Cross stitch · from photo to pattern
Turn a photo into a cross stitch pattern
Upload a photo, choose the width in stitches and the number of colors, and download the pattern with its color key. Free, no sign-up, and the photo never leaves your browser.
Drag an image here or pick one from your device. It never leaves your browser: nothing is uploaded to any server.
It works best with photos of a clear subject on a simple background. Fewer stitches and colors make it easier to stitch; more of them give more detail.
This is the basic version. In Strand the pattern is made with DMC threads and a full legend, you can mark the important areas of the photo, export a PDF and stitch it with stitch-by-stitch tracking, saved to your account.
See the appIn three steps
Upload a photo
An image from your device, in JPG, PNG or WebP. It is processed in the browser and sent nowhere.
Adjust width and colors
The width in stitches and the number of colors change instantly. A white background can stay as unstitched fabric.
Download the pattern
A PNG image with the grid, the symbols and the color key, ready to print or to check on your phone.
How to get a good pattern from a photo
A photo has millions of colors and a cross stitch pattern can only have a few dozen. That is why choosing the photo and the settings matters more than any software.
Which photo to choose
- A clear, centered subject: a pet, a flower, a close-up portrait. Scenes with many small elements lose their detail.
- Good contrast: photos with a strong difference between lights and shadows define shapes better.
- A simple background: a plain or light background stays as unstitched fabric and saves many stitches.
- Cropped first: if you only want one part, crop it before uploading.
Width and colors
The width in stitches sets the detail and the size of the embroidery. More stitches give more detail, but also more hours of work. The number of colors decides how many threads you need: with few colors the pattern is easier and the result more stylized; with more, it gets closer to the photo.
How big the finished piece is
The size depends on the fabric: stitches ÷ fabric count = inches. For example, 50 stitches on 14-count fabric measure about 3.6 inches. The page works it out when you choose the fabric.
Common questions
Is it free?
Yes. The tool is free and asks for no sign-up or email.
What happens to my photo?
It never leaves your browser. The conversion runs on your device, without sending the image to any server, and it disappears when you close the page.
What does the downloaded image include?
The pattern grid with a line every 10 stitches, one symbol per color, the number of crosses of each color and the size for the chosen fabric.
Does it tell me which threads to buy?
No. Here the colors are those of the reduced photo, with no thread numbers. In the Strand app the patterns you create come with DMC threads and their legend.
Is there a size limit?
Yes: up to 80 stitches wide and 12 colors, so the preview stays quick on a phone too. Strand allows bigger patterns with more colors.
How is it different from Strand?
This page turns a photo into an image and stops there. Strand saves the pattern, lets you mark the important areas, exports it to PDF, adds text and lets you stitch it with stitch-by-stitch tracking, also offline.
Is Strand related to DMC?
No. DMC is a trademark of its owner; Strand is an independent app and the colors it shows are approximate.
Everything Strand can do
This page is a sample: it turns a photo into an image and stops there. The app is a complete cross stitch workshop, with these features.
- DMC threadsEvery color in the pattern comes with its DMC number and legend, with optional blends of two threads and a shopping list by skein.
- Recommended size and threadsWhen you load the image it suggests the width and the number of threads that reproduce it best, and it allows much bigger patterns with more colors.
- Brush zonesMark where detail is needed and where one or two threads are enough, leave areas unstitched, or ask for “Suggest automatically”.
- Symmetric shapes and outlinesEvens out symmetric shapes and adds backstitch outlines, along the sides of the squares or diagonally.
- Text over the photoLetters in cross stitch (ten fonts) or in backstitch, which you can drag, snap into place and scale with the pattern.
- Create from textA pattern made only of letters, no photo, in cross stitch or backstitch, with outline, shadow and fabric color.
- Edit by handPaint, erase and pick colors on the crosses, and touch up the backstitch with your finger or mouse. Your edits are kept when you change the size or the threads.
- Images that are already cross stitchReads the photo of an embroidery or a gridded chart and turns it into a pattern, one stitch per square.
- Import and exportImport OXS and PDF patterns, and export to PDF in color or black and white, with the chosen fabric (Aida or linen) and the size in centimeters.
- Stitch-by-stitch trackingMark crosses and backstitch segments, with views such as “Highlight what is left” or “As stitched”, and undo what you marked.
- Your patterns in your accountProgress is saved to your account and synced between devices; you can also work offline.
- My threadsAn inventory of the threads you already own, so you know what is left to buy.
Want to stitch it with tracking?
This page only creates an image of the pattern: it saves nothing and does not list threads. In Strand the pattern you create is saved, exported to PDF in color or in black and white and followed stitch by stitch, also offline. The first pattern is free.