Digital Loom: Image-to-Needlepoint Pattern Generator

Digital Loom is a standalone desktop tool that converts any image into a full needlepoint, cross-stitch, or tapestry pattern. It creates a clean, printable chart with DMC color matching, symbol maps, stitch gridlines, and optional PDF + CSV exports.

This version includes:

• Auto-fit single-page PDF export with no clipping
• Color chart and symbol chart generation
• Accurate DMC color matching (regular or specialty sets)
• CSV legend with codes, hex values, stitch counts, and assigned symbols
• Adjustable grid size, color count, and pixel-per-stitch controls
• Live preview and printable one-page preview
• MacOS-safe file dialogs and Pillow-10-safe text rendering
• Toplevel window fix for multi-preview mode

Digital Loom is built for creators who want fast, high-quality needlepoint or cross-stitch patterns without relying on paid software or online converters. Everything runs locally on your computer.

Features

Image Processing

Adaptive palette reduction with user-selected color count

Optional aspect-ratio preservation

Customizable stitch resolution (max stitches)

DMC Mapping

Full DMC palette support (including metallics, variegated, and specialty threads)

Option to restrict matching to standard cotton only

Automatic closest-color selection using RGB distance

Pattern Rendering

Color chart with gridlines every 10 stitches

Symbol chart using a DMC-style symbol library

Numbered axes for easier alignment

High-contrast grid system and print-safe colors

Export Options

Single-page, auto-fit PDF export for color and symbol charts

CSV legend including:

• Symbol
• RGB values
• Hex code
• DMC code
• DMC name
• Thread type (regular/metallic/etc.)
• Stitch count

UI

• Simple Tkinter GUI
• Real-time preview
• One-page PDF preview window
• Safe file dialogs for macOS, Windows, and Linux

Installation

Install Python 3.12+

Install Pillow:
pip install pillow

Place the script and your palette file in the same directory:
needlepoint_designer_plus.py
dmc_palette_full.csv

Run:
python3 needlepoint_designer_plus.py

Usage

Click Browse to load an image.

Adjust:

Max stitches

Color count

Pixels per stitch

DMC options

Click Generate Preview.

When ready, click Export PDFs + CSV.
This creates:

image_pattern_color.pdf

image_pattern_symbols.pdf

image_legend.csv

Optional: use 1-Page Preview to preview the printable page layout.

File Structure

digital_loom/
  demo_images/
  google-sheets-apps-script/
  needlepoint_designer_plus.py
  dmc_color_palette.xlsx
  dmc_color_palette_full.csv
  dmc_palette_full.csv
  README.md

original image

uploaded to GUI

DMC Google Sheets & Apps Script