PDF Import

Basics

Bought a chart PDF and want to stitch from it on your phone or tablet, ticking off stitches as you go? PDF import reads the chart into a real Stitchmate pattern: the stitches, the threads from the key and the backstitch, with the designer credited. Then you can track it in the Progress Tracker on any device, or open it in the editor.

You don't have to take the reading on trust. It opens right beside your PDF, with a note saying how sure we are, so you can check it before you put a needle in.

Your PDF on the left, what we read beside it, and on the right how far to trust it: Read cleanly, with each check ticked and the colors listed with their codes and stitch counts

PDF import is in early access and free. You need a free account, because your PDF is read on our servers (more in What happens to your PDF).

From PDF to tracking: drop a chart PDF on the home screen, watch it read, compare a corner with the PDF, then Start tracking

Which PDFs work

The reader works from the symbols and the key, the same way you read a chart.

Read best:

Charts with a symbol in each square, row and column numbers along the edges, and a thread key. That's most designer PDFs, made in programs like PCStitch, Pattern Maker, WinStitch, MacStitch, KG-Chart or FlossCross.
Keys that print a stitch count for each thread. Stitchmate checks the chart against those counts, which is what lets it say "Looks right" with confidence.
Blends (two threads in one needle) and charts split over many pages come through as one pattern.

Can't be read yet:

Scanned or photographed charts, and charts saved as one big picture.
Charts made only of colored squares, with no symbols.
Password-locked PDFs. Ask the designer for an unlocked copy.

Read only partly:

Half, quarter and three-quarter stitches aren't read, so those squares come through empty. Stitch them from your PDF.
French knots aren't placed on the chart, though their threads are in the color list so you know what to buy.
Backstitch is read, but some lines can be missed. Compare the outlines with your PDF before you stitch them.

Size limits: up to 50 MB, 300 pages and 1,000,000 squares.

A chart page that reads well: a symbol in every square, row and column numbers along the edges, and a thread key with stitch counts

Importing a PDF

Start from wherever you are:

Home screen: choose Create, then PDF pattern, or drop the PDF anywhere on the page.
Desktop app: File → Import PDF Pattern… in the menu bar, from the editor too.
Progress Tracker: drop the PDF on the tracker.

If you aren't signed in, you'll be asked to, and the same PDF carries on reading afterwards.

Most PDFs read in a few seconds. Charts with dozens of pages take longer, and you can Cancel at any time.

If it won't import

When a PDF can't be read, the screen says why. Here's what to do about each:

The message says	What to do
No chart found in this PDF	It's probably scanned or saved as pictures. Send it to us so we can teach the reader that kind of chart.
This PDF is locked	Ask the designer for a copy without a password, then try again.
This file isn't a PDF we can open	It may be damaged or only partly downloaded. Download it again from the shop and try once more.
This PDF is too large	Over 50 MB. Write to us and we'll help you get it in.
Too many pages, too big or too detailed	Send it to us and we'll look at it.
The connection dropped or didn't finish uploading	Check you're online, then Try again.
Something went wrong on our side	That's our bug, not your PDF. Try again in a minute, or send it to us.

Send it to us takes a moment and helps more than you'd think: every PDF people send teaches the reader a new kind of chart, for you and everyone with a PDF like it. We'll email you when yours imports correctly.

Checking the reading

The first thing to look at is the note at the top of the side panel. It tells you how far to trust what was read, and what to do next:

It says	What it means	What to do
Looks right	Every color's stitch count matches the count printed in your PDF's key.	Start stitching.
Check 1 thing (or more)	A few colors need a look. They're at the top of the color list.	Compare those colors with your PDF, and fix a thread if one is wrong.
Read cleanly	Nothing looked wrong, but your PDF prints no stitch counts to check against.	Compare a corner of the chart with your PDF before you start.
Something's off	Part of the chart didn't read correctly.	You can still use it, but please Send it to us so we can fix the reader.

A color that needs a look carries a short note in the list:

Key: 1,240 means the key prints 1,240 stitches for that thread, but the chart has a different number.
Not on chart means the key lists the thread but none of its stitches were found.
Not in key means a symbol on the chart isn't in the key. Pick the thread it stands for.
Check thread means the color was matched to the key by its stitch count rather than its symbol, so it's worth a look.

To see where a color is used, click it in the list (or click one of its stitches on the chart) and the chart shows that color on its own. Click it again, or Show all, to see everything. On a phone, tap a color.

