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Krazy Stitcher Studio User Manual

Browser-based bead pattern maker — no account, no install, no limits. • v3.6.7

1. Before You Start

Verify these requirements before you begin:

• Browser — Use a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. Krazy Stitcher requires JavaScript and IndexedDB support.
• Screen size — Use a desktop or laptop screen (1024px wide or larger). The canvas tools are not optimized for phones or small tablets.
• Storage — Krazy Stitcher saves patterns to your browser's IndexedDB. This storage persists across sessions but is tied to your browser and domain. Clear your browser data and the patterns are gone. Export important work as .ks or .ksp files.
• Internet — Not required after the initial page load. The app runs entirely in your browser.

2. Get Started

Krazy Stitcher runs entirely in your browser. Open KrazyStitcher.html and start working.

Creating Your First Pattern

Click the New button in the top toolbar. A dialog opens. Give your pattern a name and choose a stitch type (Loom is the simplest). Set the width and height in beads, then click Create. An empty grid appears on the canvas.

Your First Beadwork

The Draw tool starts as the active tool. Pick a color from the palette on the right side panel, then click or drag on the canvas to paint beads. Switch colors anytime by clicking a different swatch. That's the core workflow — everything else builds on it.

Saving

Click Save to store your pattern in the browser's IndexedDB. Storage persists across sessions. For backup or sharing, use Export Pattern to save a .ks file.

3. Navigate the Interface

The Krazy Stitcher interface has five main areas:

Interface areas and their purposes

Area	Location	Purpose
Top Toolbar	Top of screen	File operations, edit actions, transform tools, color tools, toggles, help
Tool Panel	Left side	Drawing tools and zoom controls (icon buttons)
Canvas	Center	The main editing area where you draw your pattern
Right Panel	Right side	Color palette, used colors, saved pattern list
Status Bar	Bottom	Pattern size, type, bead count, color count, storage info

Canvas Navigation

Scroll your mouse wheel to zoom in and out. To prevent accidental zooming, click the lock icon (🔒) below the zoom buttons in the left toolbar — the icon changes to 🔓 when locked. Hold Space and drag to pan the canvas, or click the Pan tool (it auto-returns to your previous tool after one drag). The bottom-right corner shows the current zoom level. Click the Fit button (or press Home) to zoom the entire pattern into view.

The bottom-left corner shows the current bead coordinates as you move the mouse over the canvas.

Floating Help Button

The round ? button fixed in the bottom-right corner of the screen opens the in-app help panel from anywhere. Click it whenever you need a quick reminder about tools, shortcuts, or features. The help panel slides out from the right and can be closed with the × button or by pressing Escape.

4. Use the Drawing Tools

Drawing tools and shortcuts

Tool	Key	How It Works
Draw	D	Click or drag to paint beads with the selected color. This is the default tool.
Erase	E	Click or drag to remove beads (sets beads to empty or white).
Fill	F	Click a bead to flood-fill all connected beads of the same color with the selected color. Uses 4-directional connectivity.
Color Pick	I	Click any bead to make its color the active drawing color. Works like an eyedropper.
Line	L	Click to set the start point, then click again to draw a straight line between the two points. Uses Bresenham's line algorithm.
Rectangle	R	Click two corners to draw a rectangular outline.
Filled Rect	Shift+R	Click two corners to draw a solid filled rectangle.
Oval	O	Click and drag to define a bounding box, then release to draw an oval outline.
Filled Oval	Shift+O	Click and drag to draw a solid filled oval/ellipse.
Triangle	G	Click and drag to define a bounding box, then release to draw a triangle outline (apex at top center).
Filled Triangle	Shift+G	Click and drag to draw a solid filled triangle.
Diamond	M	Click and drag to define a bounding box, then release to draw a diamond outline.
Filled Diamond	Shift+M	Click and drag to draw a solid filled diamond.
Select	S	Click and drag to select a rectangular region. See Select, Copy, and Paste.
Text	T	Opens a dialog to enter text, then click to place it. See Place Text on the Canvas.
Pan	Space	Click to pan the canvas once, then auto-returns to your previous tool. You can also hold Space with any other tool active for temporary panning.

5. Choose a Stitch Type

Krazy Stitcher Studio supports twenty-five stitch types. The stitch type controls how the app arranges beads on the grid. It also affects the coordinate system and finished size calculations.

Supported stitch types

Stitch	Grid Layout	Best For
Loom	Straight square grid, all rows and columns aligned	Loom beadwork, beginners, geometric patterns
Peyote	Odd rows offset right by half a bead width	Flat peyote stitch, the most popular off-loom stitch
Brick	Odd columns offset down by half a bead height (peyote rotated 90°)	Brick stitch earrings, small shapes
Peyote 2-Drop	Pairs of rows share the same offset	Faster beading with two beads picked up per stitch
Peyote 3-Drop	Groups of three rows share the same offset	Even faster multi-drop peyote
Peyote 4–9 Drop	Groups of 4 through 9 rows share the same offset	Advanced multi-drop peyote for wide, fast-coverage patterns
Gourd Stitch	Alternating row offset (like peyote), used tubularly	Tubular peyote for covering round objects like bottles, ornaments
Herringbone	Square grid with pair-bracket visual guides every two columns	Herringbone (Ndebele) stitch visualization
RAW	Square grid with cross-stitch visual guides showing the four-bead units	Right Angle Weave visualization
Square Stitch	Straight square grid, identical layout to Loom	Individually-stitched square patterns; same grid as Loom, different thread path
Spiral Rope	Each row rotates a quarter bead width, wrapping every four rows	Tubular spiral rope necklaces and bracelets
Dutch Spiral	Same quarter-bead rotation as Spiral Rope	Two-color spiral rope with a twisting accent stripe
Netting	Open, lacy diagonal lattice — rows offset by a third of a bead width	Net-like, zigzag jewelry and edging
Ladder Stitch	Beads stacked in pairs, one directly above the next	Foundation rows used to start herringbone and brick stitch projects
Albion Stitch	Ornamental grid guides marking 3×3 unit blocks	Decorative combination pieces mixing seed beads and crystals
Bead Crochet Rope	Progressive diagonal offset — each row shifts by a fraction of a bead width	Tubular bead crochet ropes and necklaces

