Crochet pattern generator
from your photo.

Look for a subject you can recognize at thumbnail size. A sleeping cat can have a distinctive outline even when individual whiskers disappear. Start with Subject only, then look at the space between the paws and tail. If the model has mistaken a cushion for part of the animal, switch to Full photo and crop around the head. Check the ears and the outline again at the actual stitch width. A photograph that looks beautiful on a large screen can make a poor miniature. Framing just one part of it often gives a better result than adding another yarn color.

A chart with 40 stitches across and 32 rows contains 1,280 stitches. Doubling each dimension gives 5,120 stitches, four times the original work before borders or finishing. Use the smaller chart to decide whether the picture reads at all. In the larger chart there is room for a stripe around an ear or a gap between two petals. Compare that extra detail with the time you want to spend. If the only difference you see is scattered dots in the background, keep the smaller size and edit those few cells by hand.

Two colors are useful for a silhouette, an initial or a bold symbol. With Subject only selected, one color belongs to the background. Four colors leave three for the subject, enough for a shadow, a midtone and a highlight. Six colors may help with markings, but inspect the longest and busiest rows before choosing. Lay the actual yarns next to one another in daylight. Two colors that look different on screen can blend together in wool. Try merging similar colors in the editor and look at the whole picture again before buying another skein.

Make a swatch with the hook, yarn and stitch you plan to use. Measure a span away from the edges and enter stitches and rows per 10 cm. For example, at 20 stitches and 16 rows per 10 cm, a finished grid of 40 by 32 measures about 20 by 20 cm before a border. Width is the number of stitches divided by stitches per centimetre. Use row gauge separately for height. The studio can recalculate the row count when you enter gauge so the subject keeps its proportions. Set gauge before painting fine details.

For the flat single crochet chart, label your yarns with the letters in the legend. Chain one more than the width and make the first single crochet in the second chain from your hook. Row 1 begins at the bottom right of the picture for a right-handed crocheter. If its instruction begins A × 6, work six stitches with yarn A. Chain one, turn, and read row 2 from left to right. The turning chain is separate from the chart. Count the runs together at the end of each row to check you still have the intended width.

Open the row reader on a detailed part of the picture. A sequence such as A × 8, B × 1, A × 7 asks you to change yarn twice for a single square. Decide what the square represents before removing it. The one dark square that suggests an eye might be worth keeping, while a flash of reflected light on a wall may add little. Paint unnecessary speckles with a neighboring color and compare the row again. For a large solid color area, separate bobbins can be easier to manage than carrying every strand across the entire piece.

Choose PNG for a single chart you can zoom into on a tablet. It includes the color key and numbering. Choose Print / Save PDF when you want written rows beside the chart, or a large chart split into numbered sections. Check the print preview at the paper size you intend to use before printing the full pattern. Save a project file as well if you might change yarn colors later. That file includes your working image and settings and can be opened again in the studio. A screenshot alone cannot restore your paint edits and row progress.

In the main studio, one square means one US single crochet stitch. Knit stitches have different proportions and the written row instructions assume a hook. Filet crochet builds a picture from open and filled mesh, so a square spans several stitch positions. Flat overlay mosaic crochet uses a single working yarn in each row and taller stitches to cover parts of an earlier row. Use the dedicated makers below when you want instructions for those fabrics. A two-color picture can inspire all three projects, but the foundation, reading direction and meaning of a marked cell change with the technique.