One thing to keep in mind is that the number of stitches you get per skein will change depending on fabric count and how many strands you are using. Using 2 strands on 14 count is going to use more floss than using 2 strands on 18 count will. Stitching over 1 vs over 2 will also affect it.
Danish is when you do a row of half stitches and then go back to complete the stitches. English is when you do a full stitch for each stitch in the row.
Yeah, the English method does use a bit more, but not a crazy amount more. If you’ve done both, and you look at the back side, you can see why. The back of Danish stitching looks like this l l l l l. But with English stitching, you go from the top left hole for a finished stitch to the bottom right hole to start the next stitch, so the back looks like this l\l\l\
I feel like I’m not explaining this very well, but if you do both, you’ll see what I mean. Either way, I find both methods useful, and I usually switch between the two on all of my projects depending on which is easier for the section I’m working on. I even switch methods mid row sometimes lol
I do that too! The danish style goes a little faster when you have a large section of the same color. I think it looks a little more even. But I’m new at this craft so I’m still learning.
Interesting. I always estimated I get about 2050 stitches out of a skein, but never did the experiment. This lines up well as I don't often play thread chicken 😁 and rarely have large blocks of color, so lose some to long travels and such. Thanks for the perseverance and sharing. Also on 18 2 over 1.
I tend to do it if it's one of the last strands so I don't need to cut a new one off, or if there isn't much left on the bobbin. For white and black I just say YOLO and waste away since got bundles of the stuff.
Sry, just saw your question...
https://preview.redd.it/wv0g5myesd9d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e1f26f41bd6637b94737ce728b20b97a1293504
😋
Thanks for exposing to me how wasteful I am with my thread 🥲 I definitely didn't get anywhere close to that many stitches before running out. Will try to do better now haha
On larger stitch counts, typically you go over 2, or skip a hole. It would like like a twice as big X. Mostly dint because the stitches are so small. Over 1 is the "normal" stitch, where you go in every hole. Does that make sense?
Amazing effort and video! Very cool. I applaud your commitment to science because at 2920 stitches I would’ve done a small piece 😂
Edit: I looked at a recent FO which used up a skein and some strands and I only got roughly 1,500 stitches 😳 I’m not sure what happened but I must’ve wasted a lot of thread. This was using 2 strands on 14 ct Aida too…
I don’t really stick to one. I do both, but mostly Danish. It depends how I want to approach a group of stitches - I don’t park, or diagonal park, or use any particular technique and i tend to like to jump from one colour to another.
I know that with a 1 meter length of floss, I get 60 stitches on 18 ct (if I’m being extremely thread conscious and loop starting) if I do 2x1. So that means I can get 60 x 6 strands x 8 meters = 2880 stitches with one skein if I can stitch with the Danish method efficiently! But realistically, taking traveling and other things into consideration, it’s maybe 2500 stitches maybe?
Yep! What u/psychicblackberry said
2 strands for one square is very typical for 18 ct, but some people do 1 strand of floss per square and some people do 3 strands!
Also, for higher counts like 28 ct linen/evenweave, some people do 1x1 (one strand over one square), and others do 2x2 (two strands over **two** squares)! 2x2 is basically the same count as 2x1 on 14 ct but a different choice of fabric :D
It might be easier to understand with this [link](https://www.thread-bare.com/blog/examples-of-coverage-across-different-thread-counts). You can also find a lot of YouTube videos about this as well :-)
Eeeh... just in case you're using this to estimate floss. If you get 60 stitches out of a meter when you do 2x1 than it would be 60x3x8=1440. X3 because you use 2 threads and not x6.
I did consider that! However, I use a loop start with the 1 meter strand folded in half —> giving me 2x1 and technically a length of 0.5 meters
So I should still do 60x6x8 since each 1 meter strand folded in half gives me 60 stitches. If I don’t do loop start and use the whole 1 meter with two strands, then I would do 120x3x8 which still gives me the same number!
Seems to me that while you can get maximum stitches by various means from a skein, in most actual stitching, you are traveling a bit here and there and going where the color takes you. So who knows. And let’s face it, thread is cheap — especially when you compare it to a hobby like say boating.
