Turn your PDF cross stitch chart into an editable pattern
Drop the PDF chart you already have into ixo, and our recognition engine rebuilds it as a real, editable cross stitch pattern — grid, symbols and DMC threads included. Free to preview in the editor before you decide to keep it.
See your own chart recognised
Drop a PDF chart and ixo reads it here, on this page — no account, nothing to install. You get the recognised grid, the DMC legend and the spots ixo was unsure about.
Drop a PDF chart here
…or click to pick one from your computer. No account needed, up to 20 MB.
PDF up to 20 MB · no account needed · usually 5–10 seconds
Reading your chart — this can take up to a minute.
Click to zoom in
A free account opens it for editing. Saving, exporting or sending it to the cloud is the Pro step.
How it works
- Drop your PDF chart into the tool above — no account needed. ixo reads it on the server and shows you the result right here.
- ixo reads the grid, colour legend and stitch types on the server, and matches each colour to a DMC thread.
- Open it in the free editor to fix anything ixo missed, then save or export once you're happy with it.
What gets recognised
Full cross stitch, half stitch, backstitch and beads, with colours matched to DMC threads — including charts that span several pages.
Free to look, Pro to take home
Recognising a PDF and looking at the result in the editor is free with a free account — no watermark, no time limit on looking. Saving the chart, exporting it, or adding it to your cloud projects is a Pro or credit step, because recognition runs a real model on our server rather than free computation in your browser.
Prefer to work in the editor?
The free ixo editor reads PDF charts too, alongside everything else it does — layers, palette swaps, resizing and export.
…or see your own chart recognised right here, without an account →
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my PDF?
Nothing happens until you drop a file. When you do, the PDF goes to ixo's server, our recognition engine reads it, and the PDF is deleted right after: we don't keep a copy of it and never publish it. The recognised chart itself stays on our server for 30 days — what you see on the page is a picture of it — and is then deleted automatically. Signing in and opening it in the editor gives you your own copy; it neither removes the chart from our server earlier nor keeps it there longer.
Is this free?
Recognising a PDF and looking at the result in the ixo editor is free with a free account. Saving the chart, exporting it, or adding it to your cloud projects is a Pro or credit step — recognition runs a real model on our server, so that part has a real cost. You never pay just to look.
How accurate is the recognition?
PDF recognition in ixo is Beta. Accuracy depends on how the PDF was made — a vector PDF with a clean grid and legend works best; a flat scan or photo of a printed page can fail outright. After it opens, review the chart in the editor and correct anything that looks off before you commit to it — the same as you'd proofread any converted pattern.
Which stitch types does it recognise?
Full cross stitch, half stitch, backstitch and beads, with each colour matched to a DMC thread — including multi-page charts. Quarter and three-quarter stitches and French knots aren't picked up automatically yet; the editor supports all of those, so you can add them by hand after import if your chart uses them.
Can I use a PDF pattern I bought from a designer?
Yes — this is for the PDF chart you already have: bought, self-drafted, or otherwise yours to use for your own stitching. It's not a way to get someone else's paid pattern; recognised charts stay in your own account and aren't shared or published anywhere.
Will it work on a scanned or photographed pattern?
Not reliably. The engine reads the PDF's actual grid and text, so it works best with a file built from pattern software or a proper print export. A flat scan or phone photo of a printed page usually can't be read this way — try the editor's Photo → pattern tool for those instead.