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Cross Stitch Alphabet & Name Charts
Type a name, a date or a word. You get a charted alphabet in three letter styles, with symbols, a DMC floss list and the finished size on your fabric — free, and nothing leaves your browser.
How to chart a name
- Open the maker and choose “From a word”. Type the name exactly as you want it stitched — capitals, spaces and punctuation all chart.
- Set the letter height in stitches. 12–16 is the usual range for a name on a sampler; below about 10 the letter shapes start to lose their distinguishing details.
- Pick a style and a thread. Serif for samplers and heirlooms, Block for clean modern lettering, Typewriter for a plain even alphabet. Any DMC number works — 310 (black) is the traditional choice for a sampler.
- Edit anything you like. Letters come out as ordinary stitches, so you can nudge a serif, close a gap, or space the letters differently before you download.
Choosing a letter height
Letter height in stitches is the only thing that decides how legible the alphabet is, and how big the finished name comes out. The table below is that arithmetic on 14-count aida, the count most kits use:
| Letter height | On 14-count | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 8 stitches | about 0.6″ (1.5 cm) | Tight; capitals only, expect to tidy letters by hand |
| 12 stitches | about 0.9″ (2.2 cm) | Comfortable for a name across a small piece |
| 16 stitches | about 1.1″ (2.9 cm) | Clear serifs; the usual sampler size |
| 24 stitches | about 1.7″ (4.4 cm) | A heading or a monogram |
The fabric calculator does the same sum for any count, and shows what changes if you move to 16- or 18-count.
Why letters are hard on a grid
Type was drawn for smooth curves; a chart has none. Every diagonal becomes a staircase and every thin serif has to land on a whole square, which is why an alphabet that looks fine on screen can turn mushy once it is charted small. Two things follow from that:
- Height matters more than style. A plain alphabet at 16 stitches reads better than an elaborate one at 10.
- Hand-tidying is normal. Charted letters are a starting point. Stitchers routinely even out a stem or drop a square from a serif — that is why the maker lets you edit every stitch instead of handing you a locked image.
What to do with a charted name
Names and dates are the backbone of samplers, and they are the usual first custom piece people stitch: a birth record, a wedding date, initials on a small gift. Because the chart is yours, there is nothing stopping you selling what you stitch from it.
Keep going
About the colours. DMC does not publish official RGB values, so every on-screen colour table — including ours — is an approximation. Our 456-shade table is merged from three independent open datasets by taking the median of each channel; use it to plan the shape of a design, and check a real floss card before you buy thread. Charts you make here are yours, and nothing you upload leaves your browser: the converter runs entirely on your own device, with no account and no upload.