Explore guide
Plan a repeated border on table linen
Reserve corners and finishing margins before fitting repeated motifs along the straight sides.
Related lessons and tools
Reserve corners and finishing margins before fitting repeated motifs along the straight sides.
Before you start
Have the chart key, chart width and height, fabric thread count and threads crossed by each stitch. Keep floss strands separate from fabric threads.
How to do it
- Fit complete embroidery border repeats — A 24 cm run fits five 4 cm motifs with 1 cm gaps between them: 5 × 4 + 4 × 1 = 24 cm. There are four internal gaps, not five.
- Plan embroidered border corners — Choose whether corners are separate motifs, mirrored turns or continuous repeats. Reserve their chart dimensions before dividing the remaining sides into repeats.
- Add finishing margins without enlarging the stitched design — A 140 × 98-stitch design at 14 count over one measures 25.4 × 17.78 cm. A chosen 5 cm margin on every side needs 35.4 × 27.78 cm of fabric.
- Test cleaning before washing embroidery — Choose cleaning from the least tolerant component, including ground, thread, markings and embellishments. Valuable or fragile historical work needs a conservator’s assessment rather than a home-wash experiment.
Try this example
A 24 cm straight run with 4 cm motifs and at least 1 cm between motifs fits five motifs with 1 cm gaps. Plan each corner separately and verify the last-to-first relationship around the whole linen.
Check your result
- Count from two independent reference points before filling a large area. Verify the outer stitched dimensions on the actual ground; include finishing fabric separately.
- Changing fabric count changes physical size, not chart complexity. Fractional stitches, mixed scales and non-square grounds need explicit chart instructions.
Sources
Border repeat planner
Fit complete motifs along a straight border and distribute the remaining space.
Before you use this tool
Measure only the straight run available to complete motifs. Choose whether gaps belong between motifs only or also at both ends.
The result gives whole motifs and the redistributed actual gap; reserve corners separately before entering the run length.
Method and limits
Formula and assumptions
The planner fits the largest whole number of motifs that preserves the minimum gap. Remaining length is shared either only between motifs or equally across both ends and every internal gap.
Worked example
Example: six 12 cm motifs fit across 100 cm with an actual gap of 5.6 cm.
Limits and rounding
Results are planning estimates from the values entered. Displayed decimals are rounded for craft use; whole materials and repeats round up where the method says so. Confirm gauge, material behavior, construction, and finished measurements before committing supplies.