6. Work with Color Palettes

Krazy Stitcher ships with nine bead color palettes:

Built-in bead color palettes

Palette	Colors	Notes
Miyuki Delica	950 colors	Comprehensive Miyuki Delica 11/0 cylinder bead palette. Each color has a DB product ID.
Toho Round	320 colors	Toho 11/0 round seed beads with Toho product IDs.
Preciosa	220 colors	Czech Preciosa seed bead colors.
Miyuki Rocailles	64 colors	Miyuki 11/0 round seed beads (rocailles). Each color has an MR product ID.
Matsuno	42 colors	Japanese Matsuno (Dyna-Mites) 11/0 seed beads with MT product IDs.
Mill Hill	64 colors	Mill Hill glass seed beads with MH product IDs. Popular in cross-stitch and needlework.
Toho Aiko	42 colors	Toho Aiko precision cylinder beads (1.75mm × 1.0mm) with TA product IDs.
Toho Treasure	60 colors	Toho Treasure 11/0 precision cylinder beads (1.7mm × 1.3mm) with TT product IDs. Similar to Miyuki Delica; ideal for peyote stitch, brick stitch, and loom work.
Generic 64	64 colors	A basic set of named colors, not tied to any brand.

Finding Colors

Use the search box above the palette to filter by color name or ID. Type "blue" to see all blue-family colors, or "DB0325" to find a specific Miyuki shade.

Used Colors

Below the palette grid, the Used in Pattern section shows every color currently present in your pattern. Click one to select it for drawing.

7. Create Custom Palettes

You can create your own palettes and save them for future use. Custom palettes store in your browser alongside your patterns.

Save a Palette from Your Pattern

1. Open a pattern that contains the colors you want to save.
2. Click Save Palette below the brand dropdown.
3. Enter a name for the palette (e.g., “Sunset Bracelet Colors”).
4. The app saves all colors from your pattern as a new custom palette.

Create an Empty Palette

1. Click + New below the brand dropdown.
2. Enter a name for the palette.
3. Select colors from any brand palette and click Add Current Color in the Manage dialog to build your palette.

Manage Custom Palettes

Click Manage to open the palette manager. From this dialog you can:

• Use — Switch to a custom palette.
• Rename — Change the palette name.
• Add Current Color — Add the color you have selected to the active custom palette.
• Delete — Remove a custom palette permanently.

Custom palettes appear in the brand dropdown with a ★ prefix.

8. Draw with Symmetry

Symmetric Drawing Mode mirrors your brush strokes across one or two axes. This is useful for patterns with bilateral or four-way symmetry, such as mandalas, medallions, and snowflakes.

How to Use Symmetry

1. Click the ⊜ button in the toolbar or press M to cycle through symmetry modes.
2. Draw on one side of the pattern. The app mirrors each stroke automatically.
3. Press M again to cycle to the next mode or return to normal drawing.

Symmetry Modes

Symmetry drawing modes

Mode	What It Does
None	Normal drawing with no mirroring (default).
Horizontal	Mirrors left to right across a vertical center line.
Vertical	Mirrors top to bottom across a horizontal center line.
Both	Mirrors across both axes. Draw in one quadrant and all four quadrants fill.

Red dashed guide lines show the active symmetry axes on the canvas. The Draw, Erase, Line, Rectangle, Oval, Triangle, and Diamond tools all support symmetric drawing.

9. Show Row and Column Numbers

Row and column numbers help you locate specific beads, count rows, and follow instructions. They appear along the top and left edges of the canvas.

Toggle Numbers

• Check or uncheck the Numbers checkbox in the toolbar.
• Or press N to toggle numbers on or off.

Adaptive Display

The numbers adjust to your zoom level:

• High zoom (18+ pixels per bead) — Every row and column is numbered.
• Medium zoom (10–17 pixels per bead) — Every 5th row and column is numbered.
• Low zoom (5–9 pixels per bead) — Every 10th row and column is numbered.
• Very low zoom (below 5 pixels per bead) — Numbers are hidden to avoid clutter.

10. Add Pattern Notes

Click Notes in the toolbar to open the notes panel for the active pattern. Use notes to record construction tips, bead brand preferences, row-specific reminders, or any information you want to keep with the pattern.

How to Use

1. Open a pattern.
2. Click Notes in the toolbar.
3. Type your notes in the text area. Notes save automatically as you type.
4. Click Close when finished.

Notes are stored with the pattern in IndexedDB and included when you export as a .ks or .ksp file. When someone imports your pattern, they see your notes.

11. Generate a Color Gradient

The Gradient Generator fills the entire canvas with a smooth transition between two palette colors. Each step in the gradient snaps to the nearest color in the active palette, so the result uses real bead colors.

How to Use

1. Click Gradient in the toolbar.
2. Select a color from the palette, then click Use Current next to "Start Color."
3. Select a different color from the palette, then click Use Current next to "End Color."
4. Choose a direction: Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal.
5. Drag the Steps slider to control how many color bands the gradient uses. The preview bar updates in real time.
6. Click Apply Gradient to fill the canvas.

Gradient direction options

Direction	Description
Horizontal	Color transitions from left to right across columns.
Vertical	Color transitions from top to bottom across rows.
Diagonal	Color transitions from top-left corner to bottom-right corner.

12. Import and Convert a Photo

Krazy Stitcher can convert any photograph or image into a bead pattern. There are several ways to load an image:

Loading an Image

Ways to load an image

Method	How It Works
Drag and drop	Drag any image from Finder, Photos, your Desktop, iCloud Drive, a USB drive, or a shared network drive directly onto the canvas area. The Import Photo dialog opens automatically with your image pre-loaded.
Paste from clipboard	Copy an image from any app or take a screenshot (Cmd+Shift+4 on Mac), then press Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows). The image loads straight into the Import Photo dialog.
Click Import Photo	Opens the Import Photo dialog. Click the "Drop image here or click to browse" zone to open your system file picker. On Mac, this gives you full access to local drives, iCloud Drive, network shares, external drives, and any mounted volume. On Windows, it opens File Explorer with access to all connected drives.
Drop into the dialog	If the Import Photo dialog is already open, drag an image directly onto the drop zone at the top of the controls panel.

