A photo conversion gets you most of the way to a good diamond painting, but faces, eyes and lettering usually benefit from a human touch. The editor lets you work drill by drill, with the DMC-numbered palette and drill counts kept in step with every change.
How it works
- Open or create a chart. Start a blank grid, open a .cpat project or a CraftPatterns PDF, or drop in a photo to convert.
- Choose your colours. Add DMC-numbered drill colours by number, name or family, or find the nearest to any colour.
- Edit. Pencil, eraser, fill, colour picker, line and rectangles, with mirroring for symmetrical designs and unlimited undo.
- Export. PDF, PNG, SVG, a CSV drill list or a .cpat file, with drill counts that reflect your edits.
Tips for perfecting a diamond painting pattern in the editor
Fix the eyes first
In portraits, eyes carry the likeness. Look closely at each eye for a clear dark pupil, a light highlight of one or two drills, and a clean edge to the white. Use the colour picker (I) to grab the exact dark from the pupil and the pencil (B) to tidy stray drills. Small changes here make more difference than anything else in the chart.
Simplify backgrounds with fill
Photo backgrounds often break into dozens of near-identical shades. Select the dominant background colour and use fill (G) over the noisy patches, or merge the background shades together. The picture looks calmer, and you have fewer drill bags to manage.
Design mandalas with four-way mirroring
Diamond-painting mandalas and kaleidoscope patterns are naturally symmetrical. Turn on both mirrors (H and V), draw in one quarter, and the other three follow. Starting from the centre and working outwards in rings of colour keeps the design balanced.
Keep an eye on drill counts
The colour key shows how many drills each DMC number needs. If a colour appears only a handful of times, it is probably not worth a separate bag; merge it into its nearest neighbour.
Use the realistic view to judge sparkle
Switch to the realistic view, which renders each cell as a drill. Areas that look fussy in the flat chart can look fine once drilled, and vice versa, so check before you commit.
Sharpen lettering and outlines
If the chart includes text or a strong outline, use the line tool (L) to redraw edges one drill wide in a single dark colour. Photo conversion often blurs outlines across two or three similar shades, and a clean, continuous line reads far better once the drills catch the light. Afterwards, check that the replaced shades have not left any colour with only a few drills.
When you are ready to start
Open the finished chart in the stitch tracker to mark off areas as you drill, highlight one DMC colour at a time, and see per-colour progress.
What you get
| Sizes | 40–400 drills wide from a photo; editor up to 2,000 × 2,000 |
|---|---|
| Colours | 5–120, matched by CIEDE2000 colour difference |
| Palettes | DMC |
| 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 do I reduce the number of drill colours I need to buy?
Use merge colours. Pick two shades that look almost the same in the key, merge them, and every drill of one becomes the other. The drill counts update so your shopping list shrinks, and undo is there if the merge goes too far.
Can I find a colour by its DMC number?
Yes. When adding a colour, search by DMC number, by name or by colour family, or ask for the nearest DMC colour to any colour you pick. That helps when you already own a bag of drills and want to design around it.
Can I swap one colour for a drill I already have?
Use replace colour and choose the DMC number you own as the new shade. All drills of the old colour switch over at once. It is a handy way to use up leftover drills from finished kits, as long as you have enough of them.
Will a very large canvas slow the editor down?
Grids up to 2,000 by 2,000 drills are supported, but very large canvases use more memory, especially on phones. For anything beyond a few hundred drills wide, a laptop or desktop browser is the more comfortable choice.
Where are my edits stored?
In your browser on this device, saved automatically. Nothing is uploaded, which also means clearing your browser data would remove it, so download the .cpat file now and then. The editor reminds you after ten minutes.
Can I print the chart after editing?
Yes. Download the PDF on US Letter or A4 with symbol chart pages, an optional full-colour chart and large-print option, plus the colour key with DMC numbers and drill counts including 10% spare.
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