Agreed, I just have a 1.9 million stitch BAP, so I wanted a more accurate estimate for buying floss as I need it. Even with this estimate and no traveling I’m looking at 650+ skeins.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that information is already out there 🫠 but super satisfying to watch!!
https://lordlibidan.com/how-many-stitches-can-you-get-out-of-a-8m-skein/amp/
This is with a bit of breathing room.
Before I had did this I did some research but even with those estimates I always ended up with too much floss, so I did my own experiment , and I’m almost 600 more stitches than the Lord Libidan estimate. I understand that this won’t be true to stitching with confetti and traveling. However with my 1.9 million stitch project it gives me a low end estimate of what I should buy.
There’s a [calculator](https://www.thread-bare.com/tools/cross-stitch-skein-estimator) to determine how much floss you’ll need, factoring in fabric count, number of strands, and how wasteful you are.
That calculator is actually pretty close. Part of the reason I did the experiment was for my own verification, and to actually show the process. Many calculators out there don’t explain how they came up with their numbers.
I only stitch over one square, sometimes on higher count fabric you stitch over two, essentially cutting the count in half. For instance on 32 count linen you could stitch over two and make it 16 count.
Yup, this checks out. I know I can get between 50-70 per length depending on path and fabric count. I always cut the lengths at 1/6 of the skein. So 50x6x6 threads = 1800 which is the minimum so this makes sense if you're not traveling and doing Danish!
I’m so glad somebody (not me) did this! I’ve wondered about this and thought I’d be stuck wondering for the rest of my life but you, good OP, have saved me!
You have inspired me to be my own experiment. I normally stitch with 3 strands on 14 count. I should see how much stitching I get out of a skien. So I can figure out how much I get from an arms length
Thanks so much for this experiment! I consider myself an efficient/stingy stitcher and I play floss chicken A LOT 😂 This is actually quite helpful for planning of future projects!
I got 2108 out of a skein of DMC floss a while back while working on stitching [this Lavender Town pattern from PigeonCrafts](https://www.etsy.com/listing/881158181/spooky-ghost-city-pixel-cross-stitch) on 14ct aida, 2 strands. I started with the upper left corner and there was a fair bit of confetti.
If someone (me) cuts a skein into 8 equal pieces instead of 13 like you did, could someone (me) theoretically get more because less of the thread goes into finishing? And I realize this would also hugely vary if someone did a lot of confetti or traveling!
I’m not sure, because the breakage would be different. Every time you pull the floss through the end gets a little more frayed so longer threads means more breakage.
I’ve had them break in the middle if I get a knot, but I was mostly talking about the loose end fraying from being pulled through a hundred or so times.
One thing to keep in mind is that the number of stitches you get per skein will change depending on fabric count and how many strands you are using. Using 2 strands on 14 count is going to use more floss than using 2 strands on 18 count will. Stitching over 1 vs over 2 will also affect it.
This was done on 18 count, two strands, over 1.
Right, I forgot to include those details. Duh. 🤦🏻
Also whether you use Danish or English stitching. The latter uses more floss
Danish or English? I didn't know there was a difference.
Danish is when you do a row of half stitches and then go back to complete the stitches. English is when you do a full stitch for each stitch in the row.
So to clarify English uses more thread?
Yeah, the English method does use a bit more, but not a crazy amount more. If you’ve done both, and you look at the back side, you can see why. The back of Danish stitching looks like this l l l l l. But with English stitching, you go from the top left hole for a finished stitch to the bottom right hole to start the next stitch, so the back looks like this l\l\l\ I feel like I’m not explaining this very well, but if you do both, you’ll see what I mean. Either way, I find both methods useful, and I usually switch between the two on all of my projects depending on which is easier for the section I’m working on. I even switch methods mid row sometimes lol
Huh. Today I learned that apparently I learned the danish technique 👍
I do that too! The danish style goes a little faster when you have a large section of the same color. I think it looks a little more even. But I’m new at this craft so I’m still learning.
Interesting. I always estimated I get about 2050 stitches out of a skein, but never did the experiment. This lines up well as I don't often play thread chicken 😁 and rarely have large blocks of color, so lose some to long travels and such. Thanks for the perseverance and sharing. Also on 18 2 over 1.
