KONGRA Creative · How it works
Photo in, a real pattern out.
The Stitch & Diamond system.
Customers upload a photo and get back a genuine, stitchable chart — either a counted cross-stitch chart with a DMC floss legend, or a diamond-painting drill map. This is exactly what we generate, show, and deliver. Try the controls below.
📄 New to cross-stitch? Download the printable step-by-step guide (PDF)
The converter, live
Watch a photo become a chart
Our converter samples the image onto a grid, matches every cell to the nearest real DMC thread color, then caps the palette to keep it stitchable. Switch the craft and the difficulty — the finished look, the working chart, and the shopping legend all update the way a customer's would.
The customer's path
From upload to hoop, in five steps
Start to finish, here's how a custom pattern comes together. Custom patterns are included with a KONGRA Creative membership — Studio members spend credits, or order à-la-carte from $7.
Choose the craft
Cross-stitch (thread & needle) or diamond painting (resin drills). Each has its own chart style and legend.
Pick a difficulty
Easy, Moderate, or Hard sets the grid size and color count — so beginners aren't handed a 45-color chart.
Upload a photo
Any JPG/PNG. Portraits get automatic skin-smoothing so faces read as smooth tone, not speckle.
We generate & check
The chart, finished preview, and printable PDF are produced, then reviewed before delivery.
Download or order a kit
Grab the PDF anytime — or add a Ready-to-Stitch kit with the exact floss cut to the legend.
Made for every skill level
Difficulty is real, not cosmetic
The same photo becomes a different chart at each tier. Fewer colors on a smaller grid is faster and more forgiving; more colors on a finer grid is photo-like and detailed. These are the real settings behind the toggle above.
Fast & forgiving
Cross-stitch: ~5 colors · ~50-stitch grid. Diamond: ~15 colors. All full stitches — a clean first project.
The popular pick
Cross-stitch: ~25 colors · ~100 grid. Diamond: ~30 colors. Balanced detail; fractional stitches smooth the edges.
Photo-realistic
Cross-stitch: ~45 colors · ~180 grid. Diamond: ~50 colors. Rich shading for advanced stitchers.
Anatomy · Cross-stitch chart
What makes a chart actually stitchable
A good chart isn't just colored squares. Ours follows real counted-thread conventions so it reads at the needle.
Symbols shaded by luminance
Every color gets a distinct symbol, tinted dark-to-light to match the color it stands for — so the picture reads straight off the chart, not just the color key.
Backstitch — only where needed
A thin dark outline drawn through fine detail the stitches can't hold on their own — whiskers, text, eyelashes. Never a box around every shape.
Fractional stitches
Half and quarter stitches split a cell diagonally to smooth blocky edges. Cross-stitch only, and only on Moderate & Hard — Easy stays all full stitches.
A shopping-ready legend
Each color lists its exact DMC number and how many skeins to buy (about one per 1,200 stitches) — so the customer can order floss with no guesswork.
Anatomy · Diamond painting
The same photo, as a drill mosaic
Diamond painting places resin "drills" onto an adhesive canvas. The chart is simpler — no backstitch, no fractional stitches, because square drills can't be split — so it leans on more colors for its shading.
A grid of colored drills
Every cell is one drill in a DMC-matched color, laid on a dark canvas. The finished piece sparkles — which is why the preview shows it on black, not cream.
A drill legend, not a floss one
The legend counts drills per color instead of skeins — the shopping list for a diamond kit — with the same DMC-number matching underneath.
What lands in the account
Every order is a real, printable PDF
Alongside the on-screen preview, the customer downloads a multi-page PDF built to print and stitch from directly.
Color page + working chart
A full-color reference and the symbol grid to count from, page by page.
DMC / drill legend
Every color with its symbol, DMC number, stitch or drill count, and skeins.
Finished size, done for them
Calculated from the grid and the fabric count — e.g. how many inches on 14-count Aida.
A 1-inch calibration square
Printed on the page so they can confirm the PDF printed at 100% before starting.
Optional · No supply run needed
Want it ready to stitch? We'll pull the kit together
Your pattern already spells out the exact colors and how much of each you'll need — so if you'd rather not track it all down, we can put a complete kit together for your design and ship it ready to go.
Totally optional — your PDF and files are always yours to download and shop for yourself. The kit just saves you the sourcing if you'd like a head start.
- Printed pattern packet the working chart + legend
- Aida cloth, cut to size finished size + 3″ margin each side
- Exact DMC floss pulled straight from the skein counts
- Tapestry needles sized to the fabric count
- Hoop or frame Q-Snap for larger pieces
- Optional add-ons scissors, project bag — opt in at checkout