cross stitchMAKERA LITTLE PATIENCE. A PATTERN THAT’S YOURS.
Create your own cross stitch patterns from a photo or a blank grid. Customize stitches, match DMC thread colors, and download printable charts—all in your browser.
No sign-up. Your photos stay in your browser.
From the first stitch
to the final chart.
FROM IDEA TO NEEDLE
Start small. Try a few colors. You can always undo.
Upload an image or create a new cross stitch chart from scratch. Choose the stitch count to suit your project.
Choose DMC thread colors, adjust individual stitches, and replace colors across your design. Pencil, eraser and fill keep editing simple.
Download a printable PDF with stitch symbols, a DMC color key and numbered chart pages. Keep a PNG for a quick preview.
START WITH AN EMPTY GRID
No photo needed. This two-color motif starts on a 20 × 20 grid; the empty squares stay unstitched.
To inspect or edit this example, download it, then choose Open project in the editor. Save your current project first; opening another project replaces it.
For a first hand-drawn motif, try 20 × 20 to 40 × 40 stitches. A fully filled 40 × 40 grid has four times as many stitches as a 20 × 20 grid. Empty squares do not add stitches.
More squares give you room for detail, but also make the design larger on the same fabric. Check the finished size and fabric margins before drawing.
Try 2–6 colors for a simple icon or border. Choose shades you can tell apart, and add another only when it makes a detail clearer. Fewer colors mean fewer threads to manage, not necessarily fewer stitches.
Working from a photo instead? See the photo conversion tool for image settings, cropping and cleanup.
Look for accidental single stitches, nearly identical colors and details that disappear when you zoom out. Compare the DMC key with physical thread; screen colors are approximate.
This editor supports full cross stitches, grids up to 300 × 300 and up to 40 colors. It does not support fractional stitches or backstitch. Keep designs that need those stitches for another tool.
THE SAME PHOTO, DIFFERENT CHOICES
Both results use the same 80 × 80-stitch grid, the whole image and dithering turned off. Only the color limit changes.
A clear subject with a plain background. The black background will be stitched too; this tool does not remove it automatically.
Broader color areas, with less variation in the clouds and land. A smaller palette still needs stitch-by-stitch review.
Download this project
More shades in the clouds and land, but more threads to manage. The 20-color limit uses 16 thread colors here: some shades are close enough to share a DMC color.
Download this projectPhoto: NASA / Apollo 17 Blue Marble.
To edit a sample, download its project file, then choose Open project in the pattern studio. Your current pattern is not replaced by downloading it.
LOOK INSIDE THE DOWNLOAD
The 16-color Earth sample PDF includes 6 A4 pages: one overview, one DMC thread key and four numbered chart pages.
Free · 6 pages · A4 · no sign-up
Print at 100% / actual size for the intended chart scale. The printed squares are enlarged reading aids, not the size of the stitches on your fabric. Tap either page to inspect the full-size preview.
BEFORE YOU START STITCHING
For stitching over one square on Aida, divide the stitch count by the fabric count to get inches. An 80 × 80 pattern on 14-count Aida measures about 5.71 × 5.71 inches (14.51 × 14.51 cm), before margins.
Allow extra fabric on every side for your hoop, finishing or framing. If you stitch over two threads on evenweave, use half the fabric count for the size calculation.
Use the cross stitch fabric calculator to check your finished size and add margins before cutting fabric.
The thread key counts stitches in each DMC color. It does not calculate skeins or thread length: fabric count, strands, stitching method and waste all affect how much you need.
Screen colors are approximate. Check physical thread colors before buying, and review scattered single stitches before you begin.
Your last pattern is saved automatically in this browser when your browser settings allow it. Your original photo and the settings you used to turn it into a pattern are not saved, so keep a separate copy of your photo.
To continue editing later or on another device, choose Save project file, then use Open project to open it again. Keep this file as well as your PDF or PNG, which are for printing or viewing. Clearing browser data can erase your saved pattern.
BEFORE YOU THREAD THE NEEDLE
New to making charts? The conversion examples show what a color limit changes. Check the size and saving notes before starting a project.
Yes. Blank grids, photo conversion, DMC thread matching, stitch editing, and PDF and PNG downloads are free. No account or payment is needed. Patterns can be up to 300 × 300 stitches with up to 40 colors.
Create a blank grid with your preferred width and height, then choose a DMC color and draw with the pencil. Use the eraser and fill tools to refine your design. You can also start from a photo and edit the converted result.
Yes. Choose a PNG, JPG or WebP photo, set the pattern width and maximum number of colors, and generate your pattern. The original aspect ratio is kept unless you choose a center square crop. Fewer colors and dithering turned off can make the result easier to stitch.
Yes. Your photo’s colors are matched to DMC thread colors, and each color in your chart includes its DMC code. You can choose or replace colors as you edit. Screen colors are approximate: compare them with physical thread before starting your project.
Yes. Download a PDF with a pattern overview, stitch dimensions, a symbol key, DMC codes, stitch counts and numbered chart pages. The black-and-white symbol charts have bold lines every 10 stitches and a small page map to help you follow the chart. You can also download a PNG preview or a project file to edit later.
A few colors. A little time.
Something only you could make.