Cross stitch alphabet
One alphabet, drawn to a single cap height and stroke weight, so letters sit level when you spell a name instead of wandering up and down.
How do I stitch a name from an alphabet chart?
Count the width of every letter, add one blank square between letters and three between words, then centre that total on your fabric before you start. Because every capital here shares one cap height and one baseline, the finished name sits level, which is exactly where mixed alphabets go wrong.
How to read one of these charts
- One square is one full cross stitch, one bead or one pixel. The symbol in the square tells you which colour goes there.
- The heavy lines every ten squares are counting lines. Count in tens and a miscount shows up in the same row it happened.
- The small marks on the top and left edges mark the centre of the design, which is where most people start.
- The key under the chart lists every symbol with its colour, our thread code and how many squares of it the design uses.
One alphabet, not twenty six drawings
Most free letter charts are collected from different sources, which is why a name stitched from them comes out with letters of different heights and weights. This alphabet is drawn as one family: every capital sits on the same baseline, uses the same cap height, the same two square stroke and the same soft shadow, so any combination of letters looks intentional.
Two letters break the width, and both breaks are standard in real lettering: M and W are wider than the rest so their inner angles stay open, and Q is the only letter that drops below the baseline. Everything else fits the same 12 square canvas.
Planning a name before you stitch it
Write out the letters, add up their widths, then add one square between letters and three between words. Compare that total with the width of your fabric in squares, and mark the centre of the line before the first stitch goes in. Working outwards from the middle of the word, rather than left to right, keeps a long name centred.
What to use it on
Names on a hoop, initials in the corner of a larger piece, a date under a sampler, a school label, a monogram on a bag. The letters are drawn to the same weight as the designs on the cross stitch patterns page, so a name and a motif can share one piece without clashing. If you want something small to put the letters on first, the beginner patterns are the fastest route. Everything is free to print and use under the plain-language license.
How to use these cross stitch charts
- Download the PDF and print it at 100 per cent on A4 or Letter paper. Black and white at normal quality is enough.
- Find the centre of your fabric and the centre marks on the chart, then work outwards colour by colour.
- The finished size printed on each pattern is measured on 14 count aida. Finer fabric makes the same chart smaller, not shorter.
More patterns
Cross stitch
Free cross stitch patterns
The full set of counted charts: flowers, fruit, birds, borders and small samplers.
Beginner cross stitch patterns
Small two to four colour charts that finish in an evening, for a first project.