Cross stitch guide
Cross stitch software and apps
Cross stitch software does four jobs: it gives you a grid to draw on, turns a picture into a chart, sets words in stitches, and prints the result with symbols and a thread key. The four free tools on this site do those jobs in a web browser, with nothing to download and no account.
On this page 7 parts
What a pattern program does
- A grid to draw on. One square is one stitch. You fill squares with thread colors, and the program keeps count.
- Picture conversion. You give it a photo or a drawing, the size in stitches and the number of colors, and it works out a chart.
- Thread matching. Each color is matched to a thread number, so the chart comes with a shopping list.
- A printable chart. Symbols in the squares, a key, the finished size and page numbers.
The four free tools here
| Tool | What you do | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern maker | Draw a chart square by square, 8 to 160 squares each way | A PDF chart with symbols, a thread key and the fabric size to cut |
| Photo to pattern | Choose a JPG, PNG or WebP picture, set the size and the most colors | A preview in thread colors and a PDF chart with DMC numbers |
| Text generator | Type a name or a saying and pick one of five letterings | A chart of the words, sized to fit, as a PDF |
| Graph paper | Pick 10 to 32 squares to the inch, on Letter or A4 | A blank grid to print and draw on by hand |
All four are free and ask for no account. None is a program you install: each is a page of this site.
The pattern maker has tools to draw, erase, fill, pick up a color, draw straight lines and boxes, and select a group of stitches to move, mirror or turn. It adds lettering in a block alphabet and resizes or crops the canvas without losing a stitch. Threads come from a list of 388 DMC numbers, found by number or by color name. A saved chart has a "Stitch along" mode for marking off stitches as you make them.
The photo converter reads the picture on your own device. The picture is not uploaded. It can crop to a shape, leave a plain background as bare fabric, and tidy stray single stitches. A chart of up to 160 stitches a side and 24 colors can be sent on to the pattern maker to edit by hand.
The text generator offers five letterings, Block, Serif, Bold, Narrow and Typewriter, in two sizes, on 14, 16 or 18 count. Its chart opens in the pattern maker too.
The graph paper prints at true scale, so a design drawn on 14 squares to the inch (2.54 cm) comes out the size it will stitch on 14 count.
On a Windows PC, a Mac, Linux or a Chromebook
There is no separate version for each kind of computer and nothing to install. Open the tool's page in your web browser. The pattern maker and the photo converter need JavaScript turned on. The graph paper and the text generator also make their PDF with JavaScript off.
With a mouse and keyboard:
- In the pattern maker, drag to draw. Single keys change the tool: B draws, E erases, F fills, L is a line, R a box, I picks a thread, S selects, T is lettering and H moves the chart. Ctrl+Z undoes, or Cmd+Z on a Mac.
- In the photo converter, choose a picture from your files, drop it on the page, or paste it.
- A downloaded PDF opens in the browser or a PDF reader and prints on Letter or A4.
On a tablet or a phone
The same pages work with touch. There is no app to get from an app store: open the page in the phone's or tablet's browser.
- In the pattern maker, one finger uses the tool and two fingers move and zoom the chart. On a phone the threads and tools sit along the bottom of the screen, and panels such as lettering open over the lower part of the chart.
- In the photo converter, "Choose a photo" opens a picture kept on the phone. JPG, PNG and WebP pictures are read just as a phone or a camera saved them.
- "Stitch along" has a setting to keep the screen on while you stitch, in browsers that allow it.
What is kept, and where
A chart you are drawing is a draft kept in that browser, and it comes back when you return. Saved charts belong to that one browser too: there are no accounts. To move a chart to another device, download its chart file from the pattern maker and open it there. A downloaded PDF is yours to keep anywhere.
Common questions
Do I need to download anything? No. The tools run in the browser. What you download is the finished PDF.
Can I use my own photo? Yes, and it stays on your device. Use pictures you took or made, or have permission to use.
Which thread numbers do the charts use? DMC six-strand cotton numbers. Colors on a screen are close matches, so check them against real thread. The DMC thread checklist keeps a list of the colors you own.
Where to go next
How to make a cross stitch pattern walks through each way of making a chart, step by step. To see how big a design will be on your fabric, use the fabric calculator.