Support
Write to us and a human will answer. Below are the questions that come up most, so you may not need to wait.
Say which device and iOS version you're on. If a chart won't import, the import receipt in the app (card menu ▸ Import receipt) tells us most of what we need — a screenshot of it helps. Please don't send purchased chart files unless we ask; a screenshot of the page usually does.
What to expect
We read everything. Bugs that lose or hide your marks come first. The app never sends anything on its own, so if something went wrong, you telling us is the only way we find out.
Common questions
Is Crosstela really free? Where's the catch?
There isn't one. The app has no purchases, no subscription, no ads and no locked features. It is free because we want it to be, and it does not collect anything about you to pay for itself.
Which chart files can I import?
Chart PDFs — including the layouts Pattern Maker, WinStitch and Cross Stitch Pro export — Pattern Maker .xsd files, OXS files from other chart software, and Ursa .chart files from MacStitch and WinStitch. You can also open a photo or scan of a chart as an overlay to track on, and turn a photograph into a new chart of your own. Cross Stitch Saga's .saga files cannot be read. If a file won't open, the import receipt says which part could not be read; send us a screenshot of it.
The import said part of my chart couldn't be read. What now?
The receipt names the rung the file landed on and what is missing. Often the chart is still fully trackable — a fabric colour the file never named is simply something you choose. If the stitches themselves came through wrong, tell us the receipt's wording and which software made the chart; PDF layouts vary, and we add support for the ones we see.
How do I isolate one colour?
Open the Threads panel from the chart's top bar and tap the thread. Everything else fades so you can see every square of that thread. Tap it again to bring the rest back.
How do I park a needle?
Hold a cell to open its menu and choose to park there. The cell gets a pin and hatch mark, and the thread's row shows where you left off. A parked stitch is not counted as done.
What is a goal, and does it have a timer?
A goal is a piece of the picture you point at — hold a block and choose “Work on this block”, or open a thread's menu and choose “Work on this colour”. The percentage in the bar then shows that piece's count. There is no timer, deadline, streak or reminder; a goal ends when it is finished or when you remove it from your list.
Where is my data? Is it backed up?
On your device, in the app's storage. If iCloud is on for Crosstela (Settings ▸ your name ▸ iCloud ▸ Apps Using iCloud), it also syncs to your own iCloud account — not to us — and appears on your other devices signed in with the same Apple Account. You can also make a portable backup file from the app's tools and keep it wherever you like.
I deleted a chart by accident.
Deleted charts stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Open the library, find Recently Deleted, and put it back.
Does it work with Apple Pencil?
Yes. The Pencil marks stitches and draws in the editor; fingers pan and pinch to zoom, so you never switch modes for the basics. Everything also works with a finger alone on iPhone or iPad.
Why does a thread colour say “approximated”?
Because a dyed thread has no single true colour on a screen. Where the mill publishes a colour value, we show it and mark it published; where it does not, the value is an approximation and is marked so. Choose by the physical skein where the exact shade matters.
Is there an Android or web version?
No. Crosstela is built for iPhone and iPad only, with iOS 18 or later.
How do I delete everything?
Delete the app from your device. If you used iCloud sync, also turn off iCloud for Crosstela and choose to delete the data from iCloud, or remove it under Settings ▸ your name ▸ iCloud ▸ Manage Account Storage. We hold nothing, so there is nothing to ask us to delete.
Ideas and requests
The same address works for wishes. Tell us what you were trying to do and what got in the way; that is more useful to us than a feature name.