A photo chart big enough to hold a real portrait doesn't fit on one sheet of paper. It gets cut into pages, and every cut is a place where you can lose a row, stitch a column twice, or spend twenty minutes counting squares on two sheets held edge to edge.
Page overlap is the fix for that, and it's also the most misread feature of a multi-page chart. Here's what it is, how to use it at a join, and what it changes when you plan, print or load a chart into an app.
**Page overlap** means a few rows or columns at the edge of one page are **printed again** at the edge of the next. Pattern Keeper describes the usual marking: the repeated rows and columns are **grey or dotted**, sometimes a **light color** such as light blue. **Stitch those squares once.** On the new page, use the shaded strip only to line up with what you've already stitched, then count on from the first unshaded square. How many rows overlap **varies by chart**, and some charts have none, so check the row numbers at one join before you start.
## What overlap looks like
Take two pages that sit side by side in a chart. With overlap, the last columns on the right of page 1 appear again as the first columns on the left of page 2. The same thing happens vertically between a page and the one below it.
Pattern Keeper's help page on [how to spot overlap](https://patternkeeper.app/help/how-to-spot-overlap/) calls it "a repetition of some rows and columns from the previous page" and describes how designers mark it: grey or dotted rows and columns, or occasionally a light tint. Its [import guide](https://patternkeeper.app/help/importing-a-chart/) adds that "many multi-page charts repeat a couple of rows/columns on page breaks."
There's no standard width, and not every publisher uses overlap. Scarlet Quince's own tutorial on [navigating a multipage chart](https://www.scarletquince.com/navchart.php) describes its pages as separate sections, "the way you would cut up a pan of brownies", with a small page map in the corner of each page showing where it sits. Both approaches work. What matters is knowing which one your chart uses.
| How a chart handles page joins | What you see | How you cross the join |
|---|---|---|
| Overlap | Shaded, dotted or tinted rows and columns repeated from the neighboring page | Match the shaded strip to stitches already done, then count on |
| No overlap, with a page map | Pages that end cleanly; a diagram showing which page sits where | Count from the last stitched row or column using the page edge |
| No overlap, no map | Pages that end cleanly, with nothing to show order | Number the pages yourself before you start, using the row and column numbers |
## How to tell how big the overlap is
Before your first stitch, check one horizontal join and one vertical join.
1. **Put two neighboring pages side by side.** Page 1 and whichever page continues to its right.
2. **Count the shaded columns** on the left edge of page 2. That count is the overlap.
3. **Check the column numbers.** If page 1 ends at column 60 and page 2's first column is 59, two columns overlap. The numbers are more reliable than the shading on a pale printout.
4. **Match the stitches.** The symbols in the shaded strip should be identical to the last columns of page 1. If they aren't, you have the wrong page.
5. **Repeat for a vertical join**, page 1 and the page below it. Most charts use the same overlap in both directions, but check.
Then write the answer on page 1 in pencil: "overlap 2", or "no overlap". You'll be crossing joins for months, and you won't want to work it out again each time.
## Why overlap exists: the arithmetic of a split chart
A chart is split into pages of a fixed number of columns and rows. Overlap means each new page starts a little behind where the previous one ended, so a chart can need more pages than its width alone suggests.
The number of pages across a chart works out as:
**pages across = (chart width − overlap) ÷ (columns per page − overlap), rounded up**
Here it is for a chart 200 stitches wide and 150 stitches tall, on an example layout that holds 60 columns and 80 rows per page. These are illustrations of the formula, not the layout of any particular chart:
| Overlap | Pages across | Pages down | Chart pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | 200 ÷ 60 = 3.3, so 4 | 150 ÷ 80 = 1.9, so 2 | 8 |
| 2 rows and columns | 198 ÷ 58 = 3.4, so 4 | 148 ÷ 78 = 1.9, so 2 | 8 |
| 5 rows and columns | 195 ÷ 55 = 3.5, so 4 | 145 ÷ 75 = 1.9, so 2 | 8 |
At this size the overlap is free. It only adds a page when the chart is just under a page boundary. A chart 232 stitches wide gives 232 ÷ 60 = 3.9, so 4 pages across with no overlap; 230 ÷ 58 = 4.0, still 4 with an overlap of 2; and 227 ÷ 55 = 4.1, so 5 with an overlap of 5. A narrow overlap keeps the landmark without costing much paper.
