Cross-stitch temperature tracker
Pick your town and year. The tracker pulls in real daily temperatures, matches each range to a DMC floss, draws your chart and tells you how many skeins to buy.
Updated
Choose a place to load its daily temperatures.
Colour key
| Colour | Temperature | DMC floss | Days | Skeins | Remove |
|---|
Fabric and square size (for the skeins column)
Your chart
Months run across and days run down. Each square is one day; the symbols match the key for printing in black and white.
Day-by-day tracker
Temperatures: NASA POWER (NASA Langley Research Center POWER Project, funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program). Place search © OpenStreetMap contributors.Floss colours on screen are approximate, so go by the DMC number. Your trackers are saved in this browser only.
How to stitch a temperature tracker
- Choose your place and year. Most people start on 1 January, but any year from 1981 works: a birth or wedding year makes a lovely gift.
- Pick a floss palette. The tracker suggests temperature ranges that suit your town and a DMC floss for each. Swap any floss for one you already have.
- Set the square size and fabric. 3 × 3 stitches per day on 14-count Aida is a good start. Bigger squares are quicker to see; smaller ones leave room for a border.
- Print the chart and key. Each colour has a symbol too, so the chart still reads if you print it in black and white.
- Stitch one square a day. Tick it off in the tracker, and the next day’s floss is waiting for you.
Tips
- Mark the grid first. Run a line of tacking stitches every 10 squares, or use a water-soluble pen, so you don’t lose your place in July.
- Leave the gap between months unstitched, or fill it with a neutral such as DMC 762 or ecru, so each month stands out.
- Use two strands on 14-count and three on 11-count for full coverage.
Common questions
What is a cross-stitch temperature tracker?
A year-long stitch-along where you fill one small square for each day, in a floss colour that shows that day’s temperature. Months run across and days run down, so by December you have a picture of your year’s weather that fits in a frame.
How big is a temperature tracker?
With 3 × 3 stitches per day and a one-stitch gap between months, the chart is 47 × 93 stitches: about 3.4 × 6.6 in (9 × 17 cm) on 14-count Aida. Allow 3 in (7.5 cm) of fabric on every side for framing, plus space if you want to stitch a title and key.
How much floss do I need?
Less than you might think. One 8 m skein of DMC stranded cotton covers roughly 1,800 full crosses on 14-count using two strands. The tracker works out skeins for each colour from your town’s temperatures, with 20% extra for starting and finishing threads. Most colours need just one skein.
Where do the temperatures come from?
From NASA’s POWER project, which publishes daily temperatures for every place on Earth from 1981 onwards. Figures are averaged over an area about 50 km across, so they can differ by a degree or two from your local weather station. You can type in your own reading for any day.
Can I pick my own floss colours?
Yes. Choose a palette to start, then change any band to any DMC colour in the list. The chart and the floss list update straight away. Screen colours are approximate, so check the number on each skein’s label.
Is my tracker saved?
Yes, in this browser on this device. The share link copies your plan (place, year and flosses) but not the squares you have ticked off.