Gingham

Stitch pattern maker for Android

Any photo becomes a pattern you can make.

Pick a photo of your dog, your house or your kid’s drawing. Gingham charts it as cross stitch with real DMC thread numbers, or as a crochet graphgan, a knitting chart, an alpha bracelet or a fuse bead pattern. You see the whole pattern before you pay for anything.

Get it on Google Play See it up close

An app for Android phones, with real DMC thread numbers. No account. Your photos never leave your phone.

A real chart from Gingham’s converter: 84 × 84 stitches in 40 DMC colors, at its highest color setting, animated. The app makes the pattern. The needle and the evenings are yours.

Keep scrolling · stitches illustrated

Every stitch has its place.

7,056 stitches. 40 colors.An 84 × 84 chart for 14-count Aida, from one photo. This hoop crops its corners; to frame the whole design you’d go a size up.

Zoom in as far as you need.In the app you go from the whole design down to a single cell, at any time.

And its own thread.Every color on the chart is a real DMC number you can buy.

This one is DMC 806.One stitch in the kitten’s eye. Gingham gives you its place and its thread number; this close-up is an illustration of what you’ll make.806 · Peacock Blue Dark

A tabby kitten finished in cross stitch, 84 stitches wide, held in a wooden hoop.

See your whole pattern before you pay.

Too many pattern makers show you four sample designs and ask for money before you can try your own photo. Gingham does it the other way round. You make the pattern from your photo, zoom into every stitch and read the shopping list, at full quality and with no watermark.

  • Free to tryMake a full pattern from your own photo and inspect every stitch.
  • Gingham ProSaving, exporting the PDF or PNG and making more patterns. A weekly or yearly subscription that starts with a free trial.
  • Offered when you need itGingham Pro comes up when you save, export, start another pattern or leave the preview.
  • No ads, cancel any timeNo ads in the app. Cancel in Google Play whenever you like.
Get it on Google Play
A recording of Gingham: the Studio, Use this sample, Biscuit the cat stitching from the centre while the count of DMC colors climbs to 18, then the pattern screen. Gingham’s pattern screen for Biscuit, the bundled sample cat: an 84 by 84 cross stitch chart zoomed to the eyes, each cell with its color and symbol, and the shopping list of DMC threads below.
Recorded in the app: Biscuit, the sample that ships with Gingham, building from one tap to an 84 × 84 chart in 18 DMC colors.

Three photos, and the charts they became.

A cat, a house and a sunflower, each charted by the same converter that is in the app. How well a photo converts depends on the photo. Fine detail simplifies, so you can change the size and the number of colors until it looks right.

Three photographs, a tabby cat, a brick house and a sunflower, each turning from the centre outward into its cross stitch chart: all three 84 by 84 stitches, in 20, 18 and 15 DMC colors, with a chip for each thread color below. A photograph of a sunflower turning from the centre outward into its cross stitch chart, with a chip for each thread color below.
The output of Gingham’s converter for these photos, animated rather than screen-recorded. CC0 photos from Wikimedia Commons by AdinaVoicu, Willthacheerleader18 and Wilfredor.

Read the chart the way you stitch.

Colored cells, black symbols on a pale tint, or both at once, with a bold line every ten stitches. Zoom from the whole design down to a single stitch, and switch views at any zoom.

A recording of Biscuit’s chart: zoomed to the eyes, switched to Symbols, black symbols on a pale tint of each color, then Both, full colors with a symbol in every cell. Biscuit’s chart zoomed to the eyes in Both view: full colors with a black or white symbol in every cell, and the Colors, Symbols and Both switch above it.
Recorded in the app: the whole chart, three taps of zoom to the eyes, then Symbols and Both.

The key is a shopping list.

Every thread or bead color comes with its code, its name and how much to buy: approximate skeins for floss, an exact count for beads. Tap a color and it lights up on the chart.

