User guide

From the catalogue — tap the + button and search by brand, colour number, or colour name. Free includes full DMC and Anchor catalogues including discontinued colours. Tap a colour, enter your quantity, and save.

By scanning a barcode (Pro) — tap the scan icon in the top corner of the Stash screen and point your camera at the barcode on a DMC or Anchor skein label. Flossom reads the code and adds the thread instantly. More brands coming soon.

By matching a colour (Pro) — tap the colour picker icon and point your camera at the thread. Flossom identifies the closest match across all 71 brand catalogues and suggests the most likely code.

As a custom thread — for hand-dyed threads, indie brands or anything not in the catalogue, tap + → Custom thread. Enter a name, choose a colour from the picker, and add your quantity.

• Search by colour number, colour name or brand — results appear as you type.
• Sort by colour, brand or number — tap the Sort button in the Stash tab to choose.
• Filter by brand, or show only threads that are running low.
• Notes and tags — add a note or tag to any thread (catalogue or custom) to group them your way.
• Adjust quantities anytime — tap a thread and use the + / − controls.

Tap any thread in your stash to open its detail card. The card shows the colour swatch, quantity +/− controls, a notes field, and a closest-colour alternatives toggle. The toggle has two pills — Same brand (free, shows 3 closest matches within the same brand) and Other brands (Pro, shows 3 closest matches from alternative brands across all 71 catalogues). The card saves automatically when you close it.

Free includes DMC and Anchor. Flossom Pro unlocks 69 additional brands including Madeira, Venus, Weeks Dye Works, Kreinik, Cosmo, J&P Coats, and many more — 71 in total. Every catalogue includes discontinued colours — useful for vintage patterns or inherited stashes.

Export your entire stash as a CSV file from your Profile tab — useful for backups or sharing. To import, your file needs columns for brand, colour code and quantity. Tap Profile → Import stash and follow the prompts.

Track your Aida, linen and evenweave alongside your threads. Tap the Fabric pill in the Threads / Fabric toggle at the top of the Stash screen to switch to your fabric inventory. The toggle is visible on the free tier but only active on Pro — tapping it on the free tier shows the upgrade prompt.

To add a piece, tap Fabric → + Add fabric. Choose from the built-in catalogue (Zweigart, Wichelt, Charles Craft, DMC, Fabric Flair, Weeks Dye Works and more) or enter a custom fabric. Fill in:

• Type — Aida, evenweave, linen, canvas, Hardanger or custom.
• Count — e.g. 14ct, 28ct, 32ct.
• Colour — standard colours for that line, or the colour picker.
• Brand and line — e.g. Zweigart Belfast Linen.
• Dimensions — width × height in cm.
• Quantity — how many pieces of this size you own.
• Notes and tags — optional.

Filter by fabric type, see status badges (unassigned, assigned to a project, too small), and edit or delete any entry by tapping the row. For hand-dyed fabrics, select “Other / Custom” and add a photo to document the actual colour.

Tap Projects → New Project. Give it a name and optionally add a pattern photo. Then add your threads — search for each colour code and set the quantity required. Flossom immediately compares against your stash and colour-codes each thread: green = you have enough, amber = you have some but not enough, red = not in your stash at all.

Each project has a Fabric section below the progress bar. Tap + Select fabric to choose a piece from your fabric stash. Flossom ranks pieces by suitability — Fits (count matches and piece is large enough), Too small (count matches but dimensions are insufficient), or Wrong count. If no suitable fabric is in your stash, tap I need to buy fabric — the required spec is added to your shopping list automatically. You can also assign from the other direction: open the Fabric stash, tap a piece, and choose Assign to project.

Have a printed pattern or PDF screenshot? Tap Import on the project screen and take a photo of the thread list — or pick one from your library. Flossom reads the codes and quantities automatically. Check the results and edit anything before saving. Works with printed booklets, PDFs, handwritten lists and most magazine patterns.

Below the pattern block on each project there's a Pattern notes and photos page. It keeps everything about the piece itself in one place: your start date, your progress photos and a free-text notes area.