Settings

Photo import settings

Setting	What It Does
Max Width	Maximum width of the resulting pattern in beads. The app calculates height from the image aspect ratio and the bead aspect ratio.
Max Colors	Drag the slider to set the target number of colors (2–256). The preview updates in real time as you drag, so you can see exactly how the palette reduction affects the image. With the expanded palettes (up to 950 bead colors), higher values give more faithful color reproduction.
Bead Type	The stitch type for the new pattern. Affects aspect ratio calculations.
Quantization	Median Cut is fast and produces good results. K-Means is slower but often finds more accurate color groupings, especially for images with subtle gradients.
Primary Dither	Controls how color transitions are smoothed. None maps each pixel directly to its nearest bead color. Floyd-Steinberg is a reliable all-rounder. Atkinson makes edges pop and boosts contrast — great for landscapes and architecture. Stucki is the smoothest, ideal for skies and gradients. Sierra falls between smooth and sharp. Burkes is similar to Stucki but faster on large patterns.
Secondary Dither	Optional. Pick a second algorithm to blend with the primary. The Blend slider controls the mix — 0% uses only the primary, 100% uses only the secondary. Try Atkinson + Stucki at 50% for crisp subjects with smooth backgrounds.
Blend	Appears when a secondary dither is selected. Controls the blend ratio between the two dithering algorithms (0–100%).
Brightness	Lighten or darken the image before conversion (-100 to +100).
Contrast	Increase or decrease tonal range (-100 to +100).
Saturation	Boost or reduce color intensity (-100 to +100). Set to -100 for grayscale.

Grayscale Mode

Grayscale Mode is a checkbox in the Import Photo dialog that restricts the bead palette to neutral (gray/white/black) colors only.

• Auto-Detection — When you import a black-and-white or grayscale photo, Krazy Stitcher Studio automatically detects it (an “AUTO-DETECTED” badge appears next to the checkbox) and enables Grayscale Mode for you. This eliminates unwanted color artifacts — like teal or blue tints — that can appear when converting B/W images with a full-color palette.
• Manual Override — You can also check the Grayscale Mode box yourself on any image to force a neutral-only palette. This is useful for creating monochrome versions of color photos.
• How it works — Grayscale mode desaturates all pixels to pure luminance values and filters the bead palette down to beads where the RGB channel spread is 35 or less, ensuring clean gray-to-gray conversions.

Preview

The dialog shows a side-by-side preview: your original image on the left and the converted bead pattern on the right. Click the Side/Stack toggle to switch between side-by-side and stacked (vertical) comparison. Stacked mode shows larger previews, making it easier to compare fine details. All sliders update the preview automatically as you drag them. You can also click Update Preview manually. When satisfied, click Import to create the pattern.

Sample Photo

Click Try Sample Photo below the Update Preview button to load a built-in test image. Use it to experiment with different dithering combinations and see how they affect the output before loading your own photo.

Presets

Save up to three favorite dithering configurations as presets. After dialing in settings you like, click Save and choose a slot (1, 2, or 3). Click a preset button to instantly restore those settings. Presets persist between sessions, so you can build a library of go-to settings for different types of images — one for portraits, one for landscapes, one for graphics.

Batch Photo Import

Batch Photo Import converts several photos into separate patterns in one pass, instead of importing them one at a time. It's built for turning a folder of product photos into ready-to-stitch patterns — handy for prepping a whole batch of shop listings at once.

1. Click Batch Photo Import in the toolbar.
2. Click Choose Files and select the photos you want to convert. You can select multiple files at once.
3. Review the file list to confirm your selection.
4. Click Start Batch Import.

Krazy Stitcher Studio converts the photos one at a time, showing which file is currently processing. Each photo becomes its own new saved pattern, named after its source file. When the batch finishes, a summary reports how many patterns were created and switches you to the last one made.

Batch Photo Import behavior

Situation	What Happens
Two files share a name	The second pattern gets a number added, for example “necklace” and “necklace (2)”.
A file fails to convert	That file is skipped and listed in the summary. The rest of the batch keeps going.
You batch-import a photo you already imported before	A new pattern is created with the same name as before — this matches how single-photo Import Photo already works.

To go the other direction — exporting several saved patterns to PDF or PNG at once — see Batch Export under Export and Share Patterns.

13. Manage Colors

Recolor (Global Color Replace)

Click Recolor in the toolbar. Select a "From" color and a "To" color from the dropdowns. The dropdowns list only colors in the current pattern. Click Replace. The app instantly changes every bead of the "From" color to the "To" color.

Merge Colors

Click Merge to combine two colors. Select the color you want to eliminate ("Merge This Color") and the color to replace it with ("Into This Color"). This is especially useful after photo import when the quantizer produces near-duplicate shades.

Confetti Cleanup

Click Cleanup to remove isolated single beads surrounded by a different color. The algorithm checks each bead's four neighbors. If all four neighbors share the same color and the center bead differs, the app replaces it with the majority color. This cleans up photo-converted patterns.

14. Transform a Pattern

Pattern transform tools

Tool	What It Does
Mirror	Flips the pattern horizontally (left-to-right). Useful for creating symmetric patterns.
Flip	Flips the pattern vertically (top-to-bottom).
Rotate	Rotates the pattern 90° clockwise. The app swaps width and height. Repeat three times for a full 360°.

You can undo all transforms with Ctrl+Z. The undo system preserves both the grid data and the dimensions.

15. Select, Copy, and Paste

Switch to the Select tool (S), then click and drag on the canvas to draw a selection rectangle. A dashed red border highlights the selected region.

Selection actions and shortcuts

Action	Shortcut	What It Does
Copy	Ctrl+C	Copies the selected region to the clipboard.
Paste	Ctrl+V	Pastes the clipboard contents at the top-left corner of the selection rectangle. If you have no active selection, pastes at (0, 0).
Delete	Delete	Clears (erases) all beads inside the selected region.

16. Place Text on the Canvas

Click the T button in the tool panel (or press T) to open the text dialog. Enter the text you want to place and choose a font size:

Text tool font sizes

Size	Bead Height	Bead Width per Character	Use Case
5 (tiny)	5 beads	~4 beads	Small labels, annotations
7 (small)	7 beads	5 beads	Standard text (native font size)
9 (medium)	9 beads	~6 beads	Larger text, headings

Click Place Text, then click anywhere on the canvas to stamp the text. The app renders text in the current drawing color. The built-in 5×7 font supports A–Z, 0–9, and common symbols.

