Handbook

Learn the editor by doing.

The fastest path from “I have an image” to “I have a clean PDF I’d actually stitch”. Short, practical pages anchored to real UI locations + shortcuts.

Stitchmate cross stitch pattern editor with a sunflower design and DMC thread palette

Stitchmate is a browser-based cross-stitch pattern editor built for stitchers who want clean, printable results without fiddly desktop software.

This handbook walks you through every feature — from importing a photo and tuning the palette, to drawing with the brush, selection, and shape tools, all the way to exporting a multi-page PDF ready for your hoop.

Each page focuses on one tool or concept, shows you exactly where to find it in the UI, and lists the keyboard shortcuts that make the workflow feel fast. Start with the 7-step happy path below, then explore individual sections at your own pace.

Tools

The core edit tools you'll use every session.

Brush Tool

B

Paint stitches with a round brush. Fast fills, partial stitches with smart Merge, symmetry, two-color texture, and keyboard-precise placement.

Left toolbar → Brush

Fill Tool

G

Fill large areas fast. Click once to paint a connected area, fill within a selection, or clear a region. Instant results, one-step Undo.

Left toolbar → Fill

Shape Tool

R

Draw clean geometric shapes in stitches — rectangles, circles, and more — filled or outlined. Perfect for borders, frames, labels, and geometric patterns.

Left toolbar → Shape

Line Tool

L

Draw clean straight lines of stitches — perfect for borders, outlines, and pixel-art style edges.

Left toolbar → Shape dropdown → Line

Text Tool

T

Add lettering to your pattern — names, dates, labels, and short quotes — with a live preview. Choose a font, size, and style, then apply to convert it into stitches.

Left toolbar → Text

Selection Tool

V

Select stitches so you can copy, fill, erase, expand, or hand them off to Transform.

Left toolbar → Selection

Selection Transform Tool

T

Move, resize, rotate, or flip the stitches inside your selection — with a live preview. Press Enter to apply, Escape to cancel.

Left toolbar → Selection Transform

Confetti Cleanup Tool

Remove confetti (lonely speckle stitches) using a real-time brush or a safe batch Auto pass. Toggle ConfettiScope to see hotspots at a glance.

Left toolbar → Clean Up Confetti

Backstitch Tool

K

Add crisp outlines and detail lines on top of your stitches. Draw single lines or connected paths, edit points, and auto-outline color areas with one click.

Left toolbar → Backstitch

Quick tips

Best mental model
Import sets the “raw material”, palette tools shape the “paint”, tools shape the “stitches”, export packages it.
If quality feels off
Check with FLOW and ConfettiScope, then use Confetti Brush to clean the ugly hotspots.
Shortcuts matter
A couple sessions with shortcuts and you’ll feel the editor “click”.