Stitchly: Cross stitch 4+

I’ve been using this app for a few weeks now, and I’ve been very impressed with it so far. It’s easy to use and the few patterns I’ve generated so far seem to be working out really well just through the app’s own photo conversion. I’m not a print things out kind of guy, so I really like the completed stitch tracking you can do directly in the app. One wish I do have is grid numbering along the top/bottom/sides for easier stitch counting/tracking, but the way it’s set up now still works great.

I also applaud the absolutely stellar customer support by the developer. My big pattern I was working started crashing my app whenever I tried to open, so I couldn’t export or do anything with it to continue the pattern. I sent feedback via the app to the dev (Harry) and he responded within hours, then sent an update through Apple so I could submit the pattern to him directly through the app, and then he pushed another update out shortly thereafter fixing my issue, all while being tremendously polite and helpful. Judging by the responses to reviews here it looks like the dev is listening and constantly working to improve the app!

Very pleased with purchasing the full version!

I have been using this app for about a year now and it just keeps getting better. I like the flexibility of switching colors, symbols, swapping out background photos. I love how many different stitches it offers you. I love that it has all the different brand thread palates.
Could be improved- For the Convert a photo settings- be careful of your lighting of your photos. You might need to do some photoshop editing to brighten up photos before Import. Sometimes the chosen colors come out darker than I would like. Sometimes when I import an image, I have to tweak it a lot after using the internal conversion tools.
So I prefer to just draw it from an image myself. The draw it yourself option is so easy to use and you can move and resize your background image. I am constantly using the cut and copy tools, especially if I decide to expand my pattern on one edge. You can easily trace and move the entire image over and keep working.

I have made several patterns with the paid version of the app so far and have been really happy with the ease of use. I would give the app a 5 star but the only feature I’m not happy with is the back stitch. In black and white charts, there is no way to distinguish between back stitches. Many of my patterns have multiple colors used for back stitching, but if I’m reading the black and white chart, all back stitches show as the same bold black line. Color charts are a little better in that the back stitch line is shown in the intended color, but if you have the line going over the same colored square, the line blends in. I have resorted to using a thread color a few shades darker just so that the back stitch lines are more distinguishable on the chart.

I do think the paid version is well worth the money if you are making many patterns. I sell mine on Etsy, and love the many features available. All my patterns are made from art I’ve drawn digitally and then imported in, and the auto pattern creation makes things simple and quick. I import the image, do some touch ups, add back stitching, and done!