Tapestry Crochet Pattern Maker

A tapestry crochet chart from a photo, a name or a drawing. Enter the finished width and your gauge; see stitches, rows and how many colors each row carries.

Photo or picture

Choose image No file chosen

PNG, JPG, SVG or WebP, up to 10 MB; you can also drop it here. It is read in this browser and never uploaded.

Loading the maker…

Stitches: –
Rows: –
Total stitches: –
Finished size: –

Tap a cell to see its row, column and color.

Colors, stitch count and yarn weight all change how a chart crochets up, so not every photo makes a good graph. Fewer colors and a wider chart usually read better; work a small swatch first.

Stitch

Width

Set width by Finished width (in)

Gauge

Stitches Rows

Gauge measured over

Units and terms

Show sizes in Stitch names

Switching units only converts the sizes shown; the chart and your gauge stay the same.

Colors Number of colors (2–12)

Invert light and dark Mirror left–right

Yarn shades

Row-by-row instructions

US terms: each square is 1 sc (single crochet).

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Row tracker

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Row 1 of 1

The current row is outlined in orange on the chart and highlighted in the row list; tap any row in the list to jump to it. Saved in this browser only.

Crochetability check

Lone stitches: –
Busy rows: –
Colors carried in one row (max): –
Background (flood fill from the corners): –

Row	Color changes	Colors in row

Yarn by color

Yarn weight (for yarn amounts)

Estimates. Yards, meters and grams are the estimate; skein counts already include the 10% extra we suggest buying.

Compare stitches and yarn weights in the yarn calculator.

Save and print

Free for personal use: the whole chart, every row, yarn per color, the PNG (with a small crochetgraph.com credit in the corner), one-page printing and share links.

Pattern files 7-day pass or monthly

Paid files are yours to use commercially: sell the pattern, print it for a class or add it to your shop, no credit needed. Using your files

Paper Chart cells

Everything in one zip

Both PDFs in Letter and A4, a large labeled PNG without the credit, a finished-look PNG for listings and the instructions as a TXT file. Fill in a shop or course name to add the seller and teacher edition (US and UK terms, Letter and A4) to the same zip.

Shop or course name (optional) Copyright line (optional)

Logo (optional, PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG)

Choose logo No file chosen

Your logo is drawn onto the seller edition in this browser after download; it is never uploaded.

Add your shop or course name to include the seller and teacher edition (no CrochetGraph credit).

See sample pages of every file.

Tapestry charts to start from

These open with tapestry settings: the pet portrait at 100 cm and 15 × 16 per 10 cm (the 150 × 160 chart below), a five-color landscape sized in inches, a two-color name band and a three-color heart. Load one, then change the width, the gauge or any yarn color.

How to make a tapestry crochet chart

Swatch first. Crochet a 4 in (10 cm) square in single crochet while carrying a second color, and count stitches and rows. Carried yarn makes stitches taller, so tapestry gauge is not your plain sc gauge; 15 stitches × 16 rows per 10 cm is typical for worsted.
Load the picture. Photo, name or drawing. The picture stays in your browser.
Enter the finished width. Keep Set width by on Finished width, choose whether sizes show in inches or centimeters, type the width, then your gauge and whether you counted it over 4 in or 10 cm. The maker converts it to stitches and works out the rows from the picture's proportions.
Set the colors you will carry. Start with 3 or 4. The crochetability check lists the colors in every row; rows that carry more than 3 are highlighted, and "Colors carried in one row (max)" is how many strands you will hold in the busiest row.
Clean up. Merge background turns the backdrop into one color; near-identical colors are merged for you, and colors under 0.5% of the chart can be folded into their neighbors. "Preview lone-stitch cleanup" shows the chart before and after, with the lone stitches and busy rows counted both ways, and waits for you to keep it or undo it.
Work from the chart. Every row is written out under the chart and yarn per color (carried strands included) is listed next to it, both free. Download the PNG or print the chart on one page, and move the row marker as you go; the paid row worksheet gives every row a tick box in large type.

Where tapestry crochet fits

Bags, baskets and pouches

Worked in the round, every row is a right-side row, so the colorwork stays crisp and both sides are dense enough to hold shape. Plan the yarn with the crochet yarn calculator.

Wall hangings and portraits

Pet and family portraits at 100 to 150 stitches wide, 4 to 6 colors. For a full-size blanket the same picture is lighter as a C2C graph.

Names and bands

Two-color lettering for basket rims and banners. For an openwork version, try the filet crochet chart maker.

Single crochet graphgans

If you would rather change colors with bobbins and not carry yarn, use the crochet pattern maker in single crochet; the chart is the same, the back is different.

Learning to read charts

Odd rows right to left, even rows left to right, Row 1 at the bottom: see how to read a crochet chart. Sizing a blanket? See crochet blanket sizes.

How tapestry crochet carries yarn

In tapestry crochet every stitch is a single crochet worked over the colors you are not using. You hold the idle strands along the top of the previous row and crochet around them, so they disappear inside the stitches and come out exactly where the chart needs them. The change itself happens in the stitch before: work the last stitch of the old color until two loops remain on the hook, then finish it with the new color. That is why tapestry needs no bobbins hanging off the back and leaves no floats to snag.

