Charted from a reproduction of a hand painted needlework chart originally produced on Berlin in 1860. The earlier charts were the best as they were painted by very skilled painters who understood that the charts needed to be clear and distinct. The original design would be etched on to copper plates and printed in symbols similar to those we use today. The chart was then hand painted in a thick type of gouache paint with a square ended brush. The design may be stitched on linen or Aida fabric.
Design Size
To work out the design size (or the stitched area) you need to divide the stitch count by the number of stitches to the inch (2.5cm) on the fabric. You then add enough fabric to this measurement to allow for framing etc. If a stitch count is not shown on any design, you will need to count across the design and down the design, which will give you the stitch count.
Example: 140 stitches divided by 14 (Aida) = 10 inches
If working on evenweave fabric, remember that you generally work over two fabric threads, thus 28-count linen is also 14-count when doing the sum. I suggest adding 5 inches to the design size on a project to make sure you have an adequate margin for mounting and framing. Obviously you can adapt this amount when working a small card of lid top.
Cross Stitch Guild Chart Download Store