--- title: "Image to Cross-Stitch Pattern (DMC) | Velvet Stitchery" description: "Turn a photo or picture into a printable cross-stitch chart with DMC thread numbers, symbols, a colour key and skein estimates. Runs in your browser." url: https://velvetstitchery.cfd/ --- # Image to cross-stitch pattern Turn a photo or drawing into a counted cross-stitch chart with DMC thread numbers, symbols and a printable key. Your picture is processed in this browser and never uploaded. ## More stitching tools - ### [Aida & fabric count calculator](https://velvetstitchery.cfd/aida-fabric-calculator/) Finished size and fabric to cut for any stitch count, compared across every Aida, evenweave and linen count. - ### [Floss calculator](https://velvetstitchery.cfd/floss-calculator/) How many skeins each colour needs, from full, half and backstitch counts, strands and fabric. - ### [Hoop & frame size](https://velvetstitchery.cfd/hoop-and-frame-size/) The display hoop or ready-made frame that fits your finished design, with fabric to cut for mounting. ## How to turn a picture into a cross-stitch pattern 1. **Pick a picture.** Choose or drop a PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or BMP, or keep the sample flower. Clear shapes and good contrast chart best; crop a photo close to the subject first. 2. **Set the size.** Enter the width in stitches, or switch to inches or centimetres and the chart is sized for the fabric you pick. With proportions kept, the height follows the picture. 3. **Choose colours.** Every colour is matched to its closest DMC six-strand floss. Threads are then merged in the order that changes the picture least until your limit is reached: near-duplicate shades go first, while a small patch of a very different colour lasts far longer than its size suggests. 4. **Check, then print.** Switch between the colour chart, black and white symbols and the stitched preview, and zoom in on details. Print, or save a PNG and the thread key. **Dither** scatters stitches of neighbouring colours to suggest shades between them: smoother on photos, but slower to stitch. **Tidy single stray stitches** replaces any stitch with no neighbour of its own colour. **Leave the background unstitched** finds the colour around the edges and leaves that area as bare fabric; raise the tolerance if a halo remains, lower it if parts of the subject vanish. Example: the sample at 80 × 80 stitches on 14-count Aida comes out 5.7 inches (14.5 cm) square. With 3 inches spare on every side, cut 11.7 inches (29.7 cm) of fabric. The key estimates skeins for two strands, using the floss model explained on the [floss calculator](https://velvetstitchery.cfd/floss-calculator/). ## About the thread colours Colours are compared in CIE L*a*b*, a colour space built so that equal distances look roughly equally different, using the CIEDE2000 difference formula. The colour list has 489 DMC six-strand floss numbers with names and approximate screen colours. Real thread is shiny, slightly translucent and changes with the light, so a screen can only suggest it. ## Sources - DMC colour numbers, names and approximate colours: [craft-color-codes](https://github.com/makebead/craft-color-codes) by [MakeBead](https://makebead.com/), [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) (only the number, name and colour are used). - Sharma G, Wu W, Dalal EN. The CIEDE2000 color-difference formula: implementation notes, supplementary test data, and mathematical observations. *Color Research & Application* 2005;30(1):21–30. [doi:10.1002/col.20070](https://doi.org/10.1002/col.20070). - DMC, [Six-strand embroidery floss](https://www.dmc.com/US/en/products/mouline-special): 8 m (8.7 yd) skeins of six separable strands. - Kathleen Dyer, [Needlework FAQ: Counted Cross Stitch](https://www.crosstitch.com/nfaq/nfaq1.html) (crosstitch.com): 3 to 4 inches of spare fabric on each edge, and the floss estimate used for the skeins. ## Recommended ### CleanTempMail Signing up for a stitch-along, a craft fair ticket or a shop's one-time discount code? A free temporary inbox takes the confirmation email without sharing your own address. There is no sign-up, and messages are deleted automatically after 3 days. [Get a temporary email address](https://cleantempmail.com/) ### WebTraceCheck Thinking of buying a kit or a PDF pattern from a web shop you have never used? Look up its domain and check its security headers first, or open a doubtful link in a disposable cloud browser that is deleted after each session. [Check a shop with WebTraceCheck](https://webtracecheck.com/) ## Questions **Are the DMC colours on screen exact?** No. Each thread's screen colour is an approximation, and every screen shows colour a little differently. The numbers are what matter: compare them with a DMC colour card made with real thread before you buy, and swap any shade that looks wrong in your light. **How many stitches wide should my pattern be?** Decide how big the finished piece should be, then multiply its width in inches by your fabric count: 6 inches on 14-count Aida is 84 stitches. More stitches keep more detail, which faces and pets need, but take longer to stitch. Compare two sizes in the stitched preview. **How many colours should I allow?** Simple graphics and lettering often need fewer than 10. Photos need more to show shading, so try 20 to 40 and watch the stitched preview: if two threads look the same, lower the limit. Every extra colour is another skein to buy and another symbol to follow. **Should I turn on dithering?** Use it for photos with smooth gradients such as skies or skin, where plain colour matching shows hard bands. Leave it off for graphics, cartoons and lettering: dithering scatters single stitches of different colours, which look grainy and take longer to stitch. **How does printing a big chart work?** The first page has the key, the sizes and a map of the pages. The chart follows on as many pages as it needs, numbered every 10 stitches. Each page repeats three rows or columns of its neighbour, tinted grey, so the pages line up. Print at 100% or actual size. **Is my picture uploaded anywhere?** No. The picture is read and converted inside your browser, on your device, and nothing about it is sent to a server. Once the page has loaded, the pattern maker keeps working even without a connection.