How Many Strands of Floss for Cross Stitch?

Embroidery floss comes as six strands twisted together, and you almost never use all six. Here is the short answer, then the reasoning that lets you deviate from it with confidence.

The short answer

Fabric	Full cross stitch	Backstitch	French knots
11-count Aida	3 strands	1-2	2 (2 wraps)
14-count Aida	2 strands	1	2
16-count Aida	2 strands	1	2
18-count Aida	1-2 strands	1	1-2
25-count evenweave, over 2	2 strands	1	2
28-count evenweave, over 2	2 strands	1	2
32-count linen, over 2	1-2 strands	1	1-2

If you remember one row, remember 14-count: two strands for crosses, one for backstitch. It covers the overwhelming majority of charts.

Why the number changes

The goal is coverage: the stitches should sit side by side without fabric showing through the gaps, and without being so fat that they crowd their neighbours and distort the grid.

Lower-count fabric has larger holes and more space per stitch, so it needs more thread to fill. Higher-count fabric has less room; forcing three strands through 18-count makes the work stiff, tires your hands and can distort the weave.

Two other factors push the number around:

• Thread type. Some hand-dyed and specialty flosses are thicker or thinner than DMC stranded cotton. Metallics are usually used one strand at a time, often blended with a matching cotton strand for strength.
• The look you want. One strand on 14-count gives a deliberately sheer, washed-out effect that can be lovely for backgrounds and skies. Three strands gives a plump, textured, slightly folk-art look. Neither is wrong.

Test it in thirty seconds

Nothing beats stitching a few crosses in a corner of the actual fabric, with the actual thread, and holding it up to a window. If light comes through the gaps, add a strand. If the crosses bulge and crowd, drop one. Dark fabric with light thread is the case most likely to need an extra strand.

Separating strands so they lie flat

This is the part that visibly changes the finished piece, and it takes ten seconds:

1. Cut a working length of about 45 cm (18 in). Longer lengths fray and knot.
2. Pull out strands one at a time, holding the rest loosely so they do not bunch. Pulling two together twists them.
3. Let each strand hang and untwist for a moment, then lay them side by side and thread them together.

This is often called "railroading" when you also keep the two strands parallel as you make each stitch, guiding them with the needle so they lie flat rather than twisting around each other. On a large area of a single colour it makes a noticeable difference to how smooth the surface looks.

How much does this affect thread quantities?

Directly. Going from two strands to three uses roughly 50% more floss, so a chart estimated at one skein per colour can quietly need two. If you are working a chart at a different strand count than it assumes, scale the skein estimates accordingly.

For reference, at two strands on 14-count, one 8 m DMC skein covers roughly 1,600-1,800 full crosses - see the DMC thread guide for the rest of the quantities.

Special cases worth knowing

• Backstitch over a dark area sometimes needs two strands to stay visible; one strand of black on a dark brown ground can disappear.
• Fractional stitches (quarter and three-quarter) are easier with one fewer strand, because the needle has to pierce the fabric rather than pass through a hole.
• Half stitches over a large background read better with one strand fewer than full crosses would use.

Charts from Stitcherry list strand recommendations alongside the thread list, and size estimates update with your fabric count - try one from a photo, or work out your finished size with the Aida calculator.