Thread chicken?
When you try to finish what you're doing with the very last of what's on your needle instead of using a fresh piece that would make it easier.
And importantly like $0.0001 worth of floss, lol.
For me it's more about avoiding needing to start and stop yet another piece of floss lol
Sometimes, it's just that you have a few stitches left to stitch, and you are trying to make every square count so you won't have to cut a new length.
Cut a whole new piece to do 4 half stitches?! I don’t think so! Not this cross stitcher!
Oh I do the same but I do often laugh at the fact that it's worth almost nothing, haha.
Cute name! 😊 Name is new to me, but not the concept. Thanks!
Oh. That's not normal? I thought this was standard procedure, and I do it ALL THE TIME!!! 🤣🤣
I tend to do it if it's one of the last strands so I don't need to cut a new one off, or if there isn't much left on the bobbin. For white and black I just say YOLO and waste away since got bundles of the stuff.
Sry, just saw your question... https://preview.redd.it/wv0g5myesd9d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e1f26f41bd6637b94737ce728b20b97a1293504 😋
 Eating banana chips and watching this 10 times like
That was very satisfying to watch
Thanks for exposing to me how wasteful I am with my thread 🥲 I definitely didn't get anywhere close to that many stitches before running out. Will try to do better now haha
Yeah I don't think I could get that many as I'm always snagging the thread or pulling out a tangle.
What fabric count and how many strands did you use?
2 strands on 18 count over 1. I forgot to include those details, and can’t figure out how to edit the post.
What does over 1 mean?
On larger stitch counts, typically you go over 2, or skip a hole. It would like like a twice as big X. Mostly dint because the stitches are so small. Over 1 is the "normal" stitch, where you go in every hole. Does that make sense?
Amazing effort and video! Very cool. I applaud your commitment to science because at 2920 stitches I would’ve done a small piece 😂 Edit: I looked at a recent FO which used up a skein and some strands and I only got roughly 1,500 stitches 😳 I’m not sure what happened but I must’ve wasted a lot of thread. This was using 2 strands on 14 ct Aida too…
Honestly it was keeping me up at night, the not knowing. It just kept itching my brain and was a good break from my Sistine Chapel project.
I've been wondering too. Thanks for doing the experiment for us!
I love taking breaks from stitching to do math or other mental tasks associated with my project.
You were on 14 ct, so that would mean each stitch takes more thread then these 18 ct stitches
Ah, I didn’t know it was 18 ct Aida!
How do you stitch, Danish or English? The latter uses more.
I don’t really stick to one. I do both, but mostly Danish. It depends how I want to approach a group of stitches - I don’t park, or diagonal park, or use any particular technique and i tend to like to jump from one colour to another.
I know that with a 1 meter length of floss, I get 60 stitches on 18 ct (if I’m being extremely thread conscious and loop starting) if I do 2x1. So that means I can get 60 x 6 strands x 8 meters = 2880 stitches with one skein if I can stitch with the Danish method efficiently! But realistically, taking traveling and other things into consideration, it’s maybe 2500 stitches maybe?
What does the “2x1” refer to? Sorry, newbie here!
It means two strands of floss over one square. Sometimes on high count fabrics people will do things like 2 stands of floss over 2 squares.
Yep! What u/psychicblackberry said 2 strands for one square is very typical for 18 ct, but some people do 1 strand of floss per square and some people do 3 strands! Also, for higher counts like 28 ct linen/evenweave, some people do 1x1 (one strand over one square), and others do 2x2 (two strands over **two** squares)! 2x2 is basically the same count as 2x1 on 14 ct but a different choice of fabric :D It might be easier to understand with this [link](https://www.thread-bare.com/blog/examples-of-coverage-across-different-thread-counts). You can also find a lot of YouTube videos about this as well :-)
So, how close is the length of floss per skein to 6 meters? I bet it's a bit over. So, more stitches.
Omg I just noticed the formatting of reddit changed my “*” to italics - edited my message! One skein = 8 meters
Eeeh... just in case you're using this to estimate floss. If you get 60 stitches out of a meter when you do 2x1 than it would be 60x3x8=1440. X3 because you use 2 threads and not x6.
