Calligraphy Cross Stitch Font
An ornate gothic alphabet in the Old English style, with flourished capitals and pointed lowercase, and the tallest letters of the built-in fonts.
Small, Medium and Large
Calligraphy is a subscriber font, so here it is as a short sample rather than a full chart. The generator has three stitch sizes. Medium and Large are the same letters with every square doubled or tripled, so the shapes stay identical and simply stitch up bigger. The generator starts at Medium.
| Size | Letter (stitches) | Gap | Height on 14-count | Height on 18-count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 20 tall | 1 | 1.43 in (3.6 cm) | 1.11 in (2.8 cm) |
| Medium | 40 tall | 2 | 2.86 in (7.3 cm) | 2.22 in (5.6 cm) |
| Large | 60 tall | 3 | 4.29 in (10.9 cm) | 3.33 in (8.5 cm) |
How much text fits in a frame
Planning a verse, poem or recipe? These are the approximate characters per line (counting spaces) and the number of lines that fit on 14-count Aida, leaving a 1 in border all round. Allow about six characters for an average word and its space.
| Frame | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 × 7 in | 2 per line, 3 lines | 1 per line, 1 lines | 0 per line, 1 lines |
| 8 × 10 in | 5 per line, 5 lines | 2 per line, 2 lines | 1 per line, 1 lines |
| 11 × 14 in | 8 per line, 7 lines | 4 per line, 3 lines | 2 per line, 2 lines |
Where Calligraphy works best
Calligraphy is for one or two words that should look grand: a house name, "Welcome", a family motto, a wedding surname, or the title on a Christmas or medieval and fantasy piece. The flourished capitals make a strong opening letter even when the rest of the word is plain.
At 20 stitches tall on the Small size, the letters have room for real detail, but they take space: an 8 × 10 in frame holds only about five letters per line at the Small size. Keep it for headings and set any longer text beneath in Block or Serif.
Stitch your own words in Calligraphy
Type a name, date or a whole verse into the cross stitch font generator, pick a size and thread colour, and it builds the chart for you, ready to print as a PDF or open in Pattern Keeper. Calligraphy is included with a Standard or Pro subscription.
Open Calligraphy in the generatorSimilar fonts
Choosing between styles? The cross stitch fonts guide compares them and covers sizing and cursive lettering.