A free converter and community catalogue funded by yarn affiliate links, with written instructions, named-brand yarn matching and a row tracker. Here is how it compares with Bobble on the things that decide which one you will actually use.
Checked on the live sites on 2 October 2026. Features and prices change; check StitchingLab before you rely on any of this.
| What matters | Bobble | StitchingLab |
|---|---|---|
| Photo to chart | Yes. Upload a photo, or start from a template. Rows, tapestry and corner-to-corner. Grids up to 300 stitches a side and up to 20 colours | Yes. JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC or SVG up to 10 MB, 50 to 150 stitches on the longest side, 2 to 24 colours |
| Methods | Rows (double crochet in UK terms, single crochet in US terms), tapestry and corner-to-corner (C2C) | Tapestry crochet (single crochet), filet, cross stitch and knit colourwork in the converter |
| Written instructions | With Pro (£3.99 a month): row by row in UK or US terms, with the foundation chain and turning chains for rows and tapestry. For example: Row 5 · 45 stitches ←: A x20, C x5, A x20 (A = White, C = Black), each square one double crochet (dc) in UK terms or one single crochet (sc) in US terms. Free: Make Mode takes you through the chart row by row | Yes, free, each row marked right side or wrong side |
| Follow along | Make Mode highlights the row, counts stitches and remembers your place between sittings | A free row tracker that highlights the current row, pins the exact stitch and produces a progress link for resuming on another device |
| Saves across devices | Yes. Projects save to your account and sync across devices (3 in progress on Free, finished ones don't count; up to 50 on Pro) | No account library; your place is kept in the browser and through progress links |
| Sharing | Share links (1 on Free, 100 on Pro) with a preview card, and publishing to a moderated community gallery | Progress links, a pattern code you can paste back in, and public submission to a moderated catalogue |
| Yarn matching | Two brands: Paintbox Simply DK and Stylecraft Special DK, matched shade by shade by name and number, with metres and balls per colour | Yes, six named brands (Bernat, Caron, Cascade, Knit Picks, Lion Brand, Patons) plus DMC and Perler, with per-colour yardage and affiliate buy links |
| Part of Pro (£3.99 a month) for every chart, Bobble's free designs included, with the chart and the written instructions together. The PNG chart image and copying the instructions are Pro too | Not offered; charts print from the browser | |
| Price | Free; Pro £3.99 a month, cancel any time | Free, no account, no watermark, funded by affiliate commissions |
| Account | Optional. Continue without an account, or sign in to save, sync and share | None |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian | English |
| Ads | None | No display advertising; affiliate links on materials |
Things the StitchingLab site was unclear about on the day we checked. We do not state these as facts.
Pick StitchingLab if you want a free pattern with yarn matched across six named brands and no account at all. Pick Bobble if you want a photo turned into a chart in one flow, written in UK or US terms with Pro, with Make Mode keeping your place, corner-to-corner, and projects saved to an account rather than browser storage and progress links. Both let you try before deciding.
Bobble is free to try with no account. The pricing page lists exactly what Free and Pro include.
Try Bobble with a photo