LearnComing from another app
Pattern Keeper on iPhone or iPad?
As of 30 October 2026, Pattern Keeper's own site lists Android as its platform and says an iOS version is planned, with no set time frame. On iPhone, iPad and Mac you can open the same designer PDFs in Crosstela, a free tracker, although progress and backups from Pattern Keeper do not carry over.
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What Pattern Keeper’s own site says
Pattern Keeper is a PDF pattern tracker for cross stitch. We checked its own site on 30 October 2026:
- Its help page Is Pattern Keeper available for iOS? says there are plans to develop an iOS version, but no set time frame for its release. It offers a newsletter that will tell you when an iOS version is ready for testing.
- Its home page says it runs on Android devices with Android 4.1 or later and the Google Play Store, and calls the iOS version “in early development”.
- Neither page mentions iPad or Mac.
So, going by its own site, there is no Pattern Keeper for iPhone, iPad or Mac yet. If that changes, its site is the place to look first.
The same PDFs on iPhone, iPad and Mac
If what you need is to open the PDF the designer sold you, mark stitches as you go and see one colour at a time, Crosstela does that on iPhone, iPad and Mac, for free, with no purchases.
How Crosstela reads a PDF:
- It works out which program made the file, from the fonts and layout inside it, and then reads the symbols, the grid and the symbol key the way that program wrote them.
- PDFs that WinStitch and MacStitch save as “Pattern Keeper compatible” have a reader of their own.
- A scan or a photo of a paper chart is not read. The card says so and offers Send it to us.
Pattern Keeper’s home page says it works with many chart designers, not all. Crosstela reads PDFs in its own way, so a PDF that works in one app is not guaranteed to work in the other. If one doesn’t open, the card says why; see When a file doesn’t open. And if the shop gave you an .oxs or a program file as well, Crosstela opens that too.
Once the chart is open, you get the things a tracker is for: Mark by tap or by drag, a 👍 that confirms marks so a stray touch never counts, one colour at a time, a Last stitch button, progress and a forecast, Apple Pencil on iPad, and your patterns and marks on every device through your own iCloud. The whole tour is in Track your cross-stitch PDF pattern.
What does not carry over
Be ready for this before you switch: Crosstela does not import Pattern Keeper’s progress or its backups. Nothing you marked inside Pattern Keeper comes across.
What does come across is the pattern itself, because it is the designer’s PDF. Your marks start again, and there are two quick ways to catch up:
- Mark what is already stitched. Tap the percentage, open Correct the count at the end of the panel and tap I’ve stitched some of this before. Mark the squares you stitched earlier, then tap Done on the capsule. These marks count in your progress, not in today’s.
- Finished a whole colour? Press and hold it on the colour rail and tap Mark all done.
For a piece that is mostly finished, that takes minutes. For a piece you have only just started, it can be simpler to mark as you go from here.
Moving a project from Android to iPhone or iPad
- Find the designer’s original PDF: in your shop account, in the email it came with, or in your downloads.
- Open it in Crosstela: on the shelf, tap +, then Choose a file…. See Bring in a pattern file.
- Keep your stitching next to you, or the old phone with Pattern Keeper open, so you can see what is done.
- Catch up your marks as described above.
- Carry on stitching. Sign in to the same Apple Account on your other Apple devices and the pattern, with your marks, arrives there too.
Stitching with someone on Android
Swapping patterns with a friend who still uses Pattern Keeper? Crosstela can make a PDF for them:
- Open the pattern and tap the gear to open the Pattern panel.
- Tap Share, then PDF for Pattern Keeper.
- Send it the usual way: Messages, Mail, AirDrop or Save to Files.
If the pattern holds something this PDF cannot carry, Crosstela lists it before you share. For example, French knots and beads are left out of this export, and half and quarter stitches are drawn as smaller symbols in their squares. OXS is there too, for other cross-stitch programs. See Share a picture or a pattern file.
Questions people ask
Is Pattern Keeper available for iPhone?
Not as of 30 October 2026. Pattern Keeper’s own site says an iOS version is planned with no set time frame, and lists Android as the platform it supports.
Is there a Pattern Keeper for iPad or Mac?
Its site does not mention either (checked 30 October 2026). On iPad, and on Macs with Apple silicon, Crosstela opens the same kind of designer PDFs.
Can I move my Pattern Keeper progress to Crosstela?
No. Crosstela does not import Pattern Keeper’s progress or backups. Open the designer’s original PDF and mark what you have already stitched with I’ve stitched some of this before.
Will my Pattern Keeper compatible PDF open in Crosstela?
If a design program made it, Crosstela reads it the way that program wrote it, and the PDFs WinStitch and MacStitch make for Pattern Keeper have their own reader. If a PDF does not open, the card says why and you can send it to us.
Can I send a pattern to a friend who uses Pattern Keeper?
Yes, when the designer’s terms allow it: in the pattern’s Share tab, choose PDF for Pattern Keeper.