figuring out % of stitched

[coffee_freak]

Ok..we all know 100 stitches per grid square. assuming every stitch is stitched you can perfect count % of stitched area and exact stitches.

but say, my upcoming wip fairy i'll be doing, not every space is stitched..
how on earth do you easily count stitches stitched and % complete?
they say stitch count is like 162 x 210 but it doesn't really have that many stitches...that's just how tall and wide it will be.

I'm very bad at math but there has to be a easy way, right?

I more than likely will start from middle of fabric.

[Kute Kitty]

You could go by how many 10 x 10 blocks you've finished, it won't be absolutely accurate but it'll be close (depending on the chart that is). So, you'll have about 336 10 x 10 blocks to do total (16 x 21), so when you've done your first 10 blocks you'll be about 2.9% of the way in (10 divided by 336 multiplied by 100). It's approximate, but other than counting every individual stitch in the pattern and then every single stitch that you do I can't think of an accurate way. In other words, I can't think of an accurate way that wouldn't drive you batty in the process!

[coffee_freak]

that makes sense....but there's math involved..lol..I'll give it a go I think w/ my next project
ty!

[Mabel Figworthy]

I'm sorry to be a wet blanket but I don't think there is an easy way to calculate this, simply because if the design does not have 100% coverage there is no way a formula can say how many stitches have been done because every design is different, and even within the design there may be blocks of 10x10 which are fully stitched (say, in the middle of the fairy) while others have only a handful of stitches (say, a wing tip). So I'm afraid the only completely accurate way is first to count all the stitches in the design, and then count the number of stitches you do every session...

[freelady]

and I've still not worked out why anyone would bother....is there a benefit from this that I'm not aware of for doing this? Please don't think I'm being critical or sarky, I'm not. I really would like to know.

[coffee_freak]

I'm w/ Mabel..I knew I'd have to count every stitch..

and why bother? I have no idea..lol.. I never have in 15+ years of stitching..lol..I just see so many do it, the little progress bars in their signatures..thought it would be fun..something new..

[nikecam]

i like knowing the percentage worked...spurs me on. because my renoir is 100% stitched and i go across a full line across all four pages at a time rather than squares, i have worked the % out to 4% for every 10 lines that i do. i agree with the inaccurate method of just assuming the whole grid is stitched and figuring your % from that. and really, the blank space is part of the overall design so maybe it's not really that inaccurate if you think of it as "how much work has been done" vs actualy stitching!

[Thursday Next]

I will readily admit that my progress bar is a bit "cheaty", in that the design I'm doing has plenty of "white space". I simply took the total dimensions (74h x 137w) to determine my total stitches, and each time I finish a block, whether or not it was full of stitching (due to white space), I consider myself having completed 100 stitches.

For me, getting to see my progress visually is fun and helps encourage me along (not that you guys aren't nearly good enough) - plus I'm a numbers gal, auditor by trade, so to have that concrete evidence of how far I've gone.....whether or not there was stitching involved in every block, each block did need to get "finished" to complete my whole area...

C_F, perhaps my rambling helped a bit?? Wouldn't be surprised if it was just for the sake of listening to myself talk tho

[coffee_freak]

i see your reasoning..lol

i was thinking..even empty squares are part of the design..sorta..so if you've stitched all the way across left to right, even the empty squares are part of the completed line.

i think I'll do like 1 row out of x rows complete sorta ticker...not actual stitch count..

[Rose]

We all have our little ways to encourage our stitching anf those that can work out a % are just that much better for it. If I do percentages it is not very mathmatical. I look at what I have stitched then I look at the completed pattern and make a rough guess. I usually just go by how many pages/sections there are and how many I have completed.

[Mabel Figworthy]

and don't forget the whole count thing goes skewiff if there's lots of backstitch to do after all the cross stitching...

[Serinde]

... and life's too short?

[agi]

Serinde!

[nettie]

I recently worked out the percentage on my kittens but only because it didn't look like I was anywhere near halfway through. I am glad I did as I was just over halfway and it made me feel good! I wouldn't do it for every project though it was time consuming enough and this one is 100% stitched!

[kerbear879]

I only keep track because if I didn't I probably would feel like I never got anything done! Plus I am totally in awe at how many stitches I've done and others have done! Luckily with the HAED's it's pretty easy to figure out since the whole thing is stitched and no backstitch. Chessie is more or less a guess as I am not totally sure how many stitches I've done. Catch a Falling Star is pretty accurate since I am only stitching one color and I stitch each row across a whole page at one time.

[coffee_freak]

yeah i really think i won't bother..lol