Retro Cross Stitch Font
Heavy, rounded capitals in a 1970s style, with thick strokes that fill a line with colour.
Small, Medium and Large
Retro 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 | 8 tall | 1 | 0.57 in (1.5 cm) | 0.44 in (1.1 cm) |
| Medium | 16 tall | 2 | 1.14 in (2.9 cm) | 0.89 in (2.3 cm) |
| Large | 24 tall | 3 | 1.71 in (4.4 cm) | 1.33 in (3.4 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 | 5 per line, 7 lines | 2 per line, 3 lines | 1 per line, 2 lines |
| 8 × 10 in | 10 per line, 11 lines | 5 per line, 5 lines | 3 per line, 3 lines |
| 11 × 14 in | 15 per line, 17 lines | 8 per line, 8 lines | 5 per line, 5 lines |
Where Retro works best
Retro suits anything with a vintage or tongue-in-cheek feel: "Groovy" in rainbow thread, a snarky quote framed with flowers, a song title for a music lover, or a retro kitchen sign. The solid strokes are ideal for the generator's rainbow and gradient colour modes, because each letter carries plenty of colour.
Like Western it has capitals and numbers only, and anything typed in lowercase is stitched in capitals.
Stitch your own words in Retro
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. Retro is included with a Standard or Pro subscription.
Open Retro in the generatorSimilar fonts
Choosing between styles? The cross stitch fonts guide compares them and covers sizing and cursive lettering.