Hi there.

There is more than one count for a fabric they call it Aida cloth. There is the 16 18 and if you want there is linen that fit that too. But for all of these the picture will be smaller han the 14. Have fun

You can use practically any fabric you like to stitch these designs. You choose depending on the finished size you would like and the ease of stitching. That's the eyesight factor!

If you use a 16 or 18 count Aida....divide the stitch count 172 x 248 by the count of your fabric to get the finished design size.

If you use linen..it will likely be stitched over two threads...so a 28 count would be the same size as a 14 count Aida. Divide your count by two then do the same calculation as for Aida.

These are also nice done on an evenweave like Lugana, usually over two threads like linen.

Not sure if you meant finer as in a softer fabric, or as in a smaller count. Either way it'a a nice picture and will look beautiful when you're done.

Thanks for your quick response. I probably meant using linen, but if it would change the size, then I'd stick to the recommended fabric as pictured. Thanks again.

Hi,
Like Miss Kitty said, if you use a 28 count linen fabric the finished pattern will be the same size as if you did it on the 14-count aida. The ONLY difference would be that on 14-count you would stitch over 1 square to do your X's, but on 28-count fabric you would stitch over 2 squares.
Many stitchers use white, off-white, or cream colored linens but you can use different color lines if you like.
To see if you would like to work on the higher count linens, I would suggest you buy a small piece of it and practice stitching over 2 first; you might consider a very simple design with 1-3 colors only and that will give you experience of working with the linen without causing frustration. Hope this helps!

depending on the stitching design ... the faces would probably look great on 28 ct linen ... it is easier to do 1/4 & 3/4 stitches on linen over 2 threads

Looks like a wall is behind the Madonna which would make this a solidly stitched picture. It would be nice without it May I suggest an aida (14 count) or linen (28 count) that has been dyed to a two-tone effect. This would give it dimension without all that boring background stitching. Perhaps a gold dyed or maybe a pink dyed cloth? You could always add the wall as an afterthought if you don't like the dyed look. Good luck. It will be magnificent.

Thanks so much for all your feedback! I have done both 14 ct. and linen fabric, but that was more than 25 years ago! The one on linen fabric (Praying Hands with caption: "More things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of.) looked more defined. So, I think I prefer to do this pattern in 28 ct. linen fabric. Please help in changing my cart order to 28 count linen fabric in cream color. Thanks again!