• Start date — tap the pencil to pick a date. This overrides the date Flossom sets when a project first becomes Active. If you later stitch in the chart reader, the reader activity date takes precedence.
• Progress photos — your work-in-progress photos now live here (up to 5), keeping the main project screen focused on threads.
• Notes — up to 2,000 characters for fabric choices, thread substitutions, gift deadlines or anything else. Notes save automatically, and Save & close returns you to the project.

Each thread in the Threads needed list has a round tick button on the left. Tap it when you've used the thread up — Flossom stamps it as used and deducts the needed quantity from your stash automatically. Tapped by accident? Tap it again to un-tick and the quantity is added back to your stash. Used threads show struck-through with a “✓ Used up” badge.

• Tick off threads as you use them — your stash quantity updates automatically (and unticking restores it).
• Progress percentage on the project card is calculated from ticked threads — no manual slider needed once your project has threads.
• Using the chart reader? Whole stitches and backstitches are both tracked. Marking either one works the same way: select it on the chart, tap the stitch action, then confirm. When every full stitch of a colour is complete, its project thread ticks itself off and updates your stash — no double-deducting if you already ticked it manually.
• Attach up to 5 work-in-progress photos to document your piece — available on both free and Pro tiers.

When you mark a project as Finished, Flossom can automatically remove the threads you used from your stash. If any of the project's threads are in your stash, a prompt appears showing how many are available to deduct. Threads you already ticked off are skipped — their stash was updated when you ticked them.

• Finish without deducting — the project is marked complete and your stash stays unchanged.
• Finish & deduct from stash — the quantity needed for each remaining project thread is subtracted from your stash. If a thread is used up completely, its stash entry stays at 0 so you can restock it later. Threads not in your stash are skipped.

This is handy for large projects with many threads: instead of adjusting every stash entry manually, you can update them all at once when you finish the piece.

Free supports 3 active projects. Pro gives you unlimited projects — run all your WIPs side by side, switch freely, and see a combined shopping list across everything.

Every chart you open is saved directly on your device. From then on the reader needs no internet connection at all — open the chart in flight mode and everything works: panning, zooming, symbol search, and marking stitches. Your progress is saved on your device first and syncs back to your account automatically the next time you’re online. Nothing is lost if you close the app or lose signal mid-session.

Open a project, upload your PDF pattern in the Pattern section, then tap Open in reader. Flossom reads the pages, finds the chart grid and the colour key, and builds an interactive chart. The first open needs an internet connection — after that the chart lives on your device and opens instantly, online or off.

Every effort has been made to read a wide variety of pattern PDFs, but designers use many different layouts and some print files may not import perfectly. When a designer provides an app-formatted file (sometimes labelled for reader apps), use that version in Flossom instead of the standard print PDF. These files are prepared specifically for chart-reading apps and will usually produce the cleanest, most accurate reader chart. If no app-formatted file is available, upload the black-and-white or monochrome chart rather than the colour version — the reader can match text symbols more reliably than tiny colour swatches.

With image-only, flattened or scanned PDF files every page is an image, so there is no chart data (symbols, thread codes or row and column numbers) to read. This means that the chart no longer contains the underlying text, symbols or grid data Flossom needs to read it reliably.

For the best results, please upload the original PDF exported directly from the cross-stitch pattern software or designer, rather than:

• a scanned PDF
• screenshots saved as a PDF
• a flattened or image-only PDF
• a PDF rebuilt in Canva, Word or another design program

If your pattern came with more than one PDF, try the original printable chart PDF, or a Pattern Keeper-compatible PDF if one is included. We’re working on support for more PDF types in future.

Some PDFs contain no chart data at all — typically files flattened by design tools such as Canva, or patterns that are really just photos or scans of a printed chart. There are no individual symbols or grid inside the file for the reader to work with, so it can’t build an interactive chart from them.

• If this happens, a dialog explains why the file can’t be read — it stays on screen until you close it, so there’s time to read it properly.
• Once you close it, Open in reader is greyed out for that project with a short note underneath. The reader stays inactive for as long as that same file is stored on the project — re-tapping it would only fail again.
• To re-enable the reader, replace the stored pattern: delete the file with the bin icon, or upload a different PDF in the Pattern section. Uploading a new file clears the flag straight away and the reader becomes active again.
• Ask the designer for an App or Pattern Keeper Compatible version of the chart — that version will usually import cleanly. Support for photographed and flattened charts is planned for a future release.

