KXStitch is an open source software project that has been designed from the offset as a program for creating cross-stitching patterns and charts from any imported image or from scratch by the user. It is the first and only software that allows Linux users to create and edit cross-stitching patterns.

With KXStitch you will be able to create new patterns or edit existing ones, use various floss pallets (Madeira, Anchor and DMC), create custom colors and palettes, use standard stitches, import various image formats, use backstitching and print floss keys and patterns. It is also capable of reading files created with PCStitch.

Another interesting feature is the ability to use fractional stitches when importing images into the application. Imported images can be used as backgrounds or modified as you see fit. Copy, cut and paste functionality is also available in case you want to duplicate selected areas.

The application has been designed from the ground up for the KDE (K Desktop Environment) project. While the project was first written in Qt3, it was later ported to the modern Qt4 toolkit, which means that it integrates with KDE Plasma.

Despite the fact that the application is primarily distributed as a source archive, which requires users to configure and compile the project prior to installation, it supports the Fedora and openSUSE distributions. These binary packages can be found on the openSuSE Build Service (http://build.opensuse.org/package/show/home:sallewell/KXStitch).

The program is written in the C++ programming language and uses the Qt4 GUI toolkit for its graphical user interface. Besides GNU/Linux, it can also be successfully used on FreeBSD operating system.