489, in cross stitches
DMC floss colors, every one with its number and name
  • Cross stitchAll 489 DMC colors, with skein estimates for 11, 14, 16 or 18 count Aida.
  • Fuse beadsPerler, Hama midi or Artkal S colors, with an exact bead count for each.
  • Crochet and knittingYour own yarn, so each color gets a letter and a plain name.
  • Alpha braceletsDMC floss colors, with skein estimates for each color.
Biscuit’s color key
Symbol and colorDMCNameTo buy
828Blue Ultra Very Light≈ 3 skeins
977Golden Brown Light≈ 3 skeins
747Sky Blue Very Light≈ 2 skeins
3866Mocha Brown Ultra Very Light≈ 1 skein
152Shell Pink Medium Light≈ 1 skein
435Brown Very Light≈ 1 skein
704Chartreuse Bright≈ 1 skein
976Golden Brown Medium≈ 1 skein
453Shell Grey Light≈ 1 skein
3371Black Brown≈ 1 skein
945Tawny Medium≈ 1 skein
3827Golden Brown Pale≈ 1 skein
472Avocado Green Ultra Light≈ 1 skein
758Terra Cotta Very Light≈ 1 skein
437Tan Light≈ 1 skein
3863Mocha Beige Medium≈ 1 skein
3345Hunter Green Dark≈ 1 skein
928Grey Green Very Light≈ 1 skein
18 DMC colors · 7,056 stitches · ≈ 23 skeins

Biscuit’s key as Gingham makes it, in the order of its shopping list: a 6″ hoop on 14-count Aida, about 960 full stitches to a skein with two strands, rounded up for each color.

Same photo, the right grid for each craft.

Switch crafts at any time and the photo becomes a new pattern, with the grid, palette and color key that craft needs.

A recording of Gingham’s start screen: Biscuit stitched into an embroidery hoop as cross stitch, then crochet, knitting and fuse beads, as each craft is picked from the row below. Gingham’s start screen: Biscuit stitched into an embroidery hoop, above the row of crafts with Cross stitch selected.
Recorded in the app: the start screen stitches Biscuit as cross stitch, crochet, knitting and fuse beads.

Close up, because the grid is the difference. One kitten, four ways, each at a size and color count the app offers, in its own stitched preview. A bracelet is too narrow for a face, so it gets the bold heart that ships with the app.

Close on the kitten’s eyes in cross stitch, 84 by 84 stitches in all.

Cross stitch

The 6″ hoop size · 84 × 84 stitches · 40 DMC colors

For 11, 14, 16 or 18 count Aida, with every color matched to DMC floss and skein estimates.

Up to 60 DMC colors
Close on the kitten’s eyes in a crochet graphgan for a baby blanket, 100 by 120 cells in 16 colors.

Crochet

A baby blanket · 100 × 120 cells · 16 yarn colors

A graphgan for tapestry crochet pillows, baby blankets and throws, in your own yarn.

Up to 16 colors
Close on the kitten’s eyes in fuse beads, on two by two pegboards, 58 by 58 beads.

Fuse beads

On 2 × 2 pegboards · 58 × 58 beads · 11 Perler colors

One 29 × 29 pegboard or bigger, in Perler, Hama midi or Artkal S colors.

Up to 40 bead colors
Close on the kitten’s face in a knitting colorwork chart, 80 stitches wide and 112 rows, in eight colors.

Knitting colorwork

80 stitches wide · 112 rows · 8 yarn colors

A knitting chart whose cells are wider than tall, like real stitches, so the chart looks like the knitted piece.

Up to 8 colors
The bold heart sample as an alpha bracelet pattern, 22 columns wide.

Alpha bracelets

The heart sample · 22 columns · 3 DMC colors

An alpha pattern from 10 to 22 columns, as long as your image. A bold heart makes a lovely first try.

Up to 12 colors

Start from a sample

Biscuit the cat, a sunflower and a bold heart ship with the app, so you can try every craft before picking a photo of your own.

Get it on Google Play

A clean chart, then a page you can print.

  • Adjust until it’s rightSize, number of colors, Bold or Detailed shading, and Reduce confetti, which clears the stray single stitches that make a chart slow to stitch.
  • A PDF you can printLetter or A4: a cover, the color key, and chart pages with symbols, a bold line every ten cells, row and column numbers on every page and a small overlap between pages. Crochet and knitting add row-by-row color runs. Or share the chart as a PNG.
  • A library of your patternsSave patterns, rename them, and duplicate one to try a different size or palette without losing the first.