• Navigate — drag to move around the chart, pinch or scroll to zoom. The reader stays crisp at any zoom level.
• Search — tap a symbol in the colour key to highlight every remaining stitch of that colour across the whole chart.
• Stitch — tap a block of stitches to mark it as done. Stitched symbols fade so you can see at a glance what’s left.

Backstitching is handled inside the same reader as your full stitches. If the imported pattern includes backstitch lines, they appear on the chart and in the thread list with their own progress, such as 4 of 31 lines stitched.

• To mark backstitch as stitched, select a backstitch line on the chart, tap the stitch action, then confirm — the same flow used for selecting and confirming whole stitches.
• Frogging works in reverse: switch to frog mode, select the stitched backstitch line, then confirm to mark it unstitched again.
• Chart settings lets you choose the stitch target: whole stitches, backstitches, or both. That choice controls what the reader selects, searches and marks while you work.

If you substitute a thread in your project — say you swap DMC 312 for a skein already in your stash — the reader notices the next time you open the chart and offers to update the colour key to match. Accept and the key shows your substitute thread; choose Not now and it won’t ask again for that change.

When a chart is linked to a project, the reader’s thread list is matched against the project’s threads. Under each colour’s name you’ll see a live stash status — how many skeins you own, whether that’s enough to finish the remaining stitches, or how much you’re short. Floss arrives in discrete skeins, so a small shortfall still means buying a full skein.

• Skein estimates — Flossom estimates how much floss each colour needs from the stitch counts (using a standard stitches-per-skein baseline) and shows it in your preferred unit — skeins, metres or yards. Estimates are shown for guidance only; they never change your stash automatically.
• Automatic tick-off — when you stitch every stitch of a colour, the matching project thread is ticked off as used and its quantity is deducted from your stash. If you already ticked it on the project page, nothing happens twice. Frogging stitches afterwards doesn't un-tick it — undo it from the project page if needed.
• Add to shopping list — colours you’re short on get a cart button that adds the shortage (in whole skeins) to your shopping list. When several colours are short, a banner at the top of the thread list offers an Add all button to queue them in one tap.
• Use my stash — short on a colour? The swap button shows the closest colours you already own, ranked by how near they are to the original shade. Pick one to substitute it as the project thread — the project page, shopping list and reader key all update together, and you can undo the swap at any time.

The chart settings dialog also includes a Thread stash summary: how many colours are short and roughly how many skeins you still need to buy, with the same Add all shortcut. Colours that aren’t linked to a project thread simply show their stitch counts as before.

Pattern PDFs vary enormously, so occasionally the import needs a nudge. Two tools handle almost everything.

• Flagged stitches — if an amber banner says some stitches look like page artefacts (arrows, page numbers or printer marks rather than real stitches), tap Review. The reader centres the chart on the first flagged stitch and highlights it. Use the arrows to step through them, and choose Not a stitch to clear that one or Keep to leave it — either choice moves on to the next. Remove all and Keep all deal with the whole batch in one tap, and the banner disappears once everything is decided.
• Setting a colour by hand — every row in the thread list has a pencil button, shown as Set colour on rows that came through as Unmatched. Tap it to choose a brand and search the catalogue by code or colour name; the list opens with the shades closest to the colour the import sampled, so the right thread is usually near the top. Picking one updates the chart colours straight away and unlocks stash status, shopping list and substitutions for that symbol. Clear colour puts a row back to unmatched if you change your mind.

Some designers use blended threads — one symbol stitched with a single strand of two different colours. When the pattern key lists two codes for one symbol (written like 3866+5 or 369+524), Flossom recognises it as a blend automatically.

• Both colours are named on the thread list, with a mixed swatch for the symbol and a second swatch showing the partner colour.
• Stash and shopping figures split the work correctly — a blended symbol takes half its stitches from each colour, and those halves are added to whatever the same colour is used for elsewhere in the chart, so nothing is counted twice.
• Backstitch-only colours in the key are listed separately as backstitch threads when the pattern includes readable backstitch lines.

You can also create a blend yourself. Open Set colour on any thread row, tap the Blend button beside the brand dropdown, then pick two threads in turn — the symbol is saved as a blend with both colours named, swatched and counted like an imported one. Turn Blend off and pick a single thread to go back to a solid colour.