For a full-coverage piece, where every square is stitched, the pages add up fast. [Full coverage cross stitch](/blog/full-coverage-cross-stitch) covers what that commitment means in hours and floss.
## Crossing a page join, step by step
This is the routine that stops a shifted row. It works whether you stitch in rows, in 10 by 10 blocks, or by color.
1. **Finish the stitches that belong to the old page** up to its edge, including the squares that are shaded on the next page.
2. **Mark the overlap on the new page** before you stitch from it. A light pencil line along the inside edge of the shaded strip is enough.
3. **Find a distinctive stitch in the strip**: an isolated dark square, a color change, an edge of the subject. Locate the same stitch on your fabric.
4. **Count from that landmark to the first unshaded square**, and start there.
5. **Check against a heavy grid line.** Charts break the grid into blocks with heavier lines, which DMC's chart guide says are there to [make it easier to count blocks of stitches](https://www.dmc.com/US/en/technique-cross-stitch-read-chart). A heavy line on the new page should continue a line you've already stitched along.
6. **Stitch a few squares, then stop and compare** the fabric with both pages before committing to a long row.
If you've gridded your fabric with a removable thread in blocks that match the chart's heavy lines, steps 4 and 5 take seconds. [Gridding cross stitch fabric](/blog/gridding-cross-stitch-fabric) shows how to set that up.
Counting the shaded strip as new stitches. If the overlap is two columns and you stitch them again from page 2, everything to the right of the join sits two squares too far over, and you usually find out only when a feature doesn't meet its other half. Unpicking back to the join is the only fix.
## Charts without overlap
A chart without overlap isn't a bad chart; it just asks more of you at the join.
- **Use the row and column numbers.** If page 1 ends at column 60, page 2 starts at column 61. Write the next number in pencil at the edge if the chart doesn't print one on every page.
- **Use the page map** if there is one, to confirm which page continues where.
- **Mark the last stitched column** on the old page with a highlighter, and the first column on the new page, so the handover is visible on paper.
- **Grid the fabric.** It matters more without overlap, because the stitches themselves give you no landmark.
## Taping pages together
Some stitchers join the pages into one large sheet. That's fine, with one rule: **the overlap must end up hidden, not shown twice.**
Fold or trim one page so its shaded strip slides underneath the matching squares of its neighbor, then check that the heavy grid lines run straight across the join. If you tape pages edge to edge with the overlap visible on both, the joined sheet contains repeated columns, and you'll count them twice.
A large taped chart is also harder to handle and mark than separate pages. Before joining, think about how you'll [mark off a cross stitch chart](/blog/mark-off-cross-stitch-chart) as you go: highlighter on a loose page is easier than on a poster.
## Overlap and printing
Overlap only works if the pages print at their true scale. If your printer shrinks each page to fit its margins, the grid on each sheet is slightly smaller, which is harmless on one page but makes taped pages drift out of line over several joins.
- **Print at actual size** (often called 100% or "no scaling"), not "fit to page".
- **Print one page first** and check that the row numbers and the edge of the grid aren't cut off.
- **Use the paper size the chart was laid out for** where you can; the wrong size can crop the edge of a page, which is exactly where the overlap sits.
[How to print a cross stitch pattern](/blog/print-cross-stitch-pattern) covers printer settings, paper and when a print shop is worth it.
## Overlap in chart apps
On a tablet, overlap works the other way round: the app needs to take it out.
Pattern Keeper lays pages next to one another into one continuous chart, so, in its own words, the overlap "is not needed and should not be displayed". During import, its [import guide](https://patternkeeper.app/help/importing-a-chart/) says it asks whether the chart uses an overlap and, if so, "the size and placement of the overlap", because it's "important that the app knows how many rows/columns are repeated so you don't end up with duplicated stitches."
So the same check you did on paper is the answer the app needs. Count the overlap at one join before you import. If the app's preview of the whole chart looks stretched or doubled somewhere, the overlap setting is the first thing to change. [Pattern Keeper compatible patterns](/blog/pattern-keeper-compatible-patterns) covers the rest of what the app needs from a PDF, and it runs on Android only as of September 2026.
