There's a lot of wonderful resources online for cross-stitchers and embroiderers. As I come across more sites, I'll add them here.
All links open in a new window.
All links open in a new window.
General
- Carousel Charts has a few free charts, some information on getting started and if this craft is for you, a simple blank graph, and some other tidbits I find useful, handy, or just interesting, including:
- How to do colour substitutions
- Tips for skintone colours
- The type of project vs. How long it might last (Heirloom life expectancy)
- Lucie Heaton also has a few freebies, plus a ton of other patterns at low prices.
How-To
- YarnTree has a sweet little tutorial on how to get started. It's got a list of tools you'll need, how to select fabric, instructions for simple stitches, and how to finish a project. If you print the PDF, you'll get the instructions on the page along with a basic pattern.
- It also has another tutorial for quarter stitches, half stitches, and three-quarter stitches.
Graph Paper
- Incompetech is kind of a life saver. This link leads to the index of graph papers — and they have all kinds of it! Most of them are PDF generators where you can set your own parameters, download, and print them; others are pre-made PDFs for you to download and print. Alternatively, save the downloaded PDFs as image files and edit them in programs like Photoshop.
But seriously, though — they have perspective graph paper, Celtic knotwork paper, blank music notation sheets... Everything! It amazes me!
I'll have a post up at some point on how to make a pattern with Photoshop, basing off of an image.
Anyway, the optimal choice is Square >>> Multi-Weight. Either of the two options under that are fine to use, as they allow for heavier lines at every tenth square. The only difference is that the left-border option gives you space on the side to write down details, like a colour key.
Quick note: Set the smallest grid spacing to 10 for the heavy lines to go by tens.
- Stitchpoint has a handful of free graphs of a good quality.
- About.com also has a few free blank charts that include little arrows. This link: 50x60 stitches.
Pattern Generators
- Pic2Pat is a fantastically easy-to-use tool that takes away all the stress of making your own patterns. If you have a picture you want made into a pattern for free, look no further. Simply upload your picture, and it asks you to select your desired floss brand (only four are listed, though), your fabric's stitches per inch (only from 8 to 18), and the size you want your piece to turn out.
After you hit next, you'll come to a page with a bunch of patterns with varying numbers of colours. The one at the top is 75 colours, and the one at the bottom is six colours. Also, by hovering over each image, you'll be able to see how many colours as well as how many skeins it will require.
Click the one you want, and it'll save as a PDF to you computer, complete with a preview image, the pattern itself, and a colour list/skein count. - My Photo Stitch is similar to Pic2Pat, but they have two forms (basic and advanced). Here's a comparison chart between the two websites.
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| Overall pattern quality is up to the opinion of the user, but so far, Pic 2 Pat wins. |
- Stitchpoint's Writing Tool is super helpful! As its name might suggest, it generates text that you type in. It's got four cross-stitch alphabets and two backstitch ones.
- Caption Maker has forty alphabets to choose from if you're willing to pay for it, and is a lot more convenient than the writing tool. Only two of those seem to be free.
- Coricamo lets you use any font on your computer, and is absolutely free! It can be a text generator as well as a photo pattern generator. Apparently, it has only a few symbols, so you may want to watch out for that.
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