Tap the gear icon in the reader toolbar to open Chart settings. The top of the panel is a progress dashboard for that chart, kept up to date as you stitch.

• Project created, Marked stitches, Still to do, Completed percentage and Total stitches.
• Stitch target — choose whether taps and searches apply to whole stitches, backstitches, or both.
• Stitched today — how many stitches you’ve marked off since midnight.
• Parked — how many stitches are currently parked with a thread.
• Other information — average stitches per day, estimated days to completion and an estimated finish date, worked out from your activity so far.
• Daily log — tap to expand a day-by-day history, newest first, showing how many stitches you marked each day (and your stitching time if the timer is on).

Track stitching time is optional and off by default — switch it on per chart in Chart settings. Once on, the timer starts by itself on your first interaction with the chart (tapping, dragging, zooming or highlighting all count) and pauses automatically after 10 quiet minutes, when you switch away from the app, or when you close the reader. There’s no button to remember.

• Time today and Total time appear as extra cards in the dashboard, plus an average time per day.
• Each entry in the daily log shows the time alongside the stitches for that day.
• Leave the switch off and only your number of stitches is tracked or stored — existing charts are unaffected.

If a pattern’s printed symbols are hard to tell apart, you can swap them. Open the thread list and tap the coloured symbol swatch beside any thread — a Choose symbol grid opens with over 260 clear, sharp symbols to pick from, sorted into Bold and solid, Outlined and Fine detail so the easiest to read come first. The chart, thread list and key all redraw instantly. Symbols already used elsewhere in the chart are greyed out so two threads can never share one. Reset to original brings back the pattern’s own symbol, and Reset all clears every change for that chart. Your choices only affect how the chart looks — stitches and progress are never changed.

The Display section of Chart settings holds four switches. They only change how the chart looks on this device — your stitches, progress and thread quantities are never affected.

• Colour tint — tint each cell with its thread colour, or turn it off for a clean black-and-white symbol chart.
• Symbols on completed stitches — keep the symbol visible on stitches you’ve marked off, or hide it so finished areas read as solid blocks.
• Stash info on threads list — show or hide the stash line under each thread in the thread list (“Stash 17.5 yards · enough to finish”, “short ~2 skeins” or “Not in stash”). Turn it off for a shorter, simpler list when you already know you have everything.
• Show tips — turn the rotating stitching tips on or off when you open a chart.

At the bottom of Chart settings there’s a Delete reader file button. It removes the interactive chart and all of its stitching progress for good, after a confirmation prompt — your project and the original pattern PDF are untouched, so you can always open the pattern in the reader again to start fresh.

• The cursor is outlined so it stays visible against white or pale chart areas.
• Toggle stitched symbols on or off from the settings menu if you prefer a clean chart.
• Because charts are stored on your device, the reader is just as fast on an old tablet with no wifi as it is on your desktop.

For the best results, please upload the original PDF exported directly from the cross-stitch pattern software or designer, rather than:

• a scanned PDF
• screenshots saved as a PDF
• a flattened or image-only PDF
• a PDF rebuilt in Canva, Word or another design program

If your pattern came with more than one PDF, try the original printable chart PDF, or a Pattern Keeper-compatible PDF if one is included.

We’re working on support for more PDF types in future.

Every time you add a project thread or update your stash, Flossom recalculates your list in the background. Open the Shopping tab and it's already there — sorted by brand, with the exact quantity to buy.

When you buy a thread, tick it off. Flossom adds the quantity to your stash automatically and your project status updates straight away.

Tap the dropdown arrow on any item to expand it. Flossom shows the 3 closest same-brand alternatives (free) and the 3 closest alternate-brand alternatives (Pro). Useful when your shop doesn't stock a colour, when it's been discontinued, or when you want to substitute with threads you already own. Ranked by actual colour value, not just the code number.

Flossom can notify you when a thread drops below a quantity you set. Open any thread → tap the bell icon → set your threshold. You’ll get a push notification before you run out mid-project.

Tap the share icon on the Shopping tab to export your list as a PDF or share it directly. Handy for sending to a craft shop or a stitching friend.

• Add any catalogue or custom thread to your wishlist from its colour card.
• Wishlist items don't affect your stash or active shopping list.
• Move a wishlist item to your shopping list at any time.

