Step-by-step guide
LadaCross
Turn your image into an editable stitch chart, review the colours and isolated stitches, then export a counted PDF and a project you can reopen.
You have an image you are allowed to use (your own drawing, photo or pixel art) and want a stitch chart of a chosen size with a limited number of colours.
The guide and practice files are free to read and download. The complete program is in the paid download; the free practice pack does not include it.
See it in use
Turn a heart PNG into a cross-stitch chart
A screenshot walkthrough with fictional practice data. Select a step to explore.
1. Start with
Turn a heart PNG into a cross-stitch chart
The fictional heart is a 128 × 104 px image with four flat colours.
Sample files and contents
examples/ladacross/fictional-heart-motif.png: a fictional 128 × 104 px pixel image with four flat colours.
Practice files and guides are free. The complete app is included only where the product page says so.
2. In the app
Try it in three steps
- Load the image and set 32 stitches across.
- Keep proportions and generate the chart.
- Export the A4 PDF and editable project.
Show every click and setting
- Open your local LadaCross page, click Choose a PNG or JPEG (up to 12 MP) and select fictional-heart-motif.png.
- In Stitches across, type 32. With Keep the crop's proportions ticked, Stitches down becomes 26.
- Leave Colours at the default of 8 and click Make chart.
- Under Project and export, click Export PDF, then Export .ladacross.json.
3. The result
Inspect the result
The three-page PDF includes an overview, a 32 × 26 chart and legend: 832 full stitches in four colours.
What to check in the practice result
The 32 × 26 heart contains 832 stitches and four colours. The supplied outputs/heart-A4.pdf and heart-Letter.pdf each have three pages: overview, chart and legend. The project restores the same cells and palette in a fresh browser context.
This fictional example is shown in the working interface and in the supplied result. Review the guide before using your own files.
See the workflow at a glance
Choose a short explanation, then follow the worked example below. Check the requirements and compatibility before using your own files.
Turn your motif into symbols you can check.
Bring your own image and palette to a small cross-stitch project. LadaCross reduces an image to a stitch grid, lets you inspect the symbols and exports a PDF chart with colour counts. The fictional heart example becomes a 32-by-26 grid with four colours and 832 stitches. Run it locally with Node.js and desktop Chrome. No licensed thread-brand table or brand codes are bundled: review the conversion and match your RGB colours with a physical shade card.
View the illustrated card
Before you start
- Node.js 20.12 or newer and desktop Google Chrome. Chrome 152 on Linux checked; other operating systems and browsers remain unverified.
- A PNG/JPEG up to 12 megapixels that you have permission to use. Charts support up to 200 × 200 stitches and 8–32 requested colours.
- Extract the purchased ZIP, run node start.mjs in its LadaCross folder, then open http://127.0.0.1:8787/ . Keep the terminal open. No npm packages or activation key are needed.
Your first result
Open your local edition
Extract the purchased ZIP and follow INSTALL.txt. Install Node.js20.12+ once, run node start.mjs in the LadaCross folder and open http://127.0.0.1:8787/ in desktop Chrome. The free pack includes the illustrated guide and actual outputs; the app is supplied in the paid ZIP.
Make your first chart
Click Try the sample image. Leave 48 stitches on the longest side and 8 colours, then click Make chart. The flower gives 48 × 48 = 2,304 stitches, eight colours and three default PDF pages. Increase size or colours if important detail is lost.
Use your own image
Choose a PNG/JPEG up to12MP. Crop the preview, set Stitches across/down and choose the colour count. Keep the crop’s proportions preserves the image ratio. Your palette contains measured RGB colours without thread-brand codes.
Review colours and isolated stitches
Use Review palette below the chart. Check symbols and counts, merge similar colours or edit with Brush and Pick. Next isolated moves through isolated stitches. Some isolated stitches are intentional detail; compare with your source before changing them. Undo/Redo lets you compare edits.
Save a project you can reopen
Choose Project and export, then Export .ladacross.json. Keep that file outside the app folder. Open project file restores it in a fresh browser session; browser-only autosave is not a backup.
Export and inspect your PDF
Choose A4 or Letter, colour blocks with symbols or monochrome, stitches per page, overlap and overview. Review the page count, then Export PDF. The default flower and heart examples each produce an overview, one chart sheet and one legend. Match physical thread against a shade card and test print/ stitch before a large piece.
A worked example
Chart a small heart motif
Input: examples/ladacross/fictional-heart-motif.png: a fictional 128 × 104 px pixel image with four flat colours.
- Open your local LadaCross page, click Choose a PNG or JPEG (up to 12 MP) and select fictional-heart-motif.png.
- In Stitches across, type 32. With Keep the crop's proportions ticked, Stitches down becomes 26.
- Leave Colours at the default of 8 and click Make chart.
- Under Project and export, click Export PDF, then Export .ladacross.json.
Expected result: The 32 × 26 heart contains 832 stitches and four colours. The supplied outputs/heart-A4.pdf and heart-Letter.pdf each have three pages: overview, chart and legend. The project restores the same cells and palette in a fresh browser context.
More application screens
From image to a chart you can check
Actual captures of this edition in Chrome 152 on Linux, plus a rendered page from its heart PDF. These are worked examples, not simulated product screens.
1. Start with a manageable chart
2. Review the chart before printing
3. A small motif with a counted result
4. Save the project and choose the paper
5. Inspect the actual printable chart
Troubleshooting
The first image looks too coarse
48 stitches on the longest side is a manageable starting point, not a promise of exact detail. Increase the stitch dimensions or colour count, then compare the chart with your image.
The chart has many near-identical colours.
Lower the colour count before Make chart, or use Merge on similar colours in the palette.
Stitches down changes when I type Stitches across.
Keep the crop's proportions is ticked. Untick it to set both numbers yourself.
My chart is missing when I come back.
LadaCross autosaves the open chart in this browser (the status shows “Autosaved” and a time), but the browser can clear that storage. Export a .ladacross.json file and load it with Open project file.
There are no thread brand numbers.
This is intentional: no licensed thread table is included, so the chart uses your own colours. Match threads by eye against a real shade card.
Compatibility & limits
- Full cross stitches only. No backstitch, fractional stitches, licensed thread-brand codes or exact skein estimates.
- Conversion reduces colours and can remove detail. Inspect symbols, isolated stitches and the counted legend.
- Browser storage is not a backup: export the project file.
- Chrome 152 on Linux with synthetic examples checked. Narrow desktop viewport tests do not verify physical mobile, touch or installed PWA use.
- A4/Letter PDF generation and saved-project restore checked. Physical printing, stitched samples, thread matching and other operating systems remain unverified.
- The complete app is a purchased local download. No separate activation key or Pro unlock is needed for its included features.
Need a hand?
Tell us the product, host application and version, what you tried, and the exact error. Contact support with a fictional example; keep private customer files and passwords out of your message.