NodeStitch Stitch Charts: what it does

Last updated: October 17, 2026

NodeStitch is pattern-writing software for crochet and knitting designers. Its

stitch chart editor, Stitch Charts, is built into the same editor as the written

pattern, photos and tables. This page lists what the chart editor does today,

what's free, what's Pro, and what it doesn't do. The Help Center has

step-by-step articles.

Stitch Charts is new. If something you need is missing, tell us at

support@nodestitch.app.

In short

• Charts for knitting and crochet: 14 chart types, including free-form

crochet diagrams.

• Every drawing and editing tool is free, including fill, mirror, rotate,

crop and stamp.

• The chart sits on the pattern page, next to the written pattern, and goes

into the pattern's PDF.

• Written row-by-row instructions are read off the chart by fixed rules,

not AI. Free accounts see the first 3 rows; Pro shows every row.

• Photo to chart runs in your browser, free and unlimited.
• Charts up to 300 x 300 free, and up to 1,000 x 1,000 on Pro. There's

no limit on how many charts you make.

• Knitting and crochet only. NodeStitch doesn't make cross stitch, beading,

diamond painting or other craft charts.

Which chart types can I make?

Knitting (7): knitting colorwork (Fair Isle, stranded), knitting lace,

knitting cables, knitting stitch symbols, two-color brioche, mosaic knitting,

and machine punch card.

Crochet (7): crochet colorwork (tapestry, graphgan, pixel), crochet stitch

symbols, corner to corner (C2C), filet crochet, overlay mosaic crochet,

Tunisian crochet (forward and return passes), and free-form crochet diagrams

for doilies, motifs and round charts.

Free accounts can make knitting colorwork, lace, cables and stitch symbols,

crochet colorwork, crochet stitch symbols, filet and free-form diagrams. Corner

to corner, two-color brioche, mosaic knitting, overlay mosaic crochet, Tunisian

and machine punch cards are Pro.

A chart can be switched between knitting and crochet later. Colors carry over,

and NodeStitch asks what each symbol stitch should become.

Is the stitch chart maker free?

Yes. Every editing tool is free, and so are the stitch library, the legend, the

count check, the yarn estimate, Follow mode, share links, photo to chart, and

putting the chart into the pattern's PDF. Pro adds bigger charts, every written

row, custom stitches, the six special chart types and exporting a chart on its

own.

Pro is $9.99 a month, or $99 a year.

What editing tools does it have?

Draw, erase, fill (including filling every cell of one stitch at once), select,

copy, cut, paste, stamp, eyedropper, mirror left-right or top-bottom, rotate a

quarter turn or half turn, crop to a selection, clear, and insert or delete rows

and columns (up to 50 at a time). There's undo and redo, keyboard shortcuts, and

a right-click menu. To move part of a chart, cut it and paste or stamp it where

you want it.

There are also repeat boxes and outlines, a text tool that stamps words onto the

chart in stitches, a trace layer for drawing over a photo, a wrong-side view, a

lock for finished charts, print-friendly grid line styles, and private chart

notes that can optionally be printed.

On a tablet, one finger draws and two fingers pan and zoom. The editor is built

for computers and tablets; there's no phone layout.

Does it write instructions from the chart?

Yes. NodeStitch reads the chart row by row and writes the instructions with

fixed rules, not AI, so the same chart always gives the same text. For example:

• Knitting: "Row 5 (RS): k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k5 (21)"
• Crochet colorwork: "sc 4 in Color A, sc 1 in Color B, sc 5 in Color A (10)"

How it writes:

• Knitting rows use each stitch's wrong-side reading on wrong-side rows. Rounds

are labeled "Rnd", and flat rows are marked (RS) or (WS).

• Crochet colorwork names the stitch as well as the color, in US or UK terms (a

US sc is a UK dc). Knitting colorwork names the colors.

• Corner to corner charts are written one diagonal at a time, with the corner

marked.

• A repeat box with a count is written as "*...; rep from *". If you draw the

copies out next to the box, they're still written once as a repeat.

• Each row ends with its stitch count in brackets, which you can turn off.
• Options include count style ("3 blue" or "blue x3"), finding repeats, and

grouping identical rows.

Free accounts see the first 3 rows. Pro shows every row, copies them as text or

Markdown, and can add them to the written pattern ("Add to pattern"), as text

or as a table, with each line linked to its chart row.

Free-form diagrams don't produce written rows.

Does NodeStitch use AI to make charts?

No. NodeStitch never designs charts or writes patterns with AI. Written

instructions come from fixed rules.

The only AI in Stitch Charts is three optional steps in photo to chart, which

prepare the photo before the normal conversion runs: remove the background,

simplify into clean areas, and keep small details. They're off unless you turn

them on.

Can I turn a photo into a chart?

Yes, as a colorwork chart. The conversion runs in your browser, and the photo

isn't uploaded unless you turn on an AI step. It's free and unlimited.

You choose the size in stitches and rows and the number of colors (2 to 50),

with sliders for detail and smoothing and a "merge similar colors" setting.

