New Makerfern for Chrome: right-click any picture on the web to make a cut file, coloring page or stencil from it. Add to Chrome, free

Free cross-stitch, bead and pixel art pattern maker from a photo

Turn a photo into a cross-stitch chart, a fuse-bead pattern or pixel art, free and in your browser, with nothing uploaded: choose the size and the number of colours, and get a numbered chart with symbols and a colour key as a PDF.

Faster with the free Chrome extension: right-click any picture on a website and send it straight to the pixel pattern maker. Add to Chrome · what it does

A chart you can follow

The picture is averaged onto the grid, then its colours are reduced to the number you ask for, grouping colours by how alike they look rather than by their raw numbers, so skin tones and shadows keep their shape. Every colour gets a symbol that stays readable in black and white, the grid is bold every ten cells and numbered round the edge, and the key counts every stitch or bead.

What you get

  • A PDF pattern: the key first, then the chart split across pages with the rows and columns on each page labelled.
  • A chart PNG and a pixel art PNG, for screens or printing big.
  • A colour list CSV with symbol, name, hex code and count, for ordering thread or beads.

Three patterns from one picture

  1. Cross-stitch: set the fabric count to get the finished size; the chart is in symbols for printing in black and white.
  2. Fuse beads: set your bead size and pegboard; the pattern shows how many boards it spans.
  3. Pixel art: set the grid and colours for a sprite, a sticker or a knitting chart.

Questions

Can I make a cross-stitch pattern from my own photo?

Yes. Set how many stitches across and how many colours, and it makes a chart with a symbol for every colour, the grid numbered every ten, and a key with how many stitches of each colour. The finished size is worked out from your fabric count. The photo is not uploaded.

Does it give DMC thread numbers or bead brand colours?

No. The colours are the photo's own, each with a plain name and a hex code. We have not matched them to a thread or bead brand, because a wrong match is worse than none: take the hex code to your supplier's colour chart or colour card.

How big will it be?

For cross-stitch, stitches across divided by the fabric count: 70 stitches on 14-count Aida is 5 inches. For fuse beads, beads across times the bead size, with how many pegboards it takes. For pixel art, it is the grid itself.

How many colours should I use?

Fewer than you think: 8 to 15 for a pet or a portrait, more for a detailed scene. Colours that would only be used for a handful of cells are merged into the nearest one, so the key never asks you to buy a skein for three stitches.

What does "blend colours" do?

It mixes nearby cells of two colours to suggest a shade between them, which smooths faces and skies from a small palette. It is busier to stitch or place, so leave it off for bold, graphic patterns.