Once placed, text becomes regular beads — you can edit, erase, or recolor individual beads.

17. Use the Image Trace Overlay

The trace overlay lets you display a reference image behind your bead grid while you hand-edit a converted pattern. The trace does not auto-enable on photo import — click the Trace button in the toolbar to load a reference image when you want one.

Controls

Once a trace image is loaded, the Trace slider appears in the toolbar. Slide it to adjust overlay opacity from 0% (invisible) to 100% (fully opaque). Click the × button next to the slider to remove the trace entirely.

18. Track Your Bead Inventory

Click Inventory in the toolbar to mark which bead colors you own. Owned colors display a green ✓ on their palette swatch and in the bead count table. Colors not in your inventory show a red ✗ in the bead count table so you know what to buy.

How to Add Beads

1. Open the Inventory dialog (Inventory button).
2. Click Add Current Color to add the active palette color, or Add All Pattern Colors to add every color used in the current pattern.
3. Each entry shows the color swatch, name, brand ID, and a remove button.

Shopping List Integration

When you have inventory data, the CSV shopping list (Export CSV in the Counts dialog) adds an "In Inventory" column. Colors you own show "Yes" and colors you need show "NEED TO BUY".

19. Estimate Project Cost

The Cost Estimator helps you budget for a pattern before you buy beads. It lives inside the Counts dialog — click Counts in the toolbar, then expand the Cost Estimator section.

How to Use

1. Set your Price per tube (default: $3.49).
2. Set the Beads per tube (default: 1400 — typical for 11/0 Delica tubes).
3. The estimator calculates how many tubes each color needs and the per-color cost.
4. If you have inventory data, owned colors are crossed out and excluded from the total.

Cost data is also included in the CSV export when a price is set.

20. Calculate Sizes and Counts

Bead Count

Click Counts to see a sortable table of every color in your pattern. The table shows the bead count and percentage for each color. Click column headers to sort. The app highlights low-count colors (default threshold: 5 beads) in orange — merge these to simplify your palette.

Finished Size Calculator

Click Size to calculate the real-world dimensions of your finished piece. Select your bead type from the dropdown:

Bead type dimensions

Bead Type	Width × Height
11/0 Miyuki Delica	1.6mm × 1.3mm
11/0 Toho Round	2.2mm × 2.2mm
11/0 Miyuki Rocailles	2.0mm × 2.0mm
11/0 Matsuno	2.0mm × 2.0mm
11/0 Mill Hill	2.5mm × 2.5mm
11/0 Toho Aiko	1.75mm × 1.0mm
11/0 Toho Treasure	1.7mm × 1.3mm
8/0 Round	3.0mm × 3.0mm
15/0 Round	1.5mm × 1.5mm
10/0 Delica	2.2mm × 1.6mm
Custom	Enter your own dimensions

The result shows width and height in both millimeters and inches.

Palette Brand Remap

Click Remap to convert all bead colors in your pattern to the nearest match in a different brand palette. This is useful when you designed with Miyuki Delicas but want to switch to Toho Rounds (or the other way around). Click Preview first to see the color mapping before committing.

Pattern Difficulty Score

Click Score to see a 0–100 difficulty rating for your pattern. The score considers:

• Size — larger patterns are harder (up to 30 points)
• Color count — more colors means more thread or needle changes (up to 25 points)
• Color complexity — frequent color changes within rows (up to 25 points)
• Confetti beads — isolated single beads surrounded by different colors (up to 10 points)
• Stitch type — advanced stitches like RAW and herringbone add difficulty (up to 10 points)

Ratings: Beginner (0–20), Easy (21–40), Intermediate (41–60), Advanced (61–80), Expert (81–100).

21. Export and Share Patterns

Export PDF

Click Export PDF to generate a print-ready PDF of your pattern. The PDF includes the color grid and a color legend with bead IDs. Opens in a new tab for printing or saving.

Export PNG

Click Export PNG to save the pattern as a PNG image file. Each bead renders as a 10×10 pixel square. The resulting image is useful for sharing previews online, embedding in documents, or printing.

Word Chart

Click Word Chart to export a formatted HTML word chart. The chart includes:

• A color legend with color blocks showing each bead color, ID, and name
• Row-by-row chart with colored bead blocks and run-length instructions (e.g., "3 Black, 5 Red, 2 White")
• A bead count summary table sorted by quantity

Open the HTML file in any browser and print it. The chart is styled for clear readability at the bead table, with alternating row shading and compact color blocks. This is the document beaders work from while stitching.

Export Pattern and Import Pattern

Export Pattern saves the current pattern as a .ks JSON file. This includes all grid data, colors, dimensions, and pattern settings. Use this to back up your work or transfer patterns between computers.

Import Pattern loads a previously saved .ks, .json, or .ksp package file and adds it to your saved patterns. See the next section for details on .ksp packages.

Batch Export

Click Batch Export to export several saved patterns to PDF and/or PNG in one operation — useful when you have a whole catalog of listings to prepare at once instead of opening and exporting each pattern individually. Check the patterns you want to include (all are checked by default), choose PDF, PNG, or both, then click Start Export. Every pattern in the batch uses your current Print settings (cell size, paper size, orientation, and custom branding text) so you only configure them once. A progress line shows which pattern is currently exporting; if one pattern fails (for example, corrupted data), it is skipped and noted in the summary while the rest of the batch continues. When finished, all the generated files are bundled into a single .zip file and downloaded.

To go the other direction — converting several photos into new patterns at once — see Batch Photo Import under Import and Convert a Photo.

22. Share, Archive, and Import Patterns

Krazy Stitcher v1.1 introduces .ksp (Krazy Stitcher Package) files — a zip-based format that bundles everything related to a pattern into a single file for sharing or archiving.

