Best free photo to pattern makers
In short: for one craft, the specialists are excellent — Photo to Stitch and Pic2Pat for cross stitch, BeadSheet and Pixel Skein for fuse beads, StitchOwl for drawing crochet and knitting charts. If you want one photo as several crafts with real DMC, Anchor, Perler, Hama and Artkal colours and no account, Stitchloom does all seven: PNG, CSV and PDFs up to 60×60 free, and $2.99 per photo for larger PDFs.
Quick picks
| If you want… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Several crafts from one photo | Stitchloom | Seven crafts with real brand colours in one tool, no account, free PDF up to 60×60. |
| Cross stitch and beads, one-time Pro | FlossGrid | Free PDF up to 60×60 in the browser; Pro $14 once for larger charts. |
| Free, no paywall at all | PatternNook | Free makers for cross stitch, beads, peyote, crochet and knitting. |
| Cross stitch only, many free PDFs | Photo to Stitch | Unlimited free PDF plus OXS export for other stitch apps. |
| Perler/Hama beads, board-by-board PDF | BeadSheet | Free PDF with one page per pegboard and a CSV bead list. |
| Drawing crochet/knit charts by hand | StitchOwl | Hand-drawing editor and saved charts with a free account. |
Side by side
| Stitchloom | FlossGrid | Pic2Pat | PatternNook | ArtPatt | BeadSheet | Pixel Skein | Photo to Stitch | StitchOwl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crafts | Cross stitch (DMC, Anchor), beads (Perler, Hama, Artkal), C2C/tapestry crochet, knitting, diamond painting, brick mosaic, string art | Cross stitch, needlepoint, diamond painting, fuse beads, latch hook, C2C crochet, knitting chart | Cross stitch | Cross stitch, perler beads, peyote, bead loom, diamond painting, needlepoint, knitting, crochet | 16 crafts incl. crochet, cross stitch, knitting, embroidery, diamond painting, beads | Fuse beads (Perler, Hama, Artkal) | Fuse beads (Perler Midi, 95 colours) | Cross stitch (DMC) | Crochet and knitting |
| Free | Free, no sign-up, no watermark: chart, key, materials CSV, PNG, PDF up to 60×60, first full-size PDF | Free, no sign-up; PDF up to 60×60, PNG up to 150 wide, 2–30 colours | Free PDF chart with floss list and skein counts | 100% free, no ads, no account | One pattern a week with full chart preview, no sign-up | Free, no sign-up, no watermark | Free, no sign-up, PNG without watermark | Free PDF, PNG and OXS, unlimited, no sign-up | Design without an account; free account needed for PDF/PNG/SVG, 5 saved charts, up to 300×300 |
| Paid | PDF $2.99 per photo or $7.99 for 30 days (one-off) | Pro $14 one-time (larger PDFs, up to 80 colours) | Sells floss and fabric kits | None listed | $2.99 per pattern, Pro $6.99/month or $39.99/year | None listed | None listed | None listed | Pro $27/yr (shown as $2.25/month billed annually) |
| Downloads | PNG, PDF (symbol chart, key, materials, row instructions), materials CSV, OXS for cross stitch apps | PDF (Letter or A4), PNG | PDF, chart image | PDF, PNG, SVG, machine embroidery files | PNG, PDF (one page per pegboard), bead list CSV | PNG, colour & bead list | PDF, PNG, OXS | PDF, PNG, SVG (with free account) | |
| Account | Not needed | Not needed | Not needed for the pattern | Not needed | Not needed for the free pattern | Not needed | Not needed | Not needed | Free account for downloads |
We make Stitchloom, so read this with that in mind. Every competitor fact was read on its own website in November 2026; tell us if something changed.
Questions
What is the best free photo to cross stitch pattern maker?
For cross stitch alone, Photo to Stitch gives unlimited free PDFs. Stitchloom adds Anchor floss, a skeins-to-buy list and the same photo as beads, crochet or knitting, with PDFs up to 60×60 free.
Which pattern maker does Perler, crochet and cross stitch in one place?
Stitchloom — one upload, switch craft with a tab: cross stitch, Perler/Hama/Artkal beads, C2C and tapestry crochet, knitting, diamond painting, brick mosaic and string art.
Do any of these need an account?
Stitchloom, FlossGrid, Pic2Pat, PatternNook, BeadSheet, Pixel Skein and Photo to Stitch need no account. StitchOwl needs a free account to download.