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Stitch Moxie Help Manual
Stitch Moxie is a chart editor for mosaic crochet, corner-to-corner (C2C) crochet, graphghan crochet, and cross-stitch. You draw on a grid, and the app produces charts and written instructions you can follow or share.
Features marked PRO need a Pro subscription.
Contents
Getting started
- Pick a craft mode from the dropdown in the top-left (Mosaic Crochet, C2C Crochet, Graphghan, or Cross-stitch).
- Set the grid size in the Properties tab on the right.
- Pick a color from the color button in the toolbar above the canvas, or from the Colors tab.
- Draw on the grid with the Brush tool. Click a cell to fill it. Click and drag to fill many cells.
- Save your work with Save in the header (to a file on your computer, or to the cloud if you are signed in).
- Export a chart with the Export button when you are done.
Craft modes
The mode dropdown in the header sets the kind of pattern you are making. Switching modes changes which tools and overlays are shown.
- Mosaic Crochet — draw the design, then generate X and O stitch markers. The app validates the design against mosaic stacking rules. See Mosaic mode features.
- C2C Crochet — the grid is worked diagonally. Diagonal guides can be shown, and Follow mode steps through diagonals instead of rows.
- Graphghan — a plain color chart worked row by row. No validation rules.
- Cross-stitch — full and partial stitches, back stitch, and French knots. Each palette color can carry a symbol so charts stay readable in black and white. See Cross-stitch features.
Tools live in the toolbar on the left edge. The active tool is highlighted. The status bar under the canvas shows the current tool name.
- Brush (B) — click a cell to paint it with the current color. Drag to paint a stroke.
- Eraser (E) — click or drag to clear cells back to empty. Erasing a cell also removes arrows connected to it.
- Fill (F) — click a cell to flood-fill the connected area of the same color with the current color.
- Eyedropper (I) — click a cell to make its color the current color.
- Line (L) — click where the line starts, drag to where it ends, release to draw a straight line of cells.
- Arrow (A) — draws a diagonal connection between two cells and fills the cells along it. Used in mosaic patterns to mark long diagonal stitches. Click the start cell, drag to the end cell, release.
Selection tool
Select an area of the pattern, then act on it. Two selection modes appear in the toolbar above the canvas:
- Rect — drag to select a rectangle. Hold Shift and drag to add another rectangle to the selection.
- Cell — click or drag over individual cells to add them. Start on an already-selected cell to remove cells instead. Ctrl/Cmd-click does the same in any mode.
With cells selected, the toolbar offers:
- Copy — copies the selection to a new layer.
- Flip H / Flip V — mirror the selected cells in place, horizontally or vertically.
- Transform — move the selection. Drag it, or nudge one cell at a time with the arrow keys. Press Enter to apply, Esc to cancel.
- Deselect — clears the selection. Esc also works.
Clipboard shortcuts work on the selection: Ctrl+C copy, Ctrl+X cut, Ctrl+V paste, Delete clears the selected cells.
Repeat box
Marks a rectangle of the pattern as the repeating motif. Draw the box with the Repeat tool, and drag its edges or corners to resize it. The Preview tab tiles the boxed section three times in each enabled direction, so you can check how the motif joins up. Checkboxes there turn horizontal (↔) and vertical (↕) tiling on or off. Clear Box (or Esc) removes the box.
Symmetry mode
Mirrors your drawing as you draw. Choose Half (mirror across the vertical center line) or Quadrant (mirror into all four quarters) in the toolbar above the canvas. Anything you draw on one side is repeated on the other side(s) automatically.
Undo, redo, clear
- Undo (Ctrl+Z) — reverses the last action.
- Redo (Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z) — re-applies an undone action.
- Clear Layer (trash icon) — empties the active layer. It asks for confirmation first. Clearing can be undone.
Colors and palette
- Current color — the swatch button in the toolbar above the canvas shows the color you are painting with. Click it to pick a different color from your palette.
- Colors tab (right panel) — manages the full palette. Click a swatch to paint with it. Double-click a swatch to change its color.
- + Color — adds a new color to the palette using a color picker.
- + DMC — adds a DMC embroidery floss color. Search by code or name. DMC colors keep their code, and written patterns print it.
- Background — sets the background (empty cell) color of the chart.
- Eyedropper tool — picks a color straight from the canvas.
Mosaic mode features
Symbols
The toolbar above the canvas offers X and O marker buttons for placing stitch markers by hand, and an arrow button for diagonal connections.
Generate Stitches
Click Generate Stitches to compute X and O markers from your colored design automatically. The markers go on a dedicated Stitches layer. Each generation replaces the previous one. You can select the Stitches layer in the Layers tab to edit markers by hand afterwards.
If you edit the design after generating, the status bar shows "⚠ Stitches need regenerating". Click Generate Stitches again to update the markers. Clear Markers removes them.
Validation
Mosaic crochet has stacking rules: the app checks your design against them as you draw. The status bar shows Valid or an error count. Cells that break the rules are highlighted when Error Overlay (Properties tab) is on.
Row overlay
Row Overlay (Properties tab) tints alternating rows so you can tell which color row you are on.
Cross-stitch features
In Cross-stitch mode, stitch type buttons appear in the toolbar above the canvas:
- Full — a full cross stitch. Fills the whole cell.
- Back Stitch — a straight outline stitch. Click one corner, then drag to another corner.
Advanced PRO opens the partial-stitch tools:
- ½ — half fill. Point at the side or corner of the cell the half should cover.
- ¼ — petite stitch. Fills the quadrant under the cursor.
