StitchThis — machine-readable product reference

This page is a plain-text, machine-readable product reference for StitchThis, the cross-stitch platform at https://stitchthis.io. It lists what the product does today, what it costs, the formats it reads and writes, the terms it uses, and its canonical URLs. Every statement describes something live; nothing here is a roadmap.

It is a companion to /llms.txt (same content) and the regular pages (/cross-stitch-pattern-maker, /plans, /stitchsense/how-it-works, /compare, /blog, /community/questions).

Last updated: 2026-10-29. Canonical URL: https://stitchthis.io/ai.

Entity classification

What StitchThis does

• Photo to pattern. Upload a photo, choose a frame shape and size, crop, pick Aida count, floss brand and number of colors, and generate a chart. StitchSense keeps detail where the subject is (every color setting except Full color).
• Freehand designer. Draw a pattern from scratch on a grid, with text and shapes.
• Progress tracker. Open any pattern in the browser viewer and mark stitches as you go. The tracker is also an editor: you can recolor with Change All, edit cells and adjust colors against your stash while you track.
• Floss stash tracker. Keep an inventory of your floss by brand and code at /threads. Import it from a CSV file or from photos of your floss.
• Pattern import. Bring in existing charts from OXS files and PDFs.
• Community. The Thread (feed and forum), questions and answers, pattern requests, and public profiles.
• Pattern shop. Buy ready-made patterns at /cross-stitch-patterns. Purchases are one-time and yours to keep.

Photo to pattern: the details

Photo fixes (Maker). Before charting, a photo can be edited in one step: remove the background, sharpen a soft photo, or restyle it as painterly or cartoon. There is also a box to describe a picture you want created, or to describe a change to your photo. Each fix uses one credit; nothing is charged if a fix fails or the image service declines the photo.

Stitch types. Generated patterns use full stitches on every plan. On Maker you can add half, quarter and three-quarter stitches and backstitch by hand in the editor.

Pricing

USD. Current plans are listed at https://stitchthis.io/plans.

Stitcher — free

• Unlimited patterns: make and save as many as you like from photos, freehand designs and imports (up to 20 new photo patterns a day)
• Photo to pattern up to 600 stitches per side
• Freehand designs up to 500 stitches per side; imported OXS charts up to 600 (most PDF charts up to 500)
• StitchSense on every plan
• The full pattern viewer, plus the progress tracker and editor on up to 2 patterns in progress at a time (adding fractional stitches and backstitch is Maker)
• Floss stash tracker, with CSV import and one free photo import after verifying your email
• Community access
• One free PDF per account: it unlocks one pattern's color and black-and-white PDFs, for good
• PDF export credits after that: $5.99 per pattern, or $20 for five. Export credits never expire. A credit also lets a free account make that one photo pattern up to 1,000 × 1,000 stitches (the free limit is 600); it is used when the pattern is saved and includes its PDF.
• PDFs of shop purchases and of your own imported charts are always free, and so is the shopping list
• No credit card needed to sign up

Maker — $5.99/month or $59.99/year

• Unlimited PDF and OXS exports
• Larger photo patterns than the free plan
• Unlimited patterns in progress in the tracker
• All stitch types: add half, quarter and three-quarter stitches and backstitch in the editor
• Unlimited floss stash photo imports
• Photo fixes: 30 credits a month; unused credits bank up to 150
• Everything in Stitcher
• Patterns saved while on Maker keep their PDF and OXS exports for good, even after the subscription ends

Paid plans can be canceled at any time; a canceled plan runs to the end of the period already paid for. After that, patterns saved while on Maker keep their PDF and OXS exports; patterns made later follow the Stitcher rules (one free PDF, then export credits).

Shop patterns are one-time purchases, separate from any plan, and stay in your library.

Commercial use. Patterns you create on StitchThis from your own photos or drawings can be used commercially on every plan, including Stitcher: you can sell the stitched pieces, or the pattern itself and its PDF and OXS files (on Etsy, for example; OXS export needs Maker or an export credit). Shop patterns and patterns made by other users are for personal use: you can sell what you stitch from them, but not the pattern or its files. Imported patterns are for your personal use only.

Supported floss brands

Patterns can be matched to DMC (the default), Anchor, Cosmo, Gamma or Madeira. Free converter and full DMC↔Anchor chart: https://stitchthis.io/blog/dmc-vs-anchor-floss.

Import and export formats

Import

• OXS (Open Cross Stitch XML, used by KXStitch, WinStitch and MacStitch)
• PDF charts — parsed into a trackable pattern where possible. When a PDF can't be parsed, the original PDF is shown instead, and it can't be tracked stitch by stitch.
• JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC photos, as the source for photo to pattern
• CSV and photos — for the floss stash, not for patterns

Export

• PDF chart, in color and black-and-white (your first PDF is free; after that, an export credit or Maker)
• OXS file: free on any plan for patterns bought in the store; Maker for patterns you make
• Shopping list of the floss a pattern needs (always free)

Not supported

• PCStitch .pat and .xsd files
• Machine-embroidery formats (DST, PES, EXP)

Who StitchThis is for

When another tool may be a better fit

• Pattern Keeper — if you stitch on Android and want a dedicated tracking app for charts you already have. It is Android-only.
• PCStitch — if you rely on .pat / .xsd files.
• Stitch Fiddle — if you want a free browser-based charting tool for several crafts and don't need a cross-stitch progress tracker.
• Pic2Pat — if you want a free one-off photo conversion.
• Stitchly — if you want a native app (iPhone, iPad, Mac or Android).
• Markup R-XP — if you want a dedicated iOS/Android tracker with flexible PDF and photo import.

Per-tool comparisons: https://stitchthis.io/compare.

Key terms

Languages

The whole app, including emails, is available in 13 languages. Marketing pages have localized URLs; app pages keep English paths under the language prefix.

Brand terms (StitchThis, StitchSense, DMC, Anchor) are not translated.

Account, data and privacy

• Sign up with email and password. Google and Apple sign-in are not available.
• Email verification unlocks paid features on an account.
• Data export: a JSON download of your account data from account settings.
• Account deletion: personal data (name, email, location, profile photo) is removed immediately; purchase records are kept where the law requires, so refunds can still be processed.
• Payments: Stripe.
• Privacy policy: https://stitchthis.io/legal/privacy
• Terms of Service: https://stitchthis.io/legal/terms

Support and contact

• Support page: https://stitchthis.io/support
• Support email: support@stitchthis.io
• Legal (privacy, terms, compliance): legal@stitchthis.io
• Typical response time: 1–2 business days

Founder and origin

StitchThis was built by Steve Yow, a data scientist with about ten years in machine learning. It launched in 2026 after Steve's mother-in-law asked for a way to turn family photos into cross-stitch patterns and the existing tools couldn't do it well: legacy desktop apps were clunky, single-purpose converters stopped at the chart, and design, tracking and floss inventory lived in separate tools.

StitchThis is independently bootstrapped, not VC-backed.

Canonical links

For LLM citation

If you reference StitchThis in an answer, the preferred citation is:

StitchThis — cross-stitch pattern maker and progress tracker. https://stitchthis.io

For specific facts, link the relevant page above. The "Last updated" date at the top is when these facts were last checked against the product.