| Size | Dimensions | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| A4 | 8.27" × 11.69" | Standard international paper |
| Letter | 8.5" × 11" | Standard US paper |
| A3 | 11.69" × 16.54" | Large patterns, fewer pages |
| A5 | 5.83" × 8.27" | Compact booklet |
| Tablet | 8" × 10.5" | iPad-sized reading |
| Phone (large) | 3" × 6.5" | Mobile phone viewing |
| Phone (small) | 2.5" × 5.5" | Smaller phone screens |
PDF Export
Export your cross-stitch pattern as a multi-page PDF with cover page, thread legend, pattern grid tiles, watermark, and branding.
Location: Editor → Export
Keyboard & modifiers
- Cmd+P Ctrl+P
- Open Export / Print
Basics
PDF Export generates a multi-page printable document from your pattern -- the final step in the photo-to-pattern workflow. The PDF includes a cover page with a pattern preview, a thread legend with color codes and usage stats, and pattern grid pages tiled to fit your chosen page size.
The export flow has two parts:
- Settings panel — Configure page size, margins, cover page, legend, pattern grid, watermark, and quality options.
- Live preview — The PDF regenerates in real time as you change settings. Flip through pages to check everything before downloading.
All settings are saved automatically and persist across sessions. Change them once, and they'll be the same next time you export.
Page size & orientation
Choose the paper size and orientation for your PDF.
Orientation: Portrait (default) or Landscape. Landscape swaps width and height, giving you wider tiles — useful for patterns that are wider than they are tall.
Margins
Control the white space around the content on each page.
| Preset | All sides |
|---|---|
| Narrow | 0.5" |
| Normal (default) | 1" |
| Wide | 1.5" |
| Custom | 0–3" per side, in 0.25" steps |
Custom margins let you set top, bottom, left, and right independently. Narrow margins squeeze more stitches per page; wide margins leave room for binding or notes.
Pro tip: For patterns you'll put in a binder, use custom margins with a wider left margin (1.5–2") to leave room for hole punches.
Cover page
The first page of the PDF shows a preview of your finished pattern along with title and author info.
Settings:
- Title — Defaults to the pattern name. Override with a custom title.
- Author line — Designer attribution. Leave blank to hide it.
- Style — Simple (flat color blocks) or Realistic (thread texture overlay).
- Rendering — Raster (high-quality image, larger file) or SVG (vector, smaller file).
- Custom cover image (Pro) — Upload your own image instead of the generated pattern preview. Max 3000×3000px, 5MB.
Note: The cover page preview uses the same pattern data as the editor — what you see is what you get.
Legend page
The legend lists every thread color in your pattern with its code, name, symbol, and stitch count. Colors, symbols, and legend comments are configured in the palette panel.
Sort order:
| Option | How it sorts |
|---|---|
| Stitch count (default) | Most-used colors first |
| Floss code | Alphabetical by thread code (DMC 310, 321, etc.) |
| Manual | Uses the order you arranged in the editor palette |
Thread usage: Toggle on to show estimated skein requirements next to each color. Automatically hidden for diamond painting patterns.
Stitch count: Toggle to show or hide the per-color stitch count column.
Pattern pages
Pattern pages divide your design into a grid of tiles, each fitting on one page. This is where stitchers spend most of their time — counting cells, following symbols, and stitching row by row.
Tile size controls how many stitches fit on each page:
| Preset | Stitches per page |
|---|---|
| Compact | 60 × 80 |
| Comfortable (default) | 40 × 50 |
| Enlarged | 25 × 35 |
| Custom | 10–100 per axis, step 5 |
Overlap adds shared cells between adjacent tiles so stitchers can match edges:
- 0 — No overlap (pages butt up against each other).
- 3 (default) — 3 cells of shared content on each edge.
- 5 — More overlap for complex patterns.
Fewer stitches per page means bigger cells and easier counting, but more pages total. Compact is great for experienced stitchers; Enlarged works well for beginners or when printing at smaller sizes.
Pro tip: For very large patterns (200+ stitches), the export automatically switches to Narrow margins and Compact tiles to keep the page count reasonable.
Grid & guides
Control the grid overlay on pattern pages.
