Sprite Stitch Board!

So I knocked up a quick little project on what was sold as 18 count, and meant to fit in a particular frame. Now that its almost done I can see that it clearly won't fit, and it turns out my 18 ct is actually ~15-16 ct in one direction, and ~16-17 ct in another. Just wondering how often this happens, and whether specific brands are worse than others. It's not such an issue for small projects, but I would hate to plan a large project and then find its a few inches wider than expected.

Also does anyone know any good ways to shrink stitched fabric in one direction (it can stretch a little in the other)

ooh that sucks! I can't offer any advice, but what brand was it?

It does happen quite often, unfortunately. I have had a wide range of different measurements over the years, generally with cheaper aidas - when measured they usually end up +1/-1 on the count they are supposed to be.
The trick is really to buy good quality aidas, my personal favourites are Zweigart and Permin, DMC is ok but actually isn't as good as you'd expect it to be.

I go with Zweigart a lot, especially with the smaller sizes! But DMC is all over the place. I'm sad that it's not as good.

I have whatever Lincraft sells, as its all I can really afford, so its probably DMC. I guess in future I will stitch things up before i think about frames, or at least tack out the finished area. I would love to order some of the really nice coloured/dyed aidas, but it will have to wait till after uni.

This is one of the reasons that I generally don't even consider frame jobs until its done or else I buy big and plan on matting it.

I've said it before, but you really get what you pay for with fabric. The higher the price you pay, the better name behind it, you really do get a better fabric for it. I like Zweigart.