A name worked in C2C is one of the most requested baby gifts, and it is also one of the easiest graphs to get wrong by hand: letters drift by a block, spacing goes uneven, and the border never quite meets in the corners. This generator draws the lettering on a strict block grid so everything lines up before you start.
How it works
- Type your text. Up to 40 characters across one or more lines. Each new line becomes a new row of letters.
- Pick a font and layout. Basic 5×7, Serif 7×9, Tiny 3×5, Bold 6×7, Outline 7×9 or Big 10×14, set horizontally, stacked or sideways.
- Add colours and a border. Choose text, background and border shades from the generic yarn palette, then a single, double, dotted, checker, zigzag, hearts, stars or diamonds border.
- Download the graph. The PDF includes the block chart, a yarn list per colour and written diagonal rows starting from the bottom-right corner.
Tips for great C2C lettering from text
Size the panel around the blanket, not the letters. A five-letter name in the Basic font is only about 30 blocks wide with standard spacing, which is a small cushion rather than a blanket. Use padding to add plain background around the lettering, or set a fixed width so the graph matches the block count of the blanket you have in mind.
Give letters room to breathe. In C2C each block has a visible diagonal grain, so two letters only one block apart can merge visually. Letter spacing of two blocks often reads more clearly, and extra line spacing helps multi-line text such as a first name above a birth date.
Choose high-contrast pairs. Lettering relies purely on contrast. Navy on Cream or Scarlet on Snow will read from a distance; Sage on Mint will not. If you are unsure, switch to the Colour view and step back from the screen, which is close to how the blanket will look from across a room.
Watch the bobbin count on each diagonal. A horizontal name means a diagonal may cross several letters, and each crossing needs its own strand. Keeping the text on a single line in a wide panel, rather than stacking short lines, can reduce how many bobbins hang off the work at once. The written rows show exactly how many colour sections each diagonal has.
Borders double as a finishing edge. A single or double border in the text colour frames the name and hides small tension differences around the edge. Hearts and stars borders add charm to nursery pieces but use more colour changes, so budget extra time for ends.
Mind the corners. In C2C, the first and last few diagonals are very short. Keep at least two or three blocks of padding between the lettering and the edge so the letters sit in the full-width part of the work and the increase and decrease corners stay plain.
Turning it into something bigger
Open the graph in the C2C editor to add a small motif beside the name, or swap the colourway with the replace-colour tool. If you later want the same lettering as a cross-stitch sampler or fuse-bead keyring, switch craft in one tap and the colours are remapped for you.
What you get
| Sizes | 10–200 blocks wide from a photo; editor up to 2,000 × 2,000 |
|---|---|
| Colours | 2–30, matched by CIEDE2000 colour difference |
| Palettes | Generic yarn, DMC (48 named yarn shades) |
| Downloads | PDF (cover, colour key, numbered chart pages, optional colour pages), PNG, SVG, shopping list CSV, .cpat project |
| Files accepted | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF, iPhone HEIC; .cpat and OXS patterns; PDFs made by CraftPatterns |
| Privacy | Runs in your browser. Images are never uploaded. |
| Price | Free — no sign-up, no watermark |
How it compares with other free tools
What you can expect here, every time — no tiers, no trial.
| Free printable PDF | Yes, with no watermark |
|---|---|
| Sign-up needed | No |
| Image uploaded to a server | No — processed on your device |
| Editor | Yes — pencil, fill, line, rectangle, mirror, undo |
| Progress tracker | Yes — free, works offline |
| Switch the same pattern to another craft | Yes — one tap |
Frequently asked questions
How many blocks tall is each letter?
It depends on the font. Basic letters are 7 blocks tall and 5 wide, Serif letters are 9 tall and 7 wide, and Tiny letters are 5 tall and 3 wide. Padding, borders and line spacing add to the total, and the PDF cover page lists the full graph size in blocks.
Can I put a name on a baby blanket with a picture as well?
The text tool makes the lettering panel on its own. A common approach is to make the name graph here, make the picture in the photo generator, and crochet them as separate panels joined together, or redraw the letters onto your picture graph in the editor.
Which font works best in C2C?
Basic is the safest choice for most blankets because its strokes are wide enough to read from across a room. Serif gives a more formal look on larger pieces. Tiny is best kept for small accents, because single-block strokes can look jagged once the diagonal block texture is added.
What is the difference between Stacked and Sideways?
Stacked places each letter above the previous one, so a name reads downwards in a tall, narrow strip. Sideways rotates the whole line by 90 degrees, so it reads along the length of a long piece, such as a scarf or a table runner, when you turn it on its side.
Can I leave the background empty?
Yes. Set the background to empty and only the letter blocks (and border, if you add one) remain in the graph. That is handy if you plan to appliqué or surface-stitch the name, but for a standard C2C panel you will want a solid background colour so every block is worked.
How do I share the exact design with a friend?
Copy the share link. It stores the text, font, layout, border, colours and spacing, so opening it rebuilds the same graph without any file to send.
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