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show grid | On / Off | On |
| Major interval | Every 5–20 stitches | 10 |
| Minor interval | Every 1–10 stitches | 5 |
| Grid style | Solid, Dashed, Dotted | Solid |
| Rulers | None, Top-left, All sides | All |
| Center lines | On / Off | Off |
| Center line color | Any color | Red |
| Center line style | Solid, Dashed, Dotted | Solid |
Major grid lines are thicker and help stitchers count in blocks (typically every 10 stitches). Minor lines subdivide those blocks. Rulers along the edges show stitch coordinates.
Center lines draw a crosshair through the pattern midpoint — useful for stitchers who start from the center.
Render mode
Choose how stitches appear on pattern pages.
| Mode | What it looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Full (default) | Colored cells with symbols | Most stitchers — color for context, symbols for counting |
| Symbols only | Black symbols on white background | B&W printing, saving ink |
| Colors only | Color fills, no symbols | Visual reference, preview-style |
Symbol contrast: Auto (picks black or white per cell based on brightness), force Black, or force White.
Symbol size: Small, Medium, or Large (default). Controls how much of each cell the symbol fills.
Watermark & branding
Add watermark text and branding info to your PDF.
- Watermark (Pro) — Custom text rendered diagonally across pattern pages. Opacity: 10–50%.
- Stitchmate branding — "Created with Stitchmate.app" in the footer. Pro users can hide this.
- License text — Defaults to "For personal use only." Pro users can customize or choose from Creative Commons options.
- Copyright — Optional copyright notice with year in the footer.
Pro features:
| Feature | Free/Hobby | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Custom watermark text | No | Yes |
| Remove Stitchmate branding | No | Yes |
| Custom license text | No | Yes |
| Custom cover image | No | Yes |
DPI & quality
DPI (dots per inch) controls the rendering resolution of your PDF.
| Preset | DPI | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Print | 96 | Fast generation, screen viewing |
| Standard (default) | 150 | Digital sharing, casual printing |
| Professional | 300 | High-quality printing |
| Ultra | 600 | Archival quality, maximum fidelity |
Higher DPI means sharper output but larger file sizes and longer generation times. Standard (150 DPI) is fine for most uses — you'll only notice a difference at Professional or higher when printing large patterns on quality paper.
Device presets
Optimize the PDF layout for different viewing devices.
| Preset | Margins | Cells per page | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop (default) | Your chosen margins | Your chosen tile size | Printing on paper |
| Tablet | 0.5" | 35 × 45 | iPad viewing |
| Phone (portrait) | 0.25" | 20 × 30 | Phone in portrait |
| Phone (landscape) | 0.25" | 30 × 20 | Phone in landscape |
Device presets auto-adjust margins and cells-per-page for comfortable viewing on the target screen. The Desktop preset uses whatever margins and tile size you've configured manually.
Downloading the PDF
When you're happy with the preview, click Download. The PDF is generated in a Web Worker so the UI stays responsive, and a progress indicator shows which page is being rendered.
The filename is derived from your pattern title (or "stitchmate - cross-stitch pattern" if no title is set). Special characters are cleaned up automatically.
Note: Free tier users can preview the PDF but downloading requires a paid plan or a one-time pattern unlock. A gradient overlay on the preview indicates the restriction.
Tips & gotchas
- Settings persist. Your export configuration is saved in the browser and restored next time. Set it once, export many patterns with the same settings.
- Large patterns auto-adjust. Patterns over 200×200 stitches automatically switch to Narrow margins and Compact tiles if you haven't changed those settings manually.
- Overlap prevents counting errors. The default 3-cell overlap means each page shares a few columns/rows with its neighbors. Stitchers can match these shared cells to verify alignment.
- SVG title page = smaller files. If file size matters (email, sharing), switch the cover page rendering to SVG mode.
- B&W saves ink. Switch render mode to Symbols Only for black-and-white printing. The symbols are all you need for stitching.
- Center lines for center-start stitchers. Many stitchers start from the center of the fabric. Enable center lines to give them a clear reference point on every page.
- PDF is independent of View Options. Your on-screen view settings (stitch style, grid, symbols) don't affect the PDF. The export has its own complete set of display options.