What’s Inside a .ksp File

A .ksp package contains six files:

Contents of a .ksp package file

File	Purpose
PatternName.ks	The full pattern data (grid, colors, dimensions, color map). This is the file Krazy Stitcher uses to reconstruct the pattern.
PatternName.png	A PNG preview image of the pattern. Useful for quick viewing without opening the app.
PatternName.pdf	A print-ready PDF with the full color grid, symbol legend, and bead count summary.
PatternName - Word Chart.txt	A text-based row-by-row chart with symbol mapping and run-length instructions.
PatternName - Bead Count.csv	A CSV spreadsheet with color names, IDs, hex values, bead counts, and percentages.
metadata.json	Machine-readable info: pattern name, type, dimensions, bead count, color count, export date, and Krazy Stitcher version.

Sharing a Pattern

1. Open the pattern you want to share.
2. Click the ✉ Share button in the toolbar.
3. A dialog appears with two options:
   • Share via… — Uses your device’s native share menu (email, messaging apps, AirDrop, etc.). This option appears only on devices that support the Web Share API (most phones and modern desktop browsers).
   • Download .ksp File — Saves the package to your computer. You can then attach it to an email, upload it to a forum, or send it any way you like.

Archiving a Pattern

Archiving saves a complete .ksp package to your computer and then removes the pattern from your browser’s local storage. This is useful for keeping your pattern list clean while preserving finished work.

1. Click the 📦 Archive button in the toolbar (archives the current pattern), or click the small 📦 icon next to any pattern in the sidebar list.
2. Confirm the archive. The .ksp file downloads automatically.
3. Krazy Stitcher removes the pattern from your browser storage.

Importing a Pattern

To load a pattern from someone else, or to restore an archived pattern:

1. Click Import Pattern in the toolbar.
2. Select a .ksp, .ks, or .json file.
3. Krazy Stitcher imports the pattern and adds it to your saved patterns list. It assigns a new unique ID, so it will not overwrite any existing patterns.

When you load a .ksp file, Krazy Stitcher extracts the .ks data inside the package. The package includes PNG, PDF, and other files for convenience, but only the .ks file contains the pattern data.

A Note on Format Compatibility

There is no universal standard file format for bead patterns. Every beading software uses its own proprietary format:

• BeadTool uses an internal database file.
• Beadographer stores patterns on its own servers (web-based only).
• JBead uses .jbb files, but only for bead crochet rope patterns.
• Bead-n-Stitch has its own format as well.

The closest thing to an open standard in the broader craft space is the OXS (Open Cross Stitch) format, but it’s designed for cross-stitch, not beadwork.

Because of this, .ksp files can only be opened by Krazy Stitcher. However, every package includes a PNG preview and a print-ready PDF, so recipients can always see the pattern even without the app. To work with the pattern in a different tool, the PNG image can be imported into most beading software via their photo-import feature.

23. Manage Saved Patterns

Krazy Stitcher stores all patterns in your browser's IndexedDB. This provides virtually unlimited local storage (typically several hundred megabytes). Patterns persist across browser sessions — you do not need to save to a file every time.

Pattern Management

• Save — Saves the current pattern to IndexedDB. The status bar shows total storage used.
• Duplicate — Creates a copy of the selected pattern. Great for experimenting without risking your original.
• Delete — Click the red × button on any pattern in the list to remove it.
• Clear All — Removes all saved patterns (use with caution).

24. Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Key	Action
D	Draw tool
E	Erase tool
F	Fill tool
I	Color picker / eyedropper
L	Line tool
R	Rectangle (outline)
Shift+R	Filled rectangle
O	Oval (outline)
Shift+O	Filled oval
G	Triangle (outline)
Shift+G	Filled triangle
M	Diamond (outline)
Shift+M	Filled diamond
S	Select tool
T	Text tool
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y	Redo
Ctrl+C	Copy selection
Ctrl+V	Paste at selection
Delete	Clear selection
+ or =	Zoom in
-	Zoom out
Home	Zoom to fit
Space (hold)	Pan mode (with any tool)
Scroll wheel	Zoom in or out
N	Toggle row and column numbers
M	Cycle symmetry mode (none → horizontal → vertical → both)
Shift+S	Scale pattern
F11	Toggle fullscreen mode
Esc	Exit fullscreen / close help panel

25. Track Progress Row by Row

The Row Work Tracker helps you keep your place while beading. Click Tracker in the toolbar to open the tracking panel.

How to use

1. Click Tracker to activate. The panel appears in the bottom-left corner.
2. Click Next Row each time you finish a row. The tracker highlights your current row in green on the canvas and dims completed rows.
3. Click Prev Row to go back if you made a mistake.
4. Click Jump to Row to skip to a specific row number.
5. Click Reset to start over from row 1.

Your progress saves automatically with the pattern. When you reopen the pattern later, the tracker picks up where you left off.

26. Search and Filter Patterns

When you have many saved patterns, use the search and filter controls above the pattern list in the sidebar.

Search by name

Type any part of a pattern name in the search box. The list filters instantly as you type.

Filter by stitch type

Select a stitch type from the dropdown to show only patterns of that type. Choose "All types" to clear the filter.

Search and filter work together — you can type a name and select a stitch type at the same time.

27. Realistic Bead Preview

Check the 3D checkbox in the toolbar to switch from flat square rendering to a realistic bead view. Each bead draws as a rounded ellipse with a highlight, shadow, and thread hole.

When to use

Realistic mode gives you a better sense of how the finished piece will look. It works best at medium to high zoom levels. At low zoom (below 4px per bead), the app falls back to flat rendering for performance.

28. Backup and Restore All Data

Click Backup All to export every pattern, custom palette, and bead inventory item as a single .ksbackup file. This is your complete workspace snapshot.

Create a backup

1. Click Backup All in the toolbar.
2. The app downloads a file named KrazyStitcher-Backup-YYYY-MM-DD.ksbackup.
3. Store this file somewhere safe. For an automatic off-device backup, save it into a cloud-synced folder — Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive all work — and that service will copy it off your computer for you. A USB drive or external drive works too, just without the automatic part.

Restore from a backup

1. Click Restore in the toolbar.
2. Select your .ksbackup file.
3. Confirm the restore. Existing patterns are preserved — if the backup contains a pattern with the same ID, the backup copy overwrites it.

29. Automatic Folder Backup

On top of the rolling Version History snapshots and manual Backup All exports, Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers can save a real backup file to a folder on your computer automatically — no clicking Backup All required. Point that folder at a Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud Drive folder that syncs to your other devices, and your patterns follow you there too.