- ¼ Line — quarter stitch. A line from the nearest corner to the cell center.
- ½ Line — half stitch. A line corner to corner across the cell.
- Straddle ✕ — a full cross centered between cells.
- Knot — French knot. Click a corner to place it.
Stitch Guides (Properties tab) shows guide lines that help aim partial stitches. Each palette color can carry a chart symbol so printed black-and-white charts stay readable; light colors always get one.
Layers PRO
The Layers tab in the right panel stacks multiple layers over the grid.
- + Pattern — adds a new empty pattern layer. Each pattern layer holds its own cells; the active layer is the one you draw on.
- + Image — loads a picture from your computer as a reference layer. Drag it to position it and resize it to trace over.
- Opacity slider — sets the transparency of the selected layer.
- Layer list — click a layer to make it active. Each row has controls to show/hide or delete the layer. Editing a hidden layer is blocked, and a notice tells you so.
- Stitches layer — created by Generate Stitches in mosaic mode. Select it to edit the generated markers by hand.
Zoom, pan, and view options
- Zoom — use the − / + buttons in the status bar, the mouse wheel over the canvas, or Ctrl++ / Ctrl+−. The current zoom level is shown between the buttons.
- Fit (Ctrl+0) — zooms so the whole grid fits on screen.
- Pan — hold Space and drag the canvas.
- Grid — toggles the grid lines.
- # — toggles the row and column numbers. Also in the Properties tab as "Grid Numbers".
- ⟋ — toggles diagonal guides (C2C mode only).
- Dark Mode (Properties tab) — switches the whole app to a dark theme. Remembered between visits.
The status bar also shows the cursor position (column and row) and the grid size.
Follow mode
Follow mode highlights one row at a time so you can work the pattern without losing your place.
- Click Follow in the status bar to start. The current row stays bright; the rest of the chart dims.
- ‹ Prev / Next › (or ↓ / ↑) move between rows. The counter shows which row you are on.
- Rows are numbered from the bottom of the grid, matching the chart numbers.
- In C2C mode, Follow steps through the diagonals instead of rows, starting from the corner that matches your handedness setting.
- Click Follow again to stop.
Pattern properties
The Properties tab in the right panel holds pattern settings:
- Pattern Name and Author — printed on exports and shown in written patterns.
- Grid Dimensions — width × height in cells. Changing size keeps your existing drawing. Free accounts can use grids up to 20×20; larger grids need Pro.
- View toggles — Dark Mode, Grid Numbers, Row Overlay, Error Overlay, Stitch Guides (which ones appear depends on the craft mode).
Saving and opening
- Save → Save to disk (.stitch) — downloads the pattern as a
.stitch file. This file holds everything: grid, colors, layers, markers.
- Save → Save to cloud — stores the pattern in your account (sign-in required). Free accounts get 3 cloud slots; Pro is unlimited.
- Open → Open from disk — loads a
.stitch (or .json) file from your computer.
- Open → Open from cloud / My Patterns — lists your cloud patterns to load or delete.
- New — starts a fresh pattern. Save first; New replaces the current pattern.
Autosave
While you work, the app snapshots your pattern locally every 15 seconds when something has changed. It keeps the 5 most recent snapshots in your browser. If the tab crashes or closes with unsaved changes, the next visit shows a "Restore unsaved work?" prompt — pick a snapshot to restore, or discard. Autosave is a safety net, not storage: use Save for anything you want to keep.
Exporting
The Export button in the header offers:
- PDF chart — the chart as a printable PDF.
- PDF chart + written PRO — one PDF with the chart and the written instructions.
- SVG PRO — the chart as a scalable vector file.
- PNG image — the chart as an image.
- Written pattern PRO — opens the written instructions in a window. See below.
The account settings control whether "Created with Stitch Moxie" appears on exports (removing it is a Pro option).
Written patterns PRO
Turns the chart into row-by-row text instructions for the current craft mode. Colors are named by their palette name (with DMC code if set). Choose Right-handed or Left-handed; the row directions flip to match. Row 1 is the bottom row of the grid, matching the chart numbers (the cross-stitch chart prints top row first, per convention). Use Copy to copy the text or Download .txt to save it.
Account and Pro
- Sign in — click the avatar in the top-right. Sign in with Google, or enter your email to get a login link. No password needed.
- Change email — in the account dialog; a confirmation link goes to the new address.
- Pro — $5/month or $48/year. Pro unlocks unlimited grid sizes, layers, the Selection / Symmetry / Transform / Repeat tools, written patterns, SVG and combined PDF export, and unlimited cloud saves. Cancel anytime.
- Settings (in the account dialog) — default author name, default craft mode, and the "Created with Stitch Moxie" branding toggle for exports.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|
| B | Brush tool |
| E | Eraser tool |
| F | Fill tool |
| L | Line tool |
| A | Arrow tool |
| I | Eyedropper tool |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y / Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Ctrl++ / Ctrl+− | Zoom in / out |
| Ctrl+0 | Fit grid to screen |
| Space + drag | Pan the canvas |
| Mouse wheel | Zoom at the cursor |
| ↑ / ↓ | Next / previous row (Follow mode) |
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V | Copy / cut / paste selection (Pro) |
| Delete | Clear selected cells (Pro) |
| Arrow keys | Nudge selection during Transform (Pro) |
| Enter / Esc | Apply / cancel Transform; Esc also deselects and clears the repeat box |
On Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.
Click Contact in the header to send a message from inside the app, or email help@stitchmoxie.com. Bug reports and feature ideas are welcome.