Stitch Fiddle Alternatives for Colorwork Charts

Choose for the task you need to finish

For a knitting colourwork grid with a fabric preview, start with Purlgrid’s Knitting Chart Maker. Choose Open the chart maker to enter the editor. It is free without an account, with a base chart limit of 400 × 400 stitches and 40 colours. These limits do not mean every design will be practical to knit.

Stitch Fiddle’s knitting setup includes colour charts, lace, cables and stitch-symbol charts. Its Premium page confirms browser use on computers, tablets and phones, cloud storage and automatic chart sync between devices. Purlgrid’s colourwork editor does not replace a general knitting-symbol editor.

Purlgrid vs Stitch Fiddle for drawing

Stitch Fiddle’s Draw stitches help explains how to paint squares after entering Edit chart. Its Import picture help also documents converting an image into a colour chart, then adjusting individual cells. These are useful routes when you want to build from a drawing rather than start with an empty grid.

In Purlgrid, choose yarns in Library, then use Paint, the rectangle tool or the fill tool. The fabric preview uses photographed knitted textures; Colour options shows alternative palettes, and Back shows floats. These textures are not branded yarn matches or a guarantee of your finished fabric.

Following rows is a separate requirement

Stitch Fiddle’s Progress tracker help documents horizontal, vertical and diagonal tracking, plus options for darkening rows around your current position. It describes designing on a computer and following the saved chart on a phone or tablet: useful if a moving row highlight is essential.

Purlgrid’s colourwork editor has no moving current-row highlighter. Use Save to My projects, then open Yarn, gauge, notes and progress. Enter Completed steps / rows and Total steps / rows, and choose Save project details. This records progress manually alongside your notes; it does not advance the chart for you. Keep that distinction in mind when comparing drawing with following rows.

Consider Chart Minder for another free workflow

Chart Minder’s own site describes a free online editor for knitting, cross stitch and crochet. It supports drawing from scratch, turning a picture into a chart, adjusting colours and gauge, and previewing knitted stitches. It also lists image downloads and on-screen progress tracking. That makes it another candidate if you want drawing and tracking in one browser workflow.

Try a small chart first. The homepage does not establish every export restriction or offline capability. Check those details if you need a particular file format, a large chart or reliable use without a connection.

Compare exports, backups and offline needs

Purlgrid’s Download image exports the displayed fabric preview as PNG. The adjacent menu offers Chart table (CSV) and Written instructions (TXT). CSV contains cell colour numbers and a yarn key; TXT lists colour runs by row. The colourwork editor has no direct PDF export. The separate Knitting Chart Checker offers Print or save as PDF for its own chart, not an automatic transfer of your maker design.

Stitch Fiddle’s Download & Print help documents PDF, SVG and other formats, including multipage printing. Availability depends on the plan and chart size, so check your required export before choosing. Its basic features are free; Premium is a time-limited subscription paid upfront without automatic renewal. Do not assume every documented download is included free.

Purlgrid saves locally in the browser. My projects offers Export backup and Import backup; there is no automatic account sync, and clearing browser data removes local projects. Local saving does not establish offline editing. Offline editing for Stitch Fiddle and Chart Minder was not confirmed in the official pages reviewed either: verify it before relying on it, and download a readable working copy before travelling.

Run a small comparison before switching

Use your own two-colour geometric design. In Purlgrid’s Size tab, set Stitches to 12 and Rows to 8, then set the adjacent repeats to 3 across and 2 up. Calculated directly, that is 36 stitches × 16 rows, or 576 stitch positions; the base grid contains 96 cells. Its CSV exports the base repeat with a repeat note, rather than expanding all 576 positions.

Draw the same base grid in the other editor. Change a colour, undo a mark, reopen the saved design and inspect a downloaded file. If you want a separate Purlgrid check, redraw the sample or use Paste a chart as text in Knitting Chart Checker. It accepts character grids, not a Stitch Fiddle project file or PDF, and its grid limit is 80 × 80. Choose the tool whose tested workflow fits your project.

Before you continue

1. Decide whether you need a colour grid or knitting stitch symbols.
2. Test saving and reopening on the device you will use while knitting.
3. Check whether progress means a highlighted row or a manually saved count.
4. Inspect the required export at your intended chart size and plan.
5. Keep a backup and confirm offline behavior before travelling.