The cost is thickness and yarn. A tapestry stitch holds its own yarn plus every carried strand, so the fabric gets denser with each color you add, and the carried yarn runs the full width of every row it is carried in. The maker counts the colors in each row for you. For the pet portrait above at 150 × 160, 39 rows carry 1 color, 48 rows carry 2 colors, 64 rows carry 3 colors, 9 rows carry 4 colors.

Colors, carried strands and yarn: a planning table

The yarn figures come from this site's yarn model for a 100 × 100 cm piece in #4 worsted at 15 stitches × 16 rows per 10 cm. Plain single crochet with nothing carried needs about 1,555 yards; each carried strand adds its row length. The suggested widths are our rule of thumb: the more colors, the more stitches you need before the picture reads.

Colors in a row	Strands inside each stitch	Extra yarn vs plain sc	Yards for 100 × 100 cm	Suggested minimum width	Good for
2	1	+12%	1,738	30 sts	Lettering, logos, two-tone motifs
3	2	+24%	1,922	50 sts	Hearts with an outline, simple flags
4	3	+35%	2,106	80 sts	Pet portraits, landscapes with flat areas
5	4	+47%	2,289	100 sts	Detailed portraits; carried strands start to thicken the fabric
6	5	+59%	2,473	120 sts	Wall hangings only; expect a stiff fabric

Estimates. Real yardage depends on tension; buy about 10% extra.

From finished width to stitches

Tapestry pieces are usually planned from a size: a 40 in wall hanging, a 100 cm throw, a basket that is 30 cm around. The maker's Finished width mode does the arithmetic. Stitches across = width × your stitch gauge ÷ the swatch length (10 cm or 4 in). Rows = width × the picture's height-to-width ratio × your row gauge ÷ the swatch length. At 15 × 16, 100 cm becomes 150 stitches by 160 rows for a square picture, and 40 in becomes 150 by 160. Because tapestry rows are shorter than they are wide, a chart with equal stitch and row counts would come out squashed; the maker draws cells in true proportion so you see the real shape.

One-sided and two-sided tapestry

Worked in the round without turning, tapestry crochet has a clean right side and a wrong side where the stitches slant the other way. Worked flat and turned every row, both faces show the picture, but even rows are mirror-image reads of the chart, which is why the written rows here alternate right to left (RS) and left to right (WS). For pieces seen from both sides, such as hanging banners, firm blocking evens out most of the difference. If you work flat but want every row read the same way, cut the yarn at the end of each row and start again from the right; you will have ends to weave in but identical stitches.

A tapestry crochet pattern generator that shows the work

Most tapestry crochet pattern generator tools stop at a picture. This one also counts lone stitches (each one means two color changes for a single stitch), shows the color changes and colors carried in every row, highlights rows with more than 10 changes or more than 3 carried colors, and estimates the yarn for each color including the carried strands, so you can judge the effort before buying yarn. Colors, stitch count and yarn weight all affect how a tapestry turns out; not every photo makes a good chart, and a swatch of the busiest rows is worth an hour of frogging.

Tapestry crochet questions

How many colors can I carry in tapestry crochet?

Two to four is comfortable. Each color you are not using travels inside the stitches, so a row with 4 colors has 3 strands buried in every stitch. That makes the fabric thicker and stiffer and uses about 35% more yarn than plain single crochet. The maker shows the most colors any one row carries; if it reads 5 or 6, reduce colors or split the design into blocks.

Why does tapestry crochet use more yarn than single crochet?

Because every carried color runs the full width of the row inside the stitches, even where it does not show. At 15 stitches per 10 cm, one carried strand adds about 12% to the yarn of plain single crochet, two add about 24% and three about 35%. The yarn calculator on this site adds those strands when you pick tapestry.

Should I work tapestry crochet flat or in the round?

In the round, every row is a right-side row, so the chart is read right to left on every round and the slant of the stitches stays the same; that is how most tapestry bags and baskets are made. Worked flat, you turn and read even rows left to right, as the row instructions here are written. Flat pieces show slightly different stitch shapes on alternating rows; blocking evens them out.

What does "colors carried in one row" mean?

It is the largest number of different colors that appear in a single row of your chart. In tapestry crochet you usually carry every color used in a row along the whole row, so that number is how many strands you hold. Rows with many colors are also the ones most likely to show carried yarn peeking through.

How do I stop carried yarn from showing through?

Work tighter than usual (a hook one size smaller than the label suggests), keep the carried strands slightly taut but not pulled, and choose a carried color close in value to the working color when you can. Dark yarn carried behind white shows the most. Single crochet in the back loop only hides less; work through both loops.

How does the maker turn a finished width into stitches?

Stitches = finished width × stitches per 10 cm ÷ 10, or × stitches per 4 in ÷ 4 in inches. A 100 cm wall hanging at 15 stitches per 10 cm is 150 stitches wide. Rows = width × (picture height ÷ width) × rows per 10 cm ÷ 10, so a square photo at 16 rows per 10 cm becomes 160 rows and the piece stays square at 100 × 100 cm.

Can I make a tapestry pattern from a photo of my pet?

Yes. Crop to the face, set 4 to 6 colors, press Merge background so the backdrop becomes one color, and turn on Remove lone stitches. Around 100 to 150 stitches wide keeps the eyes and nose readable. Colors, stitch count and yarn weight all change the result, so check the preview before buying yarn.