What it does

Once set up, every automatic snapshot Krazy Stitcher already takes (on Save, roughly every 20 minutes while you work, and when you switch patterns) is also written as a KrazyStitcher-Snapshot-<date-and-time>.ksbackup file into the folder you chose — the same file format as a manual Backup All export. To avoid flooding the folder, the same pattern won’t be re-exported more than once every 5 minutes.

Set it up

1. Click Version History in the toolbar.
2. Scroll to the Folder Auto-Backup section at the bottom of the panel.
3. Click Set Up Folder Auto-Backup.
4. Choose a folder in the picker your browser shows, and grant it read/write access. Any folder works, but a folder that a cloud sync app (Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Google Drive desktop) is already watching is what lets the backup leave this computer on its own.

Once it’s on, the panel shows On along with Turn Off and Pull Latest Snapshot buttons. Chrome and Edge don’t always remember folder permission forever — if it lapses, the panel shows Re-authorize Folder instead; click it and pick the same folder again to resume.

Bring patterns to a second device

Folder Auto-Backup also works the other direction, letting you carry patterns between two computers that both sync the same cloud folder:

1. On your first computer, set up Folder Auto-Backup pointed at your synced Dropbox (or OneDrive/iCloud Drive) folder, and keep working — snapshots accumulate there automatically.
2. On your second computer, make sure that same folder has finished syncing locally, then set up Folder Auto-Backup there too, pointed at it.
3. Click Pull Latest Snapshot. Krazy Stitcher scans the folder for the most recently saved snapshot and restores it — the same confirmation and merge behavior as restoring a manual backup (see Backup and Restore All Data): your existing patterns are kept, and anything with a matching ID is overwritten by the snapshot copy.

30. Split and Recompose Large Patterns

Split a large pattern into a grid of smaller tiles you can stitch one at a time — each tile is a full, independent pattern with its own toolset — then use Recompose to merge your finished tiles back into the original full-size pattern.

Split a pattern

1. Open the pattern you want to split.
2. Click Split/Recompose in the toolbar.
3. Enter how many rows and columns to split into. The preview shows the tile boundaries and roughly how many beads each tile will be — for example, a 300×300 pattern split 3 rows × 3 columns makes nine 100×100 tiles.
4. Click Split Pattern. Krazy Stitcher creates one new pattern per tile, named after the original with its position added — My Pattern — R1C1, R1C2, and so on — and switches you to the first one.

If the split doesn’t divide evenly, the extra rows or columns are added to the last tile in that row or column, so every other tile stays a clean, consistent size.

Work on the tiles

Each tile behaves like any other pattern — switch between them from the pattern list, and use the full set of drawing tools, color palettes, and everything else in Krazy Stitcher on each one independently. This is the point of splitting: a tile small enough to stitch from your phone on the bus, or to hand off to someone else to bead, instead of wrestling with the whole oversized pattern at once.

Recompose the finished tiles

1. Open any one of the tiles.
2. Click Split/Recompose in the toolbar again. Because this pattern is a tile, the panel now shows how many of the tiles from this split are still in your pattern list.
3. If any are missing — deleted or otherwise not found — the panel lists which ones (for example, R2C3) and Recompose is disabled until you restore them.
4. Once all tiles are present, click Recompose. Krazy Stitcher merges every tile’s grid back into one full-size pattern in the correct position — updating the original pattern if it’s still in your list, or creating a new one if it isn’t.

31. Generate a Print Layout

Click Print Layout to generate a print-optimized HTML document you can open in any browser and send to your printer.

What the print layout includes

1. Cover page — pattern name, dimensions, stitch type, color legend with symbols, bead count summary table, and pattern notes.
2. Symbol grid pages — the pattern grid with each bead shown as its assigned symbol on a colored background. Large patterns split across multiple pages (50 columns × 60 rows per page). Each page shows column and row numbers and a page footer for reassembly.

How to print

1. Open the downloaded HTML file in your browser.
2. Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on Mac).
3. Set paper size to Letter or A4. The layout adapts to both.
4. Print in color for the best readability. The symbols also work in grayscale.

32. Scale Your Pattern

Click the Scale button in the toolbar (or press Shift+S) to resize your pattern. A dialog opens with three fields:

Scale dialog fields

Field	What It Does
Width	The target width in beads.
Height	The target height in beads.
Lock Aspect Ratio	When checked, changing width automatically adjusts height (and vice versa) to preserve the original proportions.

Enter the new dimensions and click Apply. The app resamples the pattern using nearest-neighbor sampling, which keeps bead edges sharp and avoids blending colors. Each bead in the resized pattern maps to the closest bead in the original.

33. Find Color Harmonies

The Color Harmony tool suggests harmonious color combinations based on color theory. Click Harmony in the toolbar to open the dialog. Select a base color from the palette, choose a harmony type, and the app calculates matching colors mapped to the nearest beads in your active palette brand.

Harmony Types

Color harmony types

Type	How It Works
Complementary	Returns the color opposite the base on the color wheel. High contrast, bold pairings.
Analogous	Returns colors adjacent to the base on the color wheel. Low contrast, naturally cohesive palettes.
Triadic	Returns two colors evenly spaced (120°) from the base. Vibrant and balanced.
Split-Complementary	Returns the two colors flanking the complement. Strong contrast with less tension than pure complementary.
Tetradic	Returns three colors forming a rectangle with the base on the color wheel. Rich, four-color schemes.

Each result swatch shows the closest match from the active palette, including the bead name and ID. Click any result swatch to make it your active drawing color.

34. Use Layers

Layers let you separate parts of your design onto independent drawing surfaces. The active layer receives all drawing, erasing, and fill operations. Other layers remain untouched.

The Layers Panel

Open the Layers panel from the toolbar. Each layer row shows:

• Visibility eye — Click to show or hide the layer on the canvas. Hidden layers are excluded from drawing but preserved in the pattern data.
• Opacity slider — Drag to adjust the layer’s opacity from 0% (fully transparent) to 100% (fully opaque).
• Lock toggle — Lock a layer to prevent accidental edits. Locked layers ignore all drawing tool input.

