I made a pattern at www.myphotostitch.com (awesome website!) that uses 50 DMC colors and 6 panels of cloth (I believe Aida?). It's been awhile since I made the pattern, and I have recently found it in my email, and wanted to take a chance and go for my first "solo" piece without any kind of kit. Except for the DMC colors and print of the pattern, no other details about the sizing are available. It's a rather large pattern, but it does list how many stitches each color will use. I counted one panel and it was 50 stitches across and 40 stitches up and down. I'm guessing all six panels are the same as far as the size cloth to be used, but the right edge of the entire piece (if the panels were joined into one piece) is blank, as is the bottom edge. As far as the colors, an example is DMC 154 will use 188 stitches, according to the pattern legend/index. Is there a way to configure, based on the number of stitches, approximately how much thread I will need to purchase? I know when you purchase threads at different times, you run the risk of the batch not matching, so I'd like to try and purchase them all at once. Also, how do I connect the panels to make one seamless piece? Finally, it is my understanding that when doing cross stitch, you start from the inside of the piece outward. Is this true? If so, do I connect the panels beforehand, or do I work on the panels individually and then connect them? If I connect them later on, do I start from the middle of each panel individually? If I connect the panels beforehand, do I start from the center of the entirety of the piece? I'm sorry for so many questions, but this is a relatively new concept for me. Thanks!