Convert any colour code between all 71 brands instantly. Matched by real colour values, not just code numbers. Free users get DMC ↔ Anchor conversions only.

Enter your stitch count (width × height) and fabric count (e.g. 14ct, 28ct) and Flossom calculates the size of fabric you need, including a 5cm border on each side.

Enter stitch count and fabric count to see the finished dimensions of your piece in centimetres and inches. Handy for checking a pattern fits a specific frame.

Enter stitch count, fabric count and strands, and Flossom calculates how many skeins of each colour you need. Defaults to 14-count Aida and always rounds up — you should never run out mid-project.

Enter the total stitch count and your average stitching speed (most stitchers are 150–300 stitches/hour). Flossom estimates the total hours and, if you enter how many hours a week you stitch, a realistic finish date.

Flossom syncs automatically. Sign in to flossom.app on any phone, tablet or computer and your stash, projects and shopping list are all there. No manual backup needed.

Tap Profile → Edit profile to update your display name or email address.

Tap Profile → Subscription to see your current plan, renewal date and billing details. To cancel, tap Manage subscription — cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period and you keep Pro access until then.

Tap Profile → Download stash CSV to save a complete backup at any time. This is separate from the export in the Stash tab — it downloads directly to your device.

Tap Profile → Delete account. This permanently removes all your data from Flossom’s servers within 30 days. No questions, no waiting period. If you’re a Pro subscriber, cancel your subscription first through the App Store or Google Play to avoid being charged again.

1. Open flossom.app in Safari — it must be Safari, not Chrome or Firefox.
2. Tap the Share button at the bottom (the box with an arrow pointing up).
3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
4. Give it a name (Flossom is fine) and tap Add.

1. Open flossom.app in Chrome.
2. Tap the three dots menu in the top right corner.
3. Tap Add to Home screen (or Install app on some versions).
4. Tap Add to confirm.

1. Open flossom.app in Samsung Internet.
2. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom.
3. Tap Add page to → Home screen.
4. Tap Add.

1. Open flossom.app in Chrome or Edge.
2. Look for the install icon in the address bar (a small screen with a download arrow).
3. Click it and follow the prompt to install — Flossom opens as a standalone window.

Use the latest version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge or Samsung Internet. Keep your browser up to date for the best experience and security.

Flossom works on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and desktop computers. The chart reader stores charts on your device, so it works offline once a chart has been opened online.

Very old operating systems or browsers may not support the features Flossom needs. If the app won't load, try updating your browser or switching to a newer device.

No — but the free tier is generous and free forever. It includes the full DMC and Anchor catalogues, 3 active projects, wishlist, shopping list with same-brand colour alternatives, notes and tags on all threads, up to 5 WIP photos per project, and cloud sync. Upgrade to Pro when you need more.

Yes — Flossom runs in any modern browser on iPhone, Android, tablet or desktop. Just open flossom.app. No download or app store required. For the best experience, keep your browser up to date.

Yes — that’s one of its best features. Open a chart once while you’re online and it’s stored on your device. After that the reader works with no internet at all: pan, zoom, search symbols and mark stitches in flight mode or anywhere without signal. Your progress saves on your device and syncs back automatically when you’re online again.

Free includes full DMC and Anchor catalogues, including discontinued colours. Pro unlocks 69 additional brands.

The free tier supports 3 active projects. Flossom Pro gives you unlimited projects.

Yes. Add threads one at a time, scan barcodes, photograph a thread list to import it automatically, or upload a CSV file.

Your stash, projects and shopping list are all kept. You move back to the free tier — 3 active projects and DMC and Anchor catalogues only. Nothing is deleted.

Yes. Flossom never sells your data and never shows ads. Export everything as a CSV any time, and delete your account whenever you want. Full details in the Privacy Policy at flossom.app/privacy.

Use the custom thread option. Tap + → Custom thread, enter a name and colour, and it lives in your stash like any other thread.

Yes — Pro includes fabric stash tracking alongside your threads. Log every piece of Aida, linen and evenweave with its count and dimensions. When you assign a fabric piece to a project, Flossom checks whether it’s big enough — and adds the right fabric to your shopping list if it’s not.