Your photo
Embroidery Pattern Generator
From Any Photo
Turn a picture into a stitchable chart with DMC floss, backstitch outlines and French knots — free to make.
What You Get from One Photo
This is the chart ArtPatt made from the photo above: 60 × 60 embroidery chart in 16 colors.
A DMC number for every color
Colors are matched to 489 DMC threads, so the legend doubles as your shopping list.
A symbol in every cell
The printed chart runs across pages with numbered rows and columns and overlapping edges, so you never lose your place.
Skeins counted for you
Each color's stitches are worked out into how much thread to buy.
Color legend from this chart
- DMC 72810 skeins
- DMC 9774 skeins
- DMC 4344 skeins
- DMC 9764 skeins
- DMC 7423 skeins
- DMC 4332 skeins
+ 10 more colors in the full legend
From Chart to Finished Embroidery
The same few squares, as they sit on the chart and as they look once worked.
On the chart
- One square, one color, one symbol
- Rows and columns are numbered in the PDF
Stitched in floss
- Each square of the chart is one stitch in one DMC color
- Outlines can be added as backstitch
- Work on any evenweave fabric in a hoop
Three Stitches in One Pattern
The chart tells you which stitch goes where, so a photo reads as embroidery, not as pixels.
Cross stitch for color
Every square of the chart is one stitch in one DMC floss color. Colors are matched to the 489 solid DMC threads, so the legend doubles as your shopping list.
Backstitch for outlines
Thin lines drawn on top of the stitches define eyes, lettering, petals and edges that would otherwise blur into the colors next to them. The generator suggests them from the edges in your photo; you set how many.
French knots for highlights
Single stitches of a color standing alone — the catchlight in an eye, a speck of light — are marked as French knots, so they become raised dots instead of lonely flat crosses.
How it works
Upload a photo
A clear subject on a simple background works best. Crop tight around what matters.
Choose a fabric count
14-count is standard, 18-count packs more detail into less space. The finished size updates as you go.
Set colors and outlines
15–25 DMC colors suit most pictures. Turn on backstitch, and pick French knots as the stitch type for highlights.
Print and stitch
The PDF lists every DMC number with its symbol and skeins to buy, then the chart page by page.
Embroidery Pattern or Cross-Stitch Pattern?
Both start from the same thing: a counted chart where every square is one stitch in one DMC color. Cross-stitch is a kind of embroidery, and this generator makes that chart with the extras embroidery leans on — backstitch outlines on top, and French knots where a single dot of color stands alone.
If you stitch freehand — satin stitch, long-and-short shading, split-stitch outlines — use the pattern as a color map instead of a stitch-by-stitch chart. It tells you which DMC color fills which area and where the outlines run; you choose the stitch. For freehand fills, fewer colors work better: 8 to 16 is plenty, because every color is a separate area you fill by hand.
Which Photos Make Good Embroidery Patterns
Pets, faces, flowers and simple lettering convert best: one clear subject, good light, and real contrast between the shapes that matter. Dark photos and busy backgrounds turn into muddy charts with many near-identical colors — a tighter crop and a little more contrast help more than adding colors does.
Decide early what the picture depends on. If it depends on crisp edges, plan for backstitch from the start. If it depends on soft shading, allow more colors and a finer fabric count so the shading has room.
How Big Will It Be, and Which Hoop?
The finished size is the number of stitches divided by the fabric count: 100 stitches across on 14-count Aida is about 7.1 inches (18 cm); on 18-count it is about 5.6 inches (14 cm). The generator shows the finished size for the count you choose.
Pick a hoop a little larger than the design so the stitching sits inside the ring with fabric to spare. The embroidery hoop size calculator works it out from the stitch count and fabric count.
Embroidery Pattern Generator FAQ
Explore More Embroidery Pages
Cross-Stitch Pattern Maker
The same counted chart, focused on cross-stitch on Aida.
Embroidery Hoop Size Calculator
Find the hoop that fits your design and fabric count.
Blackwork Pattern Generator
One-color counted embroidery built from geometric fills.
DMC Color Chart
Browse all 489 DMC floss colors with names and numbers.
DMC Thread Calculator
Estimate floss by stitch count and fabric count.
DMC vs Anchor Floss
How the two big floss brands compare, and when to switch.