Free crochet chart maker: turn a photo into a grid

A crochet chart maker turns a picture into a grid of coloured squares you can crochet from. This guide covers what a free one should give you, what Bobble gives you and what it does not, and how to get a chart you will want to make in about five minutes.

What a crochet chart maker does

Give it an image (a photo, a drawing or a pixel-art file) and it turns that image into a colour grid where every square tells you which yarn to use for one stitch. That grid is your chart. You crochet square by square, changing colour where the chart changes, and at the end you have a graphghan, a cushion or a wall hanging that looks like the original picture.

The technique itself isn’t new. Crocheters have made blankets from charts for decades with graph paper and coloured pencils. What software adds is the slow middle part: reducing a photo with thousands of colours to a few yarn shades and a grid you can work.

Chart, graph, grid or diagram: which do you need?

“Crochet chart” means one of two things. A stitch-symbol diagram draws each stitch as a symbol, in the set the Craft Yarn Council publishes, and shows how to work lace, motifs or textured stitches. You draw one by hand, in a drawing program or in a tool built for symbol charts. A colour chart, also called a graph or a grid, gives one colour to each square and shows a picture; a blanket worked from one is a graphghan.

Bobble makes colour charts, from a photo or from one of its own designs. It does not draw symbol diagrams, it does not chart filet or mosaic crochet, and it has no blank grid to paint square by square yet. If the grid is new to you, see how to read a crochet chart.

What to look for in a free crochet chart maker

• Colour control. Photos contain thousands of colours. A good chart maker reduces them to a number you can buy yarn in and lets you change that number. Four to eight suits most photos.
• The methods you will use. Rows, often called pixel crochet, give the sharpest picture; C2C is quicker for a blanket; tapestry carries the spare colours inside the stitches for a firm fabric. See pixel, C2C or tapestry crochet: which to pick.
• Written instructions. A chart alone suits some crocheters; others want every row written out so they can follow it without counting squares.
• A size from your tension. Crochet stitches are not square, so a chart that gives each pixel one stitch comes out squashed. A good tool works the grid out from your stitches and rows per 10 cm.
• What is free. Check what you can use before you start: the chart, the instructions and the file you will print. On Bobble the chart and Make Mode are free; the written instructions and every download are part of Pro.
• Yarn matching. A tool that names the nearest shade in a yarn you can buy saves matching colours by eye in the shop.

What Bobble gives you

Bobble’s crochet chart maker runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.

Is it free, and do I need an account?

You can make a chart and follow it in Make Mode without an account, and Bobble keeps your projects in that browser. A free Google sign-in saves them to your account on every device, makes a share link and publishes to the Gallery. The free plan keeps 3 projects in progress at a time; finished ones don’t count.

The written rows in UK or US terms, and a PDF with the chart and the written rows together, are part of Bobble Pro (£3.99 a month), for every chart, Bobble’s free designs included.

Make a crochet chart online in five minutes

1. Open the app on a new photo.
2. Add a photo with a clear subject and strong contrast. Logos, animal silhouettes, simple portraits and bold landscapes work best.
3. Move and zoom the picture to the part you want to crochet.
4. Pick the method (rows for detail, C2C for speed, tapestry for a firm fabric) and the finished size in cm or inches, from a preset or your own. Add your tension from a swatch for an exact stitch count.
5. Set the number of colours, from 2 to 20; four to eight suit most photos. For a photo with soft shading, turn on Flatten shading.
6. Choose Stylecraft Special DK or Paintbox Simply DK, and Bobble names the nearest shade of each colour and the metres and balls to buy.
7. Tap Start making to save the project and open Make Mode, which takes you through it row by row for free. The written rows, the PNG and the PDF are part of Pro.

When a chart maker isn’t the answer

Some pictures don’t crochet well whatever the software. Highly detailed photos (forests, busy faces, text smaller than a square of the chart) end up muddy. Pick a different photo, or accept that the piece will be more impression than likeness.

The other case is size. Bobble charts up to 300 stitches or blocks a side and keeps the picture’s shape from your tension, so a square photo stays square in rows or C2C. A chart that size is months of work, though. If you are new to graphghans, start near 40 × 40 squares to learn the rhythm. For blanket sizes in cm and inches, see the crochet blanket size guide.

Common questions

Is Bobble’s chart maker really free?

Yes. Making charts and following them row by row in Make Mode are free, with or without an account. The Pro tier (£3.99 a month) adds the written instructions, every download (PDF, PNG and printing), up to 50 projects in progress, the full template library and style filters.

How do I make my own crochet graph?

Start from a photo with a clear subject or one of Bobble’s designs, set the finished size and the method, cut the colours to a handful, check the preview, then follow the rows in Make Mode. How to turn a photo or picture into a crochet pattern covers each step.

Is there a free crochet pattern generator available?

Yes. Bobble turns a photo into a chart you make row by row in Make Mode, free, in the browser with nothing to install. You can start without an account. The written rows and every download are part of Pro.

What computer program can I use to create crochet patterns?

For colour charts, a browser tool such as Bobble: nothing to install, and it runs on a phone, tablet or computer. For stitch-symbol diagrams, a drawing program or a tool made for symbol charts.

What is the best crochet graph maker app?

It depends on what you want to make. Bobble is a web app, not an App Store app: it runs in the browser, can be added to your home screen and works offline once loaded. The comparison pages set Bobble beside Stitch Fiddle, CrochetPop, ArtPatt and others, feature by feature.

What stitch types work best for chart patterns?

Rows of double crochet in UK terms (single crochet in US terms) give the sharpest picture and suit small, detailed pieces. C2C works the chart in blocks and is the usual choice for a blanket. Tapestry uses the same stitch as rows and carries the spare colours inside, for a firmer fabric. All three follow the same chart.

What photos work best?

High contrast, clear subject, simple background. Pet portraits, animal silhouettes, logos and graphic landscapes work well. Photos of crowds or busy scenes don’t.