Want to go down the key line by line? Choose Key order in the color list's sort menu and the colors line up in the same order as your PDF.

Even when the note says Looks right, anything that seems odd is worth reporting. Doesn't look right? Send it to us is always under the note.

The side panel saying Check 1 thing, with the flagged color at the top of the list and its Key note showing the printed count

Comparing with your PDF

Your PDF is always there to check against. On a computer, what we read is on the left and your PDF on the right. On a phone, switch between What we read and Your PDF at the top.

A good check takes a minute or two:

Pick a busy corner of the chart and find the same rows on both sides.
Click a flagged color to see it alone, then look for the same symbol in your PDF.
Glance over the backstitch, since that's the part most likely to have gaps.

A few things make it easier:

Make it look like your printout. View in the top bar has B&W Symbols, which looks most like a printed chart. Symbols + Colors, Flat Colors and Realistic are there too.
Count rows the same way. Switch on Rulers in the same menu. They number rows and columns the way your PDF does, so "row 40, column 25" means the same square on both sides.
Jump to the right page. Your PDF opens on the first chart page and scrolls through every page, key included. Type a page number in the page box to jump there.

Your PDF on the left and what we read beside it, zoomed to the same corner, in B&W Symbols with rulers on

Fixing a thread

Sometimes the key is hard to read and a color ends up with the wrong thread. You can fix it here, before you start, so the color list you shop from and stitch from is right.

Double-click the color in the list, or select it and choose Change thread…. On a phone, tap the color.
Pick the right thread. Your PDF at the top is the thread the key prints. Below it, the closest threads to that color come first. Know the code? Type it in the search box. Your key mixes brands? The brand menu has every brand in the thread library, and Color Library lets you browse them all.
Each thread you click is tried on the chart straight away, and the checks run again, so you can see whether the note at the top improves.
Click Use it to keep the thread, or Cancel to put things back.

A color you've changed is marked Changed in the list. Changed your mind? The color's menu has Use the key's …, which brings back the thread your PDF prints.

Whole key in the wrong brand? If the numbers in the key don't look like DMC, a Thread brand menu appears under the pattern's name. Pick the brand your PDF uses and every color is matched again.

Fixing a thread: double-click a flagged color, type its code from the PDF's key, watch the chart and the checks update, then Use it

Saving and tracking

Before you save, check the Name and the Designer. The name usually comes from the PDF itself. The designer is credited on everything you print or export from the pattern, so it's worth getting right.

Then choose how you want to stitch:

Start tracking opens the pattern in the Progress Tracker, ready to mark stitches as you go.
Open in editor opens it in the editor, if you want to change anything first.

Either way the pattern is in your library from then on, so you can pick it up on another device.

The pattern is for your own stitching. Anything you print or export from it says "For personal use only", and if your PDF forbids printing or copying, Stitchmate won't export the chart either.

An imported pattern open in the Progress Tracker, with the first few rows of one color marked as stitched

What happens to your PDF

Your PDF is uploaded to our servers so it can be read. We keep it privately, to make the reader better. Nobody else sees it, and it's deleted when you delete your account.

When you Send it to us, the PDF isn't uploaded a second time: the report points at the copy we already have. It adds what the reader found, your note if you write one, and your app version, browser and device. Nothing else from your library is sent.

FAQ

Which PDFs can it read?

Charts drawn with symbols, which is how most designers publish: exports from PCStitch, Pattern Maker, WinStitch, MacStitch, KG-Chart, FlossCross and similar programs. Scanned charts, charts saved as pictures, charts of colored squares with no symbols, and password-locked PDFs can't be read yet. See Which PDFs work.

Is it free?

Yes, during early access, and if you sign in it stays free for you for good. You need a free account, because the PDF is read on our servers. A limit on how many unfinished projects a free account can track may come later.

What happens to my PDF?

It's uploaded so we can read it, and kept privately to improve the reader. Nobody else sees it, and it's deleted when you delete your account.

Why are some squares empty where my PDF has half stitches?

Half, quarter and three-quarter stitches aren't read yet, and French knots aren't placed on the chart (their threads are still in the color list). Stitch those from your PDF.

No. It's for your own stitching. Everything you print or export credits the designer and says "For personal use only", and if your PDF forbids printing or copying, Stitchmate won't export the chart at all.