MacStitch and WinStitch

Over the last 25 years , we have developed MacStitch (for Apple Macs) and WinStitch (for Windows machines). Same great app, one for each kind of computer!
Current Version: 2020 (V15.x) - Mac works on all OSX from 10.9 onwards including Catalina. Windows from Windows 7 upwards, including Windows 10
Whats new in the 2020 build?
What was new in the 2019 build?
The app lets you import scanned photos or clip art, chooses suitable colors for you, and converts these into designs, then lets you print out the designs in a variety of easy-to-read pattern styles on your own printer, together with an estimate of the amount of thread used.
Alternatively, you can export to a PDF file, if you intend to sell your work on the web.
Turn your own photos into charts - use clip art or images copied from the web (copyright may exist in these images so be careful if you wish to sell the designs afterwards)
From start to chart in minutes!
And of course, the more artistic can design their own creations using little more than the mouse.
What you see on screen is what you get on paper and cloth.
Draw full, half, quarter stitches, beads, knots, backstitch.
Chain stitch, bugle beads, pearlier, diamond painting.
Squares, circles, flood fill, search & replace, multi-level undo.
Print the result, export as PNG files or PDF files , and so much more!
Add single line comments, copyright information, and miniature keys right onto the design.
Menus will display in English, French,German, Italian, Dutch , or Spanish
Now available in OSX's new Dark Mode! ('Dark Mode' is Mac only at present)
(Design by Sandra Brewer)
Click the image below for more pictures and information
Click these logos to read some comparative reviews:
Dana Batho Blog: ‘From a painting to cross stitch’
if you have access to charts in .PAT format (PCStitch versions 4 to 7 which can be bought online) , the app can open them directly.
(Newer versions such as 11 and 12 need to be converted to version 7 format. either ask the creator, use PCStitch to export, or we offer a service which converts these for you. see our 'buy now' page for details)
Work on screen and export in many styles. Here are just a few:
For crochet, you can export a variety of styles. Here is 'block mode, C2C'
See what the results will be BEFORE you stitch them!
Bobble Graphs in Tunisian Crochet screen. (doubles up stitches for you!)
You can of course already draw designs like this in color:
But the new bobble chart option added to Tunisian Crochet dialog turns a ‘normal’ cross stitch pattern, into a text pattern which inserts the extra row, and explains which stitches are plain, and which are bobbled.
Enter text. either using fonts from your system, or backstitched letters
Put mini keys right inside the chart
Some recently added features:
DarkMode support for OSX Mojave
See the screenshot at the top of the page!
‘Viewport’ Window - same chart in 2 windows at once
This allows you to edit on the main screen and also see it in a different format in a second window.
You can add single stitches when zoomed in on the viewport. (Shown here on the right)
This option is also exposed as 'Magnify' when you select an area.
'Stock List' in the Palette menu.
-You can record how many skeins you own, see how many are needed for the current chart, and list any you need to buy. (Open that screen for each chart and it will automatically add the colors to your stock list)
'extra detail using petit point' option after an image import
- (turns full stitch into quarter stitches by referring to the original image)
Mirror mode
(using a checkbox on the status bar)
- Whatever you draw on the left is also repeated in reverse on the right.
'Measuring tool' icon
- drag a line from point to point, and as you drag, the actual length is shown. Like taking a tape measure to the chart.
Added ChainStitch as new option
'BackStitch Locator'.
-lists all backstitches, even the tiny hard-to-find ones.
Clicking on one displays it on the design. Ticking it in the list marks it for deletion.
New 'Knots and Beads Locator'.
-lists all knots and beads, even the tiny hard-to-find ones. Also allows you to recolour these, and nudge them around.
Vector symbols for PDF output.
- .allows you to highlight symbols within a PDF (intended for use on iPads and similar.can select and highlight the completed areas.)
- PDF file size is reduced
Note: some PDF viewers do not print these symbols. if that occurs, open the file in Adobe Acrobat, and when printing select ‘Print as Image’ in the advanced print settings screen.
Moved zoom control to bottom right of status bar so that it is available when the toolbar is missing.
Added cloth color, cloth style, and hpi to the second toolbar
Added grid options to toolbar
Added autosave to the preferences dialog
Autosaves are now not deleted on startup, but can be recovered at any date (max 40)
Balloon view now not visible by default, as rarely used (See preferences)
Notes on PDF screen will be remembered for use in new charts
Added 'Bottom to Top' feature in View/Rulers menu. (This switches the row numbering to start at the bottom and work upwards on screen.)
Extra information items added to Properties window.
Added new menu item 'add these colors to MyThreads.threads’ - allows you to add colors from any palette to a threads file which can be used for importing later .
Zooming out when pasting large motifs is now a user preference
New option to add 'substitute threads' as comments on threads, in Palette menu
Right click on 'Clipboards' will delete all old clips
Clipboards doesn’t try to delete 'hidden' files.
Can change the color of the Markup square and it is remembered
Increased the resolution of inserted image layers
Drawing stuff:
Added an option to save the current threads into a favorites.threads file. This means you can import against a ‘custom’ thread set made up from as many colors as you like.
Added Navigator to view toolbar in order to speed up moving around the design
Preferences option (and PDF screen tickbox ) allow you to include / exclude the backstitch key in the PDFs
Added a check for duplicated symbols: any which are used twice are flagged in the palette with a yellow alert icon.
Now Onion Skin keeps high resolution original image instead of using a lower resolution copy.
New Onion Skin Editor allows scaling , up/down/left/right adjustment , plus rotation - with a ‘live view’ to allow you to line up more accurately.
Added 'Insert Row at top / Column on left' options to allow you to add a bit of space
A new preference allows you to keep the area selector after rotating and pasting so that you can rotate or flip several times.
Output Changes:
Thread Sorter can now be 2,3,4, or 5 columns
Pale backstitches now have a black outline on PDF export (so you can see white backstitch)
PDF screen generates a thumbnail page for a mini preview-option to have 'live' preview on PDF screen (updates every second or two if changes are made - if this takes too long it can be turned off)
Thread Sorter option added to PDF
Bobble Graphs in Tunisian Crochet screen. (doubles up stitches)
Alternating left to right or right to left in Tunisian crochet
Tunisian Crochet remembers the settings you used last