Cross stitch pattern maker

Make a pattern from a photo

1. 1

   Start from a photo or a blank grid

   Upload a picture, or open a blank chart if you already know the design. The maker runs in the browser. There is nothing to install.

2. 2

   Set the stitch count

   Choose how many stitches wide the chart should be. A larger grid keeps more detail and takes longer to stitch. The edge limit is 2000 stitches.

3. 3

   Match colours to DMC

   PixVix assigns DMC floss numbers instead of leaving the picture as screen RGB. You can change a colour afterwards if a match is not the skein you want.

4. 4

   Edit, then export

   Clean edges, crop, swap colours, and add lettering. When the chart is right, export a multi-page PDF with symbol charts and a thread legend.

What a pattern maker is for

A cross stitch pattern maker, sometimes called a pattern generator, builds a counted chart from a picture. Each square is one X on the fabric. A symbol in that square tells you which skein to use, and a legend lists the skeins. That is the whole job of the tool: a picture in, a chart you can stitch out.

PixVix is built for that job first. The public cross stitch page is the photo-to-pattern path. This page explains how the maker works so you can judge it before you open the editor. Finished charts you can stitch as they are live in the shop. The maker is for a chart that does not exist yet.

It is not a desktop program you buy on a disc. You use it in a current browser on a computer, phone, or tablet. Charts you start are tied to your account so you can leave and come back. A sample start is available from the home page if you want to see the editor before you commit a photo.

Photo to cross stitch, in practice

You upload a photo. PixVix fits it to a stitch grid and picks a DMC colour for each cell from the palette the editor actually stitches with. The match is a nearest-colour choice against that palette. It is not a claim that the hex on your monitor is the official dye lot of a skein. Always buy floss by the DMC number, and treat the on-screen swatch as a guide.

Detail depends on the stitch count you choose, not on a magic setting. A face or a pet with a small grid turns into blocks. A larger grid keeps eyes, markings, and lettering, and it also means more hours with the needle. The size calculator tells you the finished centimetres on 14-count, 16-count, and the other common fabrics before you commit. The stitch-time calculator is the honest companion if you care when it will be done.

The grid edge stops at 2000 stitches. That is the limit in the pattern model, the same 2000 figure shown on the home page. Most gifts and hoop pieces are far smaller. Use the large end for a portrait you plan to frame, not for a first bookmark.

After the photo becomes a chart you are not stuck with the first pass. The editor is a real chart editor: you can change stitches, replace a colour across the design, crop the canvas, and place text with the stitch lettering tool. Frames and lettering templates are in the editor if a name or a date belongs on the piece. Partial stitches and backstitch are part of the chart model, so a curve does not have to stay a staircase if you want to clean it.

DMC first, other brands second

The maker’s home palette is DMC six-strand cotton. The full list of codes the app knows, with names and screen hex values, is the DMC colour chart. If you stitch with Anchor, Madeira, Cosmo, or another solid floss, the thread converter and the per-brand charts translate a DMC number into the nearest skein of that brand. Metallic Kreinik is a separate brand in the thread list and is not a one-for-one substitute for stranded cotton.

How many skeins you need is a different question from which colour. The floss calculator turns a stitch count per colour into skeins. Dye lots vary, so a big background colour is safer with an extra skein of the same lot. The calculator does not know your shop’s shelf. It only does the arithmetic.

What you get when the chart is finished

Export writes a multi-page PDF: a cover, section dividers, colour symbol charts, black-and-white symbol charts with a minimap, and a thread legend. You can also save a stitched preview image, a chart image, a thread-list CSV, and an OXS file from the same finish step. The PDF page explains that file in more detail. If you sell the design, the Etsy listing tool builds listing photos, video, and the title, description, and tags from the finished chart, and it only sends them to a shop you have connected.

Stitching does not have to stay on paper. A chart opened in the app can be followed on a phone or tablet, with the fabric-prep and progress tools in the workspace. That is optional. A paper chart from the PDF is a complete way to stitch.

Buying a finished design is the other path. The shop lists charts with their stitch counts, colour counts, and photos. Use the maker when the subject is yours. Use the shop when you want a design that is already charted.

Questions

Is the pattern maker the same as photo to cross stitch?

Yes. Photo to cross stitch is the job this maker does: a picture becomes a counted chart in DMC colours. You can also start from a blank grid if you are drawing the chart yourself.

Do I have to install software?

No. The maker runs in the browser. Use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari. The chart is saved to your account.

How large can the chart be?

Up to 2000 stitches on a side. Finished size on fabric depends on the count. A 140-stitch design on 14-count Aida is about 10 inches. The size calculator does that conversion for you.

Are the colours real DMC numbers?

The chart uses DMC codes from PixVix’s floss palette. On-screen hex values are approximations for display. Buy the skein by the number printed on the legend.

Can I edit the chart after the photo is converted?

Yes. You can change stitches and colours, crop, and add lettering before you export the PDF.