I did consider that! However, I use a loop start with the 1 meter strand folded in half —> giving me 2x1 and technically a length of 0.5 meters So I should still do 60x6x8 since each 1 meter strand folded in half gives me 60 stitches. If I don’t do loop start and use the whole 1 meter with two strands, then I would do 120x3x8 which still gives me the same number!
Ah, you looked at it that way. So yep, carry on! All is well and nothing is rotten in the state of denmark.
Seems to me that while you can get maximum stitches by various means from a skein, in most actual stitching, you are traveling a bit here and there and going where the color takes you. So who knows. And let’s face it, thread is cheap — especially when you compare it to a hobby like say boating.
Agreed, I just have a 1.9 million stitch BAP, so I wanted a more accurate estimate for buying floss as I need it. Even with this estimate and no traveling I’m looking at 650+ skeins.
What… is the pattern 🤡😵💫😳 Also what does BAP stand for? :O never heard that term before
The pattern is the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, BAP stands for Big Ass Project.
Oh! I’ve seen WIPs of that here Good luck with your BAP HAHA 😭😭😭
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that information is already out there 🫠 but super satisfying to watch!! https://lordlibidan.com/how-many-stitches-can-you-get-out-of-a-8m-skein/amp/ This is with a bit of breathing room.
Before I had did this I did some research but even with those estimates I always ended up with too much floss, so I did my own experiment , and I’m almost 600 more stitches than the Lord Libidan estimate. I understand that this won’t be true to stitching with confetti and traveling. However with my 1.9 million stitch project it gives me a low end estimate of what I should buy.
I've found that I can get about 1400 out of a skein, using 3 on 14 count, but my game is super efficient stitching so that probably helps!
Wish I had seen this before I bought 3 skeins for 900 stitches in my first project 😂
There’s a [calculator](https://www.thread-bare.com/tools/cross-stitch-skein-estimator) to determine how much floss you’ll need, factoring in fabric count, number of strands, and how wasteful you are.
That calculator is actually pretty close. Part of the reason I did the experiment was for my own verification, and to actually show the process. Many calculators out there don’t explain how they came up with their numbers.
Wow! This is so cool and interesting to know. One question as a beginner and non-native English speaker: what do you mean when you say "over 1"?
I only stitch over one square, sometimes on higher count fabric you stitch over two, essentially cutting the count in half. For instance on 32 count linen you could stitch over two and make it 16 count.
Aah, got it! Thank you! I didn't know about that technique.
Yup, this checks out. I know I can get between 50-70 per length depending on path and fabric count. I always cut the lengths at 1/6 of the skein. So 50x6x6 threads = 1800 which is the minimum so this makes sense if you're not traveling and doing Danish!
I’m so glad somebody (not me) did this! I’ve wondered about this and thought I’d be stuck wondering for the rest of my life but you, good OP, have saved me!
You have inspired me to be my own experiment. I normally stitch with 3 strands on 14 count. I should see how much stitching I get out of a skien. So I can figure out how much I get from an arms length
This is very interesting to see!
Thank you for posting, I have always wanted to know
Thanks so much for this experiment! I consider myself an efficient/stingy stitcher and I play floss chicken A LOT 😂 This is actually quite helpful for planning of future projects!
I got 2108 out of a skein of DMC floss a while back while working on stitching [this Lavender Town pattern from PigeonCrafts](https://www.etsy.com/listing/881158181/spooky-ghost-city-pixel-cross-stitch) on 14ct aida, 2 strands. I started with the upper left corner and there was a fair bit of confetti.
If someone (me) cuts a skein into 8 equal pieces instead of 13 like you did, could someone (me) theoretically get more because less of the thread goes into finishing? And I realize this would also hugely vary if someone did a lot of confetti or traveling!
I’m not sure, because the breakage would be different. Every time you pull the floss through the end gets a little more frayed so longer threads means more breakage.
Oh, that's interesting. I've never had floss break on me.
I’ve had them break in the middle if I get a knot, but I was mostly talking about the loose end fraying from being pulled through a hundred or so times.
Really cool!
This is the content I crave. Very cool to watch. I hope you got some rest after!