Aida cloth

What Aida is

Aida is woven so that its threads sit in small bundles. The bundles cross to make a grid of square blocks, and a hole is left at the corner of every block. The needle goes through the holes.

One block of the cloth is one square of the chart. To make a cross you bring the needle up at one corner of a block and down at the corner opposite, then cross it the other way.

Most Aida is cotton. Some is a blend, and some is made of linen threads. The cloth is credited to the German weaving firm Zweigart, which made it for cross stitch more than a century ago.

Aida counts

The count is the number of blocks, and so of stitches, to one inch (2.54 cm). Aida is commonly made from 6 count to 20 count. 14 count is the most common, and 11, 16 and 18 count are easy to find too. The table gives the usual needle and strands of six-strand cotton for each. Published charts differ by one needle size or one strand at the finer counts: needle sizes and how many strands say where.

Aida counts at a glance

How to choose a count

• Start with 14 count. It is the most common count, and easy to find.
• Go lower to see better. 11 count has larger squares. It suits children, and anyone who finds 14 count a strain to see.
• Go higher for a finer look. 16 count makes the stitches a little smaller. 18 count makes them small and close, and asks for good light.
• Check the size first. The same design is larger on a low count and smaller on a high one.

Each common count has a guide with its own size chart: 11 count, 14 count, 16 count and 18 count.

How stiff it is, and why

Aida is finished with starch, which makes it stiff. The stiffness is useful: the cloth holds its shape, and many people stitch it in the hand with no hoop at all.

How stiff it is varies from one maker to the next. Some Aida is very stiff and some is soft and easy to bend. Washing takes the starch out, so a piece that feels too stiff softens once it has been wet. Preparing fabric says how.

Colors and widths

White and cream are the traditional colors. Aida is also made in black, grays, tans and browns, pastels and bright colors. Cross stitch fabric colors explains what the color of the cloth does to a design.

It is sold in pre-cut pieces and cut from the bolt, by the yard or meter or a part of one. Bolts come in several widths. A narrow strip of Aida with finished edges is sold too: see Aida band. The fabric sizes guide lists the usual cuts.

What Aida is less good at

• Fractional stitches. A quarter or three-quarter stitch ends in the middle of a square. On Aida there is no hole there, so the needle has to pierce the block. A sharp needle helps. A chart with many fractional stitches is easier on evenweave or linen.
• Bare background. Where the cloth is left unstitched, the grid of blocks shows. If you want a smoother ground, look at linen or evenweave, both described on the fabric page.

Every cross stitch pattern on this site is charted in full crosses only, so none of them needs a fractional stitch.

Questions people ask

How do you say Aida? Two ways are in use: "AY-da", and "eye-EE-da" like the opera. Both are understood.

Does Aida fray? Yes, at a cut edge, though less than evenweave or linen. Bind the edges before a long project.

Do I need a hoop? Not always. Aida is stiff enough to hold in the hand. Many stitchers still like a hoop because it keeps the cloth flat.

Is Aida only for beginners? No. Many experienced stitchers prefer it.

Next

Pick a design from the Easy patterns, then work out the piece to cut. The fabric calculator, opened on 100 by 100 stitches on 14 count Aida, gives the stitched size and the cloth to buy.