with the same stitch count makes a larger finished piece, so the totals end up close.
- Can I use a different brand of thread?
- Yes. Anchor and Madeira publish conversion charts against DMC numbers. Colours are close rather than identical, so convert the whole palette at once rather than mixing brands inside one piece.
Turn your own photo into a pattern
Upload a picture and the chart builds in your browser — DMC colours, finished size and thread list, before you pay for anything.
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Updated 28/09/2026