Stitching statistics: what to track and how it helps you finish
A big piece takes months, and from day to day it can feel like it isn't moving. A few simple numbers about your stitching help you see progress, estimate a finish date honestly and choose what to work on today. You can keep them in a notebook or an app; what matters is knowing what each number tells you.
Stitches per day
The most visible number: how many stitches you did today. It jumps around — more on a day off, fewer on a workday, fewer in confetti than in a solid background. So look at the week rather than the day: a weekly total is much steadier and more honest.
Sessions
A session is one sitting: you sit down, stitch, put it away. Counting stitches per session shows your usual pace. You may find that a short evening sitting gets less done than it feels, while a long day off does more than five evenings. That makes planning easier: a small area for an evening, a tricky one for the weekend.
How much is stitched
This is the share of the chart's stitches that are stitched, in percent. It helps in the middle of a piece, when the end seems far away. But remember that percentages don't grow evenly. An area with frequent colour changes gives few percent for a lot of time — more in "How long does a cross stitch take?".
What's left per thread
How many stitches of each colour are still ahead. It helps in two ways:
- Shopping. You can see which threads are nearly used up and which colour still covers a large part of the chart, so it's time to check your supply.
- Order of work. You can finish colours with little left and free up your organiser.
Reading the numbers kindly
- Compare yourself with yourself. Another stitcher's pace says nothing about yours.
- Watch the trend, not the day. A week without stitching isn't a failure, it's a week.
- Don't chase the number. If your stitches get uneven for the sake of a daily figure, the figure isn't worth it.
Where the app fits
In Crossette the statistics gather themselves: stitches by day and by session, how much is stitched and what's left for each thread. There's nothing to write down separately — every mark is saved at once. For how a chart and its key work, see "How to read a chart".
About the author
This article was written by the Crossette team. We're building Crossette, a cross stitch tracker for iPhone and iPad. It's in development; to join the beta, email [email protected].