Managing Layers

Layer management actions

Action	What It Does
Add	Creates a new empty layer above the active layer.
Delete	Removes the active layer and its contents.
Merge Down	Combines the active layer with the layer directly below it. The merged result replaces the lower layer.
Rename	Double-click a layer name to edit it. Use descriptive names like “Background” or “Border Detail.”

Click a layer row to make it the active layer. The active layer is highlighted in the panel and receives all drawing input.

Flatten for Export

When you export (PNG, PDF, Print Layout, or Word Chart), the app automatically flattens all visible layers into a single composite. Hidden layers are excluded from the export. To flatten manually, merge layers from top to bottom until only one remains.

35. Stamp Pattern Templates

Pattern Templates let you stamp pre-built letters and shapes onto the canvas. Click Templates in the toolbar to open the template picker.

Alphabet Stamps

The template library includes uppercase letters A–Z and digits 0–9, rendered in a compact 5×7 pixel font. Select a character, choose your drawing color, and click the canvas to stamp it. Each character occupies a 5-wide by 7-tall bead area.

Shape Stamps

In addition to letters, the following shape stamps are available:

• Heart
• Star
• Flower
• Diamond
• Arrow

Placement

If you have an active selection, the stamp places at the top-left corner of the selection rectangle. Otherwise, the stamp places at the center of the visible canvas. Once stamped, the template becomes regular beads that you can edit, recolor, or erase.

36. Use Stitch-Along Autoplay

Stitch-Along Autoplay steps through your pattern row by row on a timer, so you can follow along at your beading pace without clicking. Click Stitch-Along in the toolbar to open the autoplay controls.

Controls

Stitch-along autoplay controls

Control	What It Does
Play / Pause	Start or pause the automatic row advance.
Speed	Choose Slow, Medium, or Fast. Slow gives you the most time per row; Fast advances quickly for experienced beaders or previewing.
Audio Tick	Enable a short audible tick each time the guide advances to the next row. Useful when your eyes are on the beadwork, not the screen.

Minimap

While autoplay is active, a minimap appears in the corner of the canvas showing your current position within the full pattern. The highlighted band on the minimap tracks the active row so you always know where you are, even when zoomed in.

Press Pause at any time to stop the advance. You can manually jump to a different row, then resume playback from there.

37. Import External Formats

Krazy Stitcher can import patterns from several external file formats. Click Import Pattern in the toolbar and select a supported file. The app auto-detects the format and shows a preview before you confirm the import.

Supported Formats

Supported import formats

Format	Extension	Description
BeadTool XML	.bead	XML-based pattern files exported from BeadTool 4. The importer reads the grid dimensions, bead colors, and stitch type from the XML structure.
CSV Hex Grid	.csv	Comma-separated grid where each cell contains a hex color value (e.g., #FF0000). One row per line, one column per cell. Imported as a Loom pattern by default.
Plain Text Grid	.txt	Space- or tab-separated grid of single-character symbols or short color codes. Each unique symbol maps to a distinct color. Useful for quick hand-typed patterns.

Preview and Confirm

After selecting a file, a preview dialog shows the detected format, grid dimensions, and a thumbnail of the pattern. Review the preview to verify the import looks correct, then click Import to add the pattern to your saved list. If the auto-detection picks the wrong format, select the correct one from the format dropdown in the preview dialog.

Fullscreen Mode

Click the ⛶ Fullscreen button in the top toolbar to hide all browser chrome — tabs, address bar, and bookmarks bar — and give your pattern the entire screen. This is especially useful on smaller screens or laptops. Press Esc or click the button again to exit fullscreen. You can also press F11 in most browsers.

Tip: If you find the browser's bookmarks bar takes up too much space but don't want full fullscreen, press Ctrl+Shift+B (or Cmd+Shift+B on Mac) to toggle just the bookmarks bar on or off.

Touch & Pen Support

Krazy Stitcher works with touchscreens and digitizer pens (stylus devices). All drawing tools — Draw, Erase, Fill, Color Pick, Line, Rectangle, Oval, Triangle, Diamond, and Select — respond to touch and pen input alongside traditional mouse input.

No setup is required. Simply touch the canvas or use your stylus to draw, erase, or interact with the tools. Pan and zoom gestures work as expected on touch-enabled devices.

Scroll-Zoom Lock

If you find the scroll wheel accidentally zooming your canvas, click the lock icon (🔒) in the left toolbar, below the zoom-in and zoom-out buttons. When locked, scroll-wheel zoom is disabled and the icon changes to 🔓. Click it again to re-enable zoom.

View Lock

View Lock (📌) locks both panning and zooming at once, preventing any accidental repositioning of your pattern on the canvas. Click the pushpin icon in the left toolbar to engage it — when View Lock is on, scroll-zoom is also automatically locked along with panning. Click the pushpin icon again to unlock.

B&W Chart

Click the B&W Chart ▾ dropdown in the toolbar to access black-and-white symbol chart options. Each bead color is mapped to a unique symbol, making the chart suitable for printing and working away from a screen. Three options are available:

B&W symbol chart options

Option	What It Does
Show as Overlay	Replaces the color canvas with a B&W symbol view. A B&W ON / Return toggle appears in the toolbar next to the pattern title — click it to switch back to the color view.
Open as Separate Page	Opens the B&W chart in a new browser tab with a Return button to navigate back.
Save as File	Downloads the B&W chart as a standalone HTML file you can open, print, or share.

38. Improve Your Workflow

Photo-to-Pattern Workflow

1. Import with K-Means quantization and Floyd-Steinberg dithering for best results. Try the Sample Photo first to experiment with dithering styles.
2. Adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation before importing — use the Side/Stack toggle and preview until it looks right.
3. Run Cleanup immediately after import to remove confetti beads.
4. Open Counts to find low-count colors (highlighted in orange).
5. Use Merge to fold near-duplicate colors together.
6. Hand-edit details with the Draw and Erase tools, using the trace overlay as a guide.
7. Export as PDF for printing or Word Chart for row-by-row instructions with color blocks.

Design Tips

• Use Duplicate before making major changes so you can always go back.
• For symmetric patterns, press M to turn on Symmetric Drawing and draw in real time. Or build one half manually, then use Mirror to create the other side.
• Toggle Symbols on to verify color placement on complex patterns — each color gets a unique symbol overlay.
• Use the Color Pick tool (I) to quickly grab colors from existing parts of your pattern.
• Check the Size Calculator early — a pattern that looks small on screen might be surprisingly large (or small) in real beads.