## Overlap and your stitch count
Overlap changes how many squares are printed, not how many you stitch. When you total a chart's stitches to estimate floss or time, count from the chart's overall size, not by adding up the pages.
For a 200 × 150 chart, the stitch count is 200 × 150 = 30,000 squares, whatever the overlap. Adding up eight pages that each show 60 × 80 squares would give 38,400, because the pages at the right and bottom edges are only partly filled and the joins are counted twice.
That makes pages a useful milestone but a poor unit of work. A page in the middle of a portrait can be solid stitching; a page at the edge can be half empty. If you track time by page, track the stitches on it too. Your stitching rate, measured over a timed 10 by 10 block, turns 30,000 stitches into hours: at 300 stitches an hour that's 30,000 ÷ 300 = 100 hours, and at 150 an hour it's 200 hours. Those rates are examples for the arithmetic; use your own.
## Setting up a big chart before you start
- **Check the overlap at one join in each direction**, and write it on page 1.
- **Number the pages in pencil** in the order you'll stitch them, if the chart doesn't show a map.
- **Find the center** on the chart and the fabric. The Cross Stitch Guild notes that stitchers traditionally [start from the middle of the chart and the middle of the fabric](https://www.thecrossstitchguild.com/cross-stitch-basics/cross-stitch-chart-and-key-basics.aspx) so the design is centered when it's framed. On a split chart, the center is often near a page join, so the first join comes early.
- **Keep a working copy.** Mark up a printout and keep the PDF clean, so a smudged page can be reprinted.
New to charts altogether? [How to read a cross stitch pattern](/blog/how-to-read-a-cross-stitch-pattern) explains symbols, keys and grid lines before you deal with pages. When your chart is ready, [turn your photo into a pattern](/#start) and run the overlap check on the first join.
## Frequently asked questions
### What is page overlap in a cross stitch pattern?
It is a strip of rows or columns printed on two neighboring pages of a chart. The edge of one page is repeated at the edge of the next, usually shaded grey, dotted or tinted, so you can line the pages up and find your place at the join. The repeated squares are stitched once, not twice.
### Do I stitch the overlap rows twice?
No. The overlap shows stitches that belong to the previous page, repeated only as a landmark. Stitch them from one page, then on the next page use them to confirm you are in the right place and start counting from the first square after the shaded strip. Stitching them again shifts everything beyond the join.
### How many rows do cross stitch patterns overlap?
It varies by designer and software, so check the chart itself. Pattern Keeper's import guide says many multi-page charts repeat a couple of rows or columns, and some charts use no overlap at all. Count the shaded squares at one join, and compare the row numbers at the bottom of one page with the top of the next.
### How do I know if my chart has overlap?
Look at the edges of two neighboring pages. Pattern Keeper says overlap is usually shown as grey or dotted rows and columns, sometimes in a light color such as light blue. If the first row or column number on a page repeats a number from the previous page, or the edge stitches match exactly, the pages overlap.
### Does Pattern Keeper need to know about overlap?
Yes. Pattern Keeper lays pages next to each other, so it has to remove the repeated rows. During import it asks whether the chart uses overlap and how big it is, and its help pages warn that getting this wrong leaves you with duplicated stitches in the app's view of the chart.
### Should I tape the pages of a large chart together?
You can, as long as the overlap is hidden rather than shown twice. Fold or trim one page so its shaded strip sits underneath the matching squares of the neighbor, then check that a heavy grid line runs straight across the join. Many stitchers keep pages loose instead and move a ruler or magnet board along.
## Sources
- [Pattern Keeper — How to spot overlap (grey, dotted or light-colored rows and columns; not displayed in the app)](https://patternkeeper.app/help/how-to-spot-overlap/)
- [Pattern Keeper — Importing a chart (overlap size and placement, duplicated stitches)](https://patternkeeper.app/help/importing-a-chart/)
- [Scarlet Quince — Tutorial: navigating a multipage chart (pages as separate sections, page map)](https://www.scarletquince.com/navchart.php)
- [DMC — How to read a cross stitch chart (larger grid lines for counting blocks)](https://www.dmc.com/US/en/technique-cross-stitch-read-chart)
- [The Cross Stitch Guild — Cross stitch chart and key basics (start from the middle)](https://www.thecrossstitchguild.com/cross-stitch-basics/cross-stitch-chart-and-key-basics.aspx)