OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Photo to Cross Stitch Chart
Cross Stitch Pattern From a Photo, With Symbols, Colour Key and Floss List
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How the Photo To Cross-Stitch works
This photo to cross stitch tool makes a chart with thread colours. A cross-stitch chart is a grid where every square is one stitch and every symbol is one thread colour. Drop in a photo, set how many stitches wide you want the finished piece to be and how many colours you are willing to buy, and this tool builds the chart, a colour key, a floss list with stitch counts and the finished size on your chosen fabric. Nothing leaves your browser.
Photo to cross stitch: from pixels to stitches
The photo is shrunk to the chosen stitch width with the height following the picture's proportions, so every stitch corresponds to one averaged block of the original. Each block is matched to the closest shade in a fifty-colour embroidery floss palette, and if that uses more shades than your limit, the least common ones are dropped and their stitches reassigned to the nearest survivor. The result is a grid of colour indexes that becomes the chart.
Reading the chart
Symbol chart mode prints a distinct symbol in every square on a faint tint of its colour, with a thin grid line between stitches and a bold line every ten. Counting in tens is how stitchers keep their place, so mark the bold lines on your fabric with a washable pen or a gridding thread. The key under the chart lists each symbol with its colour name and how many stitches use it. Colour preview mode drops the symbols and shows solid squares so you can judge the overall look before committing.
Stitch width and fabric count
Fabric count is the number of stitches per inch. The same 80-stitch chart is 7.3 inches wide on 11-count, 5.7 on 14, 5 on 16 and 4.4 on 18. The Finished size stat updates as you change either setting, so you can work backwards from the frame you want to fill. Width steps in tens so the bold lines land on the chart edges.
How many colours
Eight colours makes a bold, poster-like piece that stitches quickly. Twenty is a comfortable middle for portraits and pets. Fifty keeps subtle gradients but means many single-stitch colour changes, which are slow and fiddly to work. The Colours stat shows how many shades were actually needed, which is often fewer than the limit.
The floss list
Switch Download to Floss list to get a text file with each symbol, colour name and stitch count, sorted from most to least used. The Skeins stat is a rough estimate based on around 1,800 full cross stitches per skein on 14-count with two strands; buy one extra of the shades you use most.
FAQ
Are these real floss colours?
The palette is fifty common embroidery floss shades with plain colour names, chosen to cover skin, sky, foliage and neutrals. Match them to your preferred thread range by eye or with a shade card; most major ranges have a close equivalent for each one.
Why does my photo look blocky?
Each stitch can only be one colour, so detail smaller than a stitch is lost. Raise the stitches across for more detail, or crop the photo so the subject fills the frame before uploading. Faces need at least 60 stitches across to read clearly.
Can I print the chart at a readable size?
Yes. The PNG uses 18 pixels per stitch in symbol mode, so a 100-stitch chart is 1,800 pixels wide and prints sharply across an A4 page. For very wide charts, print at a larger paper size or crop the image into sections with any image editor.
See also: all Images tools, Audio, Video & Screen, PDF, SVG, Simulations & Screensavers, Generative Art, Chart Makers, 3D Model Viewers, Drawing Pads, Mockups & 3D Making, Diagram Makers, 3D Science, Tracker Music.
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