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How Many Skeins of Floss Do I Need?

Rule of thumb: one skein of DMC six-strand floss covers roughly 1,600–1,800 full cross stitches on 14-count Aida with 2 strands. Divide each color's stitch count by that number and round up.

What is in one skein?

• A standard DMC Mouliné (article 117) skein is 8 m / 8.7 yd of six-strand cotton.
• Stitching with 2 strands means you split it into 3 working lengths: 3 × 8 m = 24 m of 2-strand thread.

Where the 1,600 estimate comes from

On 14-count, one square is 1/14 in (1.8 mm). A full cross uses two diagonals on the front (about 2 × 2.6 mm) plus travel on the back (about 2 × 1.8 mm) — roughly 9 mm of thread per stitch. 24 m ÷ 9 mm ≈ 2,700 stitches in theory. Thread tails, starts, finishing and the fact that you rarely stitch in perfect rows waste a lot, so most stitchers plan on about 60% of the theoretical number: ~1,600.

Stitches per skein by fabric and strands (estimates)

Derived from the same thread-length method above (smaller squares use less thread; 3 strands uses the skein 1.5× faster than 2). Your own tension and habits matter more than the exact number — buy one spare skein of the main colors.

Worked example

A pet portrait has 2,310 stitches of DMC 310 (black) and 640 of DMC 3865 (winter white) on 14-count, 2 strands:

• 310: 2,310 ÷ 1,600 = 1.44 → 2 skeins
• 3865: 640 ÷ 1,600 = 0.4 → 1 skein

The photo to cross stitch converter shows the stitch count and a skein estimate for every DMC color automatically.

👉 Try it now: convert a photo to a cross stitch pattern (free, no sign-up).

Backstitch and French knots

Backstitch with 1 strand uses very little — one skein usually covers all outlining in a medium design. French knots use more than they look; count about 3 cm of thread each.

Saving floss

• Use an 18 in (45 cm) working length — longer tangles and wears.
• Use the loop start with 2 strands to avoid knots and tails.
• Fewer colors means fewer partial skeins: lower the color count in the converter.

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