There are some who wonder if Diamond Painting is like cross stitching. The answer to that question is both yes and no. Diamond Painting has some similarities to cross stitching and you can use cross stitch patterns for Diamond Painting.
DMC-numbers
In both cross stitching and Diamond Painting you use the
DMC’s color coding for embroidery thread. In cross stitching it is the thread that is numbered according to DMC and in Diamond Painting it is the drills. This is what makes it possible to use cross stitch patterns for Diamond Painting. If you have a cross stitch pattern with DMC number 444 that means that both the thread and drills will be yellow. Which means that you will get the right colors for your work.
Pre-printed canvas
If you’ve ever embroidered cross stitch on a pre-printed fabric, the pre-printed Diamond Painting canvas will look pretty familiar.
Different size
The drills for Diamond Painting are either round or square. The square drills are 0.25×0.25 cm in size. The round drills are 0.28×0.28 cm in size. For cross stitching it is always crosses you sew but you can use different amount of threads to cover the fabric. Diamond Painting fabric is usually equated as 10 count aida weave, (about 3.5 squares / cm) and is the only size they come in. However, the cross stitch fabric is available in many different sizes (count); 11, 14 and 18 to name a few. The fabric is measured in how many squares are in one inch. So on a 14 count fabric it is 14 squares per inch, an 18 count has 18 squares per inch. So a fabric with 18 count has smaller squares than one on with 14. This allows you to decide for yourself how large a picture you get when sewing cross stitch.
For example, if you have a pattern with 100×100 stitches and sew it on 18 count aida it will be about 5,5×5,5 inches (14×14 cm) in size. If you instead sew it on 14 count aida it will be about 7×7 inches (18×18 cm). If you instead use Diamond Painting canvas it will be about 10×10 inches (25.4×25.4 cm) in size.
