StitchCraft - Free cross stitch pattern maker

Yes. Uploading photos, tuning the DMC palette, smoothing the chart, and exporting PDF or PNG files are unlimited and cost nothing — no account, no card, no trial clock. Credits only ever pay for the optional AI pass, and that price is shown before you run it.

Upload any photo — a pet, a portrait, a cottage, a bouquet. Choose how many stitches wide the chart should be, cap the DMC colors you are willing to buy, and drag the smoothing slider until the confetti is gone. When the preview looks right, export the print-ready PDF; most first charts take under two minutes from photo to paper.

Every cell in your chart is compared against all 454 authentic DMC stranded cotton shades using Delta-E color distance in CIELAB space — the perceptual model that matches how your eye actually sees color, not raw RGB distance. The finished chart lists each thread’s DMC code alongside a skein estimate, so the shopping list is ready before you are.

Yes. Stitchability scoring flags isolated single stitches — the confetti that makes charts slow and miserable to sew — and the noise-reduction filter merges them into surrounding color blocks automatically. The smoothing slider keeps you in charge: lower settings preserve detail for dense subjects, higher settings give the clean, blocky look that stitches up fastest.

Start with direct conversion whenever the photo has crisp light and a plain background — it is free, unlimited, and faithful to the original. Reach for the AI pass when soft gradients or clutter create more color changes than you want to sew: one redraw turns those textures into solid blocks that chart cleanly, usually at half the floss count.

Yes. Every chart you export carries full commercial rights — sell the finished pieces, sell the printed or PDF pattern kits, no separate licence and no revenue share. You also keep all rights to your source photos.

Each export is a print-ready PDF with paged symbol charts, a color key pairing every symbol with its DMC code and skein estimate, and the finished size worked out for your Aida count. A PNG of the full chart comes with it, which is handy if you stitch from a tablet propped near the hoop.

No. Conversion runs entirely in your browser tab, and the direct route never uploads your photo — it is charted on your own device. There is nothing to install, it behaves the same on Windows, macOS, Linux and tablets, and an account only becomes relevant if you want the optional AI pass.

Even light, one clear subject, and a background that does not compete with it. Sharp outlines survive the grid far better than soft gradients, and eye-level shots chart more naturally than extreme close-ups. If your only photo is busy or dim, one optional AI pass can restage it — flatter light, calmer background — before converting.