Your photos stay on your phone.

The conversion runs on the device. Your photos are never uploaded and there is no account to create. Pictures come in through Android’s photo picker, so there is no photo or storage permission to grant. The only things that leave the phone are the purchase itself, through Google Play, and anonymous usage analytics.

  • No account
  • No photo permission
  • No ads

Where Gingham wins, and where it doesn’t.

There are two other ways to turn a photo into a pattern: a free converter in your browser, or a cross stitch app you buy once.

FeatureGinghamFree web converters
Pic2Pat, FlossCross		Buy-once stitch apps
Stitchly
An app on your Android phonePick from your gallery, read it on the sofa.YesIn a browserYes
Crochet, knitting, bracelets and beadsFive grid crafts from the same photo.YesMostly cross stitchCross stitch only
Real DMC floss colorsAll 489YesYes
Anchor and other floss brandsNoSomeYes
Your whole pattern before payingYesYesVaries
Printable PDF with symbols and a keyWith ProVaries; some charge per PDFYes
Backstitch, half stitches, editing single stitchesNoSomeYes
Progress tracking while you stitchNoNoNot checked
How you payFree trial, then weekly or yearlyFree to use; some sell the PDFOne-time purchase

Where Gingham wins

One app for five crafts, made for the phone, with the full pattern from your own photo before you pay. Crochet graphgans, knitting colorwork and alpha bracelets are crafts most converters don’t make at all.

Where the others win

If you want backstitch, fractional stitches, cell-by-cell editing and progress tracking for cross stitch, a buy-once editor like Stitchly does more than Gingham. If you need a single quick chart on a computer, a free web converter may be all you need.

Written by Gingham’s developer. Competitor details come from Stitchly’s Google Play listing and from the converters’ own sites and published reviews, read on 14 October 2026. Tools change: if something here is out of date, write to machadowg@gmail.com.

Get it on Google Play

The questions people ask first.

Something not answered here? Write to machadowg@gmail.com.

Is Gingham free?

It is free to install, and free to make and inspect a full pattern from your own photo, at full quality and with no watermark. Saving, exporting the PDF or PNG and making more patterns need Gingham Pro, a weekly or yearly subscription that starts with a free trial for new subscribers. You can cancel in Google Play at any time.

Are my photos uploaded anywhere?

No. The pattern is made on your phone and the photo never leaves it. There is no account, and the photo comes in through Android’s photo picker, so Gingham never asks for access to your gallery.

Which thread and bead colors does it use?

All 489 DMC floss colors for cross stitch, with skein estimates for 11, 14, 16 or 18 count Aida. Perler, Hama midi or Artkal S for fuse beads, with an exact bead count. Crochet and knitting use your own yarn, so each color gets a letter and a plain name. There is no Anchor palette yet.

Can I edit stitches or add backstitch?

Not today. Gingham does not add backstitch or fractional stitches, and you can’t paint single cells. You shape the result with the size, the number of colors, Bold or Detailed shading and Reduce confetti.

What kind of photo works best?

Bold subjects on plain backgrounds convert best: a pet against a plain wall, a flower, a simple drawing. Busy, dark photos need more colors and more stitches. The photo to cross stitch guide walks through the photo, the fabric count, the size and the number of colors.

Can I print the pattern?

Yes, with Gingham Pro: a PDF in Letter or A4 with a cover, the color key and numbered chart pages that overlap slightly so they line up. You can also share the chart as a PNG.

Is there an iPhone version?

No. Gingham is on Android only, from Google Play.

Guides

A winter of evenings.

An 84 × 84 chart is about 35 to 70 hours of stitching. That part is yours. Your first pattern takes a minute: pick a photo, see the whole thing, and decide afterwards.

Get it on Google Play
“One stitch”, 27 seconds. Turn the sound on. An animated film of a chart from the same photo: the pattern is Gingham’s, the stitching is illustration.