Attempting first non-kit project

[mrssstyle]

I've been cross-stitching for years, but I've always used kits. I've recently purchased a collection of airplane patterns, and I'll be attempting my first project without a kit. I'm looking forward to assembling everything I need, but I had no idea there were so many options for fabric and floss. I think I've settled the fabric issue, but my biggest question (for now) is how do you know how much floss of each color to buy?

Thanks!

[NeedleAndFork]

This is the chart I usually use...

http://home.comcast.net/~kathydyer/nf_x ... #floss_amt" target="_blank

Of course it means you need to know how many stitches there are per color. A lot of the larger patterns like HAED, Golden Kite, etc give stitch counts for this reason. If there are no stitch counts, then you're likely just going to have to make your best guess. If that's the case, maybe you could provide us with the name of the chart or a link to a photo of the piece, along with what fabric you're using and some of us might be able to help with the guess work.