Cleanup options remove stray single stitches, remove patches smaller than a

size you set, and, for crochet, avoid single-stitch color changes. Every color

merge is listed and can be undone. Colors can be matched to a real yarn line or

to the colors of another chart.

If the picture is already pixel art, such as a sprite, a cross stitch pattern

saved as a PNG, or a graphgan drawn in a paint program, NodeStitch spots it and

offers Exact import: every cell becomes one stitch and the colors stay as they

are (up to 50). This is free too.

Results from a photo depend on the photo and the settings. A simple, high-contrast image

works best, and the number of colors usually needs adjusting.

What stitches and symbols are included?

About 300 stitches, all free:

• Knitting: the Craft Yarn Council (CYC) knit symbols, with an alternative

drawing style; Japanese (JIS) symbols for the stitches JIS covers; brioche,

Estonian (including nupps), beaded stitches, and cables from 2 up to 12

stitches wide.

• Crochet: the CYC crochet symbols, plus NodeStitch's own drawings for

posts, puffs, bobbles, popcorns, clusters, shells, crosses, spikes, picots,

loops, increases, decreases, chains and rings, Tunisian and overlay mosaic.

• Direction arrows and marks such as join yarn and fasten off.

Pro accounts can also make custom stitches: an abbreviation, a name, a width of

1 to 20 cells, stitch counts, and a symbol.

The legend builds itself from the stitches actually used, in US or UK crochet

terms, and credits the symbol standards.

How are rows numbered?

Free: flat starting on the right side, flat starting on the wrong side, in the

round, and right-side rows only (with a note for what to do on wrong-side rows).

Pro: corner to corner diagonals, two passes per row (two-color brioche and

Tunisian), and numbered from the center (machine punch cards).

Row numbers can go on the side each row starts, on the right, the left, both

sides, or be hidden. Column numbers can go on the top, the bottom, both, or be

hidden. Start numbers can be changed.

Does it handle gauge?

Yes. Each chart has a gauge (stitches and rows over a length, in inches or

centimeters), and the cells are drawn in that shape. Knitting charts start at 18

stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches, and crochet charts at 16 and 16. The

finished size is shown and can be edited in either direction. Corner to corner

charts count gauge in tiles.

To work on a square grid anyway, tick "Draw cells square": the cells are drawn

square everywhere, while the gauge still sets the finished size. Photo to chart

uses the gauge too, so a picture keeps its shape in the finished piece: at 18

stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches, a square photo 40 stitches wide gets 53

rows.

Does it check my chart for mistakes?

Yes, for free, on both knitting and crochet charts. The count check flags a row

whose stitch count doesn't match what the row below made. Treat it as a hint:

the stitch counts haven't been reviewed by an outside expert yet. It doesn't run

on corner to corner charts or free-form diagrams.

Mosaic charts also outline cells that can't be worked, and machine punch cards

warn when the card isn't 24 stitches wide.

Can I follow a chart while I work?

Yes. Follow mode outlines the current row, dims the rows you've done, and saves

your place. Corner to corner charts step one diagonal at a time. It's free.

Can I share a chart?

Yes, with a view-only link. Anyone with the link can view the chart, its legend

and a row tracker, without an account. They can't edit or download it, and they

don't see the rest of your pattern. "Stop sharing" turns the link off at once.

Share links are free. There's no shared editing.

How do I export or print a chart?

A chart on the pattern page goes into the pattern's PDF on both plans. Free PDFs

carry a small "Made with NodeStitch" mark in the corner; Pro PDFs have none.

Pro can also export a chart on its own: a vector PDF (A4, Letter, A3, A5, Legal

or Tabloid, portrait or landscape, split across pages for large charts), PNG, or

SVG.

Does it know real yarn colors?

Yes, for free. A chart color can be a real yarn colorway from 85 brands, 268

yarn lines and over 14,000 colorways, from temperature-blanket.com's Yarn

Colorways (CC BY 4.0). One chart can mix brands, and "My yarns" saves your own.

The legend names the yarn, for example "Color A: Bernat Super Value, Dark

Heather". Screen colors are approximate, so buy by color name.

The yarn estimate works out how much of each color a chart needs from your own

swatch measurement, rounded up to skeins. It's an estimate.

How does it compare with a standalone chart maker?

A standalone chart maker makes the chart; NodeStitch makes the chart inside

the pattern, next to the written rows, photos and layout, and exports the whole

pattern as one PDF. For a side-by-side that covers where each one is stronger,

read Stitch Fiddle vs NodeStitch.

What doesn't it do?

• Crafts other than knitting and crochet: no cross stitch, beading, diamond

painting, fuse beads or latch hook.

• No one-color brioche chart type (brioche stitches work on any knitting chart).
• No shared editing, and no written instructions on share links.
• No written rows for free-form diagrams.
• No phone layout.
• No chart export to Word, Excel or EPS.
• No AI-designed charts or AI-written patterns.