Performance

Krazy Stitcher handles patterns up to 1000×1000 beads, but very large patterns may render slower. For best performance on complex patterns, keep the grid under 500×500 beads. Turn off the grid overlay at high zoom levels if rendering feels sluggish.

39. Solve Common Problems

Common problems and solutions

Problem	Solution
Pattern not saving	Click Save manually. Check the status bar's storage indicator. If your browser's IndexedDB is full (very rare), export patterns as files and clear old ones.
Photo import looks washed out	Increase contrast and saturation in the photo import dialog. Try K-Means quantization for better color accuracy.
Too many colors after import	Lower the Max Colors setting, or import with a higher number and use Merge afterward for more control.
Fewer colors than I requested	The Max Colors setting is an upper limit, not an exact target. Two things reduce the final count: (1) if your image doesn't have enough color variation, the quantizer may produce fewer groups; (2) when quantized colors are mapped to the nearest bead in your palette, multiple quantized colors can land on the same bead. Check the status line below the preview to see the actual count before importing. If you need more colors, try increasing Max Colors beyond what you want, or switch to K-Means quantization for better color separation.
White dots scattered across pattern after import	This is caused by the Floyd-Steinberg dithering algorithm distributing quantization error to neighboring pixels. Three fixes: (1) Click Cleanup to automatically remove isolated single-color beads. (2) Use Recolor to replace all white beads with a specific color. (3) Try importing again with dithering set to None for cleaner color blocks (at the cost of less smooth gradients).
Grid lines obscure the pattern	Uncheck the Show Grid checkbox in the toolbar to hide grid lines entirely. Zoom in to see individual bead colors more clearly — grid lines become less dominant at higher zoom levels. You can toggle the grid on and off as needed while working.
Hard to compare pattern to original photo	After importing a photo, Krazy Stitcher automatically loads the original image as a trace overlay. Use the opacity slider in the trace controls (appears below the toolbar after import) to blend the original over your pattern. Set opacity to 0% to hide it, or higher to see the original more clearly. You can also keep a copy of the original open in another window for side-by-side reference.
Can't load photos from iCloud or network drive	Use any of these methods: (1) Drag and drop the image from a Finder window directly onto the canvas — Finder can browse iCloud Drive, network shares, and external drives. (2) Click Import Photo, then click the drop zone to open the file picker, which shows all mounted drives in the sidebar. (3) Copy the image in Finder or Photos and press Cmd+V to paste it directly.
Canvas feels sluggish	Zoom out or turn off the grid display. Very large patterns (800+ beads wide) require more rendering time.
Undo doesn't restore correctly after rotate	The current version fixes this. If you see issues, refresh the page to load the latest code.
Can't find my saved patterns	Krazy Stitcher stores patterns per browser and per domain. If you opened the file from a different location or browser, previous patterns won't appear. Use Export Pattern to save important work.
Share button says “Share via…” is missing	The native share option requires a browser that supports the Web Share API (Chrome, Edge, Safari on mobile). Use Download .ksp File instead.
.ksp file won’t import	Make sure the file has a .ksp or .zip extension and contains a .ks file inside. If the file was renamed or corrupted during transfer, try downloading it again.
PDF export opens blank	Some browsers block pop-ups. Allow pop-ups for the Krazy Stitcher page, or right-click the Export PDF button and choose "Open in new tab."

40. Supplies & Resources

Ready to start stitching? We have curated a complete list of recommended beading supplies, tools, and books — all available on Amazon. The resource page covers seed beads (Miyuki, Toho, Preciosa), thread and stringing materials, needles, looms, workspace tools, lighting, pattern books, technique guides, and finishing supplies.

View Supplies & Resources →

41. Explore the Full Krazy Stitcher Lineup

Krazy Stitcher Base — one-time purchase

Design bead patterns from any photo or from scratch — offline, no subscription.

• 22 stitch types, dark mode, configurable print/PDF export with branding & saved presets
• Built-in Thread & Bead Estimator, Row/Round Progress Counter, and Backup All / Restore
• Commercial-use rights included — sell finished crafts and individual patterns you create
• Keyboard shortcuts overlay (press ?)
• One-time purchase, works fully offline

Krazy Stitcher Pro — one-time purchase

Everything in Base, plus 1 more stitch type (25 total — Bead Crochet Rope), rotatable 3D preview, live symmetric drawing, brand remapping, a difficulty score, bead inventory tracking, a cost estimator, gradient fill, custom bead palettes, real SVG/CSV export, Color Reduction (Median Cut/Bayer dithering), 300 DPI hi-res export, Enhanced Backup (Version History), and the 66-design Starter Pattern Library.

Krazy Stitcher Studio — one-time purchase

Everything in Pro (including the same 66-design Starter Pattern Library), plus multi-layer editing, a Multi-Pattern Workspace (tab between and compare up to 4 patterns), a 6-type Color Harmony Engine, Batch Export (bulk PDF/PNG export of multiple saved patterns to a single .zip), and Batch Photo Import (convert several photos into separate patterns in one pass). Studio also adds the exclusive right to bulk/wholesale distribution and publishing pattern collections or books — a step beyond the individual-pattern commercial rights every edition includes.

Photo-to-Pattern Converter — standalone add-on, works with any edition

Turn any photo into a ready-to-stitch bead pattern. 9-brand, 1,814-color database, Median Cut/K-Means/Bayer Matrix dithering choice, full brightness/contrast/saturation control, WCAG AA audited.

Color Palette Tool — free standalone tool

Build a bead-accurate color palette before you open a pattern. 6 harmony types, Delta-E/Lab matching across 5 brands/1,269 colors. One-click “Send to Krazy Stitcher.”

PatternFolio — coming soon

In development — details to come once it's finished and merged into the lineup.

Bead Conversion Chart Bundles

Cross-brand conversion charts — currently 47 charts covering Miyuki, Toho, DMC, Perler, Hama, Artkal, Nabbi, and more — for matching colors when you switch bead or craft brands.

No pricing here — visit krazystitcher.com to compare editions and see current pricing.