Terms of Service

Last updated March 28, 2026

I'm a solo developer. I built Stitchmate because I wanted to give stitchers and pattern designers the best tool I could make — and earn a living doing it. That's it. These terms exist to protect both of us while keeping things fair and straightforward. If anything here feels misaligned with that goal, email me at [email protected]. I'm genuinely open to feedback.

What Stitchmate is

Stitchmate is a browser-based cross-stitch pattern editor. You can create patterns from scratch, convert photos into stitchable designs, export professional PDFs, and manage your pattern library. Some features are free; others require a paid access pass.

There's also a collection of free tools — fabric calculator, thread reference pages, educational guides, and more.

Your account

You can use several Stitchmate tools without an account. If you create one, you're responsible for keeping your login details secure. I reserve the right to suspend accounts being used to abuse the service — automated scraping, spamming the pattern converter, or attempting to circumvent usage limits.

Free and paid tiers

Stitchmate has four access levels:

• Anonymous (no account): Up to 10 patterns, 2000×2000 max size, unlimited colors
• Free (with account): Up to 10 patterns, 2000×2000 max size, unlimited colors, plus cloud sync
• Hobby: Same pattern limits as Free, plus PDF export for patterns up to 500×500
• Pro: Everything in Hobby, plus PDF export up to 2000×2000, commercial use rights, custom branding, remove Stitchmate branding from exports, priority support

I also offer single-pattern PDF unlocks and unlock packs for users who don't need a full access pass. Single-pattern unlocks and packs do not include commercial use rights.

These limits may change as the product evolves. I'll communicate changes before they take effect.

Purchases and payments

All Stitchmate purchases are one-time payments — there are no auto-renewing subscriptions. You buy access for a specific duration and it doesn't renew automatically.

Payments are processed by Paddle, my Merchant of Record. Paddle handles billing, sales tax, and VAT on my behalf. When you make a purchase, your transaction is with Paddle — their terms and privacy policy apply to payment processing.

Access passes are available as monthly, yearly, or lifetime one-time purchases. Monthly and yearly passes grant access for their stated duration. Lifetime means lifetime of the product.

Time stacking: If you purchase additional time on the same tier, the new pass begins when your current one expires — so you never lose time you've already paid for. If you upgrade from Hobby to Pro, the remaining value of your Hobby pass is prorated and added to your new Pro access duration.

Refunds

Because Stitchmate provides instant digital access, I generally can't offer refunds once you've used paid features. That said — if something went wrong or you feel you've been charged unfairly, email me at [email protected]. I'll work it out. I'm reasonable.

EU consumers have a 14-day right of cancellation from the date of purchase, provided you haven't begun using the paid features. By accessing paid features after purchase, you acknowledge that you may waive this right.

What you create is yours

Patterns you create in Stitchmate belong to you. I don't claim any ownership over your designs, uploads, or creative work.

What you can do with your patterns:

• Use them for personal projects and gifts
• Sell finished stitched pieces you've made by hand
• With an active Pro access pass: sell patterns commercially — as PDFs, in shops, on Etsy, however you like

What I ask:

• Make sure you have the right to use any images you upload. Don't upload images that infringe someone else's copyright or contain illegal content.
• Free-tier PDF exports include Stitchmate branding. This branding may not be removed without an active Pro access pass.

Using and sharing Stitchmate's content

Stitchmate's guides, tool pages, blog posts, and educational content are my original work.

Bloggers, educators, and content creators: You're welcome to quote, reference, and cite information from Stitchmate's guides and tool pages in your own content — with one condition: include a dofollow link back to the source page on stitchmate.app. That's it. No need to ask permission first. A link back helps me keep making free resources, and it helps your readers find the original.

What this covers: Quoting facts, referencing data, summarizing advice, citing tool outputs, and similar editorial use in blog posts, YouTube descriptions, newsletters, and educational materials.

What this doesn't cover: Republishing entire pages, reproducing articles in full, scraping content for aggregation, or using content to build competing tools. For anything beyond normal editorial use, email me first.

How I handle your data

Images you upload are processed to generate your pattern and stored in your cloud library if you have an account. I don't use your images for training, marketing, or any purpose other than providing the service to you.

I use PostHog for product analytics (how features are used, conversion funnels) and Supabase for authentication and pattern storage. I don't sell your personal data to third parties.

For full details, see the Privacy Policy.

What I ask you not to do

To keep Stitchmate running well for everyone:

• Don't scrape or crawl. You may not use bots, scrapers, spiders, or any automated system to access, extract, or collect data from Stitchmate — including pattern data, thread databases, tool outputs, user interface elements, or page content. This applies whether the purpose is building a competing product, training a machine learning model, populating a database, or any other use.
• Don't copy or redistribute the software. Stitchmate's source code, algorithms (including the color quantization engine and FLOW scoring system), thread databases, and user interface designs are my intellectual property. You may not reverse-engineer, decompile, reproduce, or redistribute any part of the service.
• Don't circumvent limits. Don't attempt to bypass tier restrictions, rate limits, or access controls through technical means.
• Don't interfere with the service. Don't upload malicious files, overload servers, or do anything that disrupts the experience for other users.
• Don't impersonate others. Don't create accounts under false pretenses or attempt to access other users' accounts or data.

I take these seriously. Violations may result in immediate account suspension.

Intellectual property

Stitchmate's software, design, algorithms, thread color databases, original content, brand assets, and documentation are my intellectual property or used under license.

DMC, Anchor, and Cosmo are trademarks of their respective owners. I reference their thread colors for compatibility and convenience. Stitchmate is not affiliated with or endorsed by any thread manufacturer.

Service availability

I do my best to keep Stitchmate running smoothly, but I can't guarantee 100% uptime. The service may be temporarily unavailable for maintenance, updates, or due to circumstances beyond my control.

Your patterns are stored in the cloud and backed up regularly. That said, I recommend keeping local copies of important work. I'm not liable for data loss, though I'll do everything reasonable to prevent it.

Changes to the service

Stitchmate is actively developed. I may add, change, or remove features over time. I'll keep the core experience consistent, but I can't promise every feature will be available forever.

If I ever need to shut down Stitchmate entirely, I'll provide at least 90 days notice and give you the opportunity to export and download all your patterns before closure.

Changes to these terms

I may update these terms as the product evolves. When I do, I'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use after changes means you accept the updated terms. For significant changes, I'll notify you by email.

Limitation of liability

Stitchmate is provided "as is." To the fullest extent permitted by law, I'm not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of (or inability to use) the service, including loss of data, loss of profits, or interruption of service.

My total liability for any claim relating to the service shall not exceed the amount you paid in the 12 months before the claim arose.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, negligence causing personal injury, or anything else that cannot be excluded by law.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Georgia. Any disputes will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Georgia.

If you're an EU consumer, nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights under EU consumer protection law.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Email me at [email protected].

I'd rather clarify something than have you guess.

For the complete legal text, see the full legal terms.