How to Choose the Right Cross Stitch Alphabet Size for Your Project

With our recent small cross stitch alphabet book out, and over 50 free cross stitch alphabets, many people have asked me how to go about finding the right size alphabet for their project.

It’s an interesting question; when the question is no longer “which font looks nice” and is instead “which size will actually work for me”, the whole consideration question drastically changes.
So let’s dig in!

 

What “X Stitches High” Really Means

Many lists of cross stitch fonts and alphabets refer to this magical “X stitches high”. At first glance, this actually seems pretty simple; all letters fit within a set stitch height. But that would be very wrong.

Instead, the height refers to the space MOST letters will fit in. Letters like the tails of a lowercase y, or an uppercase Q. These are little flourishes that extend beyond that fabled stitch height.

Therefore, it’s important to think beyond what height the pattern is labelled as, and what you actually need, and have to work with.
For example, “LORD” would fit within the X stitches high limit perfectly. But “Querty” would drop down, yet still need its full height.

 

Matching Size To Project Type

Next, you have to think about the project itself. Are you stitching a gift tag (smaller alphabets needed), a monogram or sampler (small to medium alphabet), or a statement piece or wall art (larger alphabets)?

And this is important for a few reasons. Firstly, you need to know what you want before you go searching, but secondly, and more importantly, you need to think about the finished item before you go searching.

Let’s take that example of a gift tag; you might have a massive area you can stitch in, but some tags will be small single words, others long series of words. By using a massive font, you’re going to run into trouble when those larger gift tags need stitching.

 

The Small vs. Large Trade-Off

Fonts can pretty much be of any size. From uber tiny 3 stitches high, to massive 100 stitch high block letters. But you can’t just think about space; you also need to think about how easy to read it is.

The gift tag we just spoke about could house a 3-stitch-high font, but is it legible enough for a tag? If it was something only you needed to read, it might be fine, but for something others are meant to read, you’re causing issues based on your alphabet choice.

Likewise, a massive font might look great, but its ornate edges and flourishes might make it super hard to read. This is one occasion when thinking about the design is important; no one wants to stitch a massive pattern only to stand back and ask “what does that say?”

 

Fabric Count and Finished Size

Finally, we talk about count. Stitching the same alphabet on 11 count aida will look completely different to an 18 count evenweave.
Yes, it does make it a different size, but suddenly smaller fonts on higher counts mean it’s too hard to even identify as a word, let alone read it.

Generally, a high count needs a larger alphabet simply to be readable.

However, this also gives you options.
Let’s say you want to sign your work, but keep it really out of the way and not noticeable. Picking a font that’s super small is a brilliant way to do this.

 

The Decision Checklist

So, before you jump into the world of cross stitch alphabets, make sure you ask these four questions first:

• Do you have enough space to fit normal letters and those with flourishes?
• Does the alphabet pattern fit the style, look, and type of project?
• Will it be legible and readable once you’re done?
• Does it work with the count you’ve chosen?

All in all, picking an alphabet size is a quick and easy thing to do, but it requires you to think before jumping into finding patterns.
That’s why we decided to create a small cross stitch alphabets book to take the hard work away.

We’ve broken down all the issues and made it nice and easy to find an alphabet that is the perfect size for your project.

 
Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan