Convert an image to a rhinestone template
The conversion is not a filter. It is a threshold, a grid, and one circle wherever the grid lands on ink — so the result depends on the artwork more than on the settings.
Upload a PNG or JPG, let the tool threshold it into a mask, then place one circle per stone at your measured stone diameter. The image is processed in the browser and never uploaded. Bold silhouettes convert well; photographs and thin line art do not, because a stone can only sit where the grid lands.
Type a name or drop an image. True-size SVG and a printable PDF, no account.
What the conversion actually does
Three steps, in this order:
- Threshold. Every pixel becomes ink or background, using brightness and transparency. There is no greyscale, no gradient, no mid-tone.
- Grid. A lattice of stone positions is laid over the artwork at
diameter + gappitch, in square or offset rows. - Placement. A circle is kept wherever the lattice lands on ink. Everything else disappears.
That is why the output is a field of identical circles rather than a traced outline of your picture. A stone is a fixed physical object; the template can only say where one sits.
Which images convert well, and which do not
| Artwork | Converts? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bold logo with a solid fill | Yes | The shape is wider than the stone pitch, so the outline survives. |
| Silhouette, single colour | Yes | One edge, no interior detail to lose. |
| Heavy block lettering | Yes | Strokes span two or more stones, which is the readability threshold. |
| Photo or portrait | No | Continuous tone collapses into a blob at 2.8 mm resolution. |
| Thin line art or script | No | A hairline narrower than one stone disappears between holes. |
| Gradient or glow effect | No | Thresholding has only two states; the gradient becomes a hard edge. |
The practical test: scale the artwork so its thinnest stroke is at least two stones wide. If it needs to be enormous to pass that test, the artwork is wrong, not the tool.
The three numbers that decide the output
Two people converting the same logo get different templates, because three values are set by hand.
- Finished width (mm) — the real size of the piece. It fixes the scale, which fixes how much detail survives.
- Hole diameter (mm) — must match your stones. A hole 0.3 mm too small will not accept the stone; 0.3 mm too large lets it rattle.
- Gap (mm) — the weeding distance between holes. 0.6 mm is a workable default; 0.3 mm tears, 1.5 mm reads as sparse.
Stone count is then fixed geometry: filled area divided by (diameter + gap)², about 13% less on offset rows. It is not an estimate.
Why nothing is uploaded, and what that changes
The threshold and the grid run in this browser with JavaScript. There is no upload endpoint, no queue and no server-side copy of your image.
Two consequences worth knowing:
- Closed tab, no trace. Nothing was stored anywhere, including on our side.
- Large images are resized locally. A 12-megapixel photo is handled on your device, so an old phone will be slower than a laptop.
Export as SVG for the cutter, or as a tiled PDF for the printer, and the file you get is generated from the same point list the preview used.
Check the conversion before you cut it
- Look at the preview at 100% zoom, not fitted to the window. Thin details vanish when the whole design is on screen at a third of its real size.
- Print the PDF at 100% and measure the 25.4 mm check line with a steel ruler.
- Cut the calibration strip in your template material and seat three stones in it.
If the preview looks right but the cut does not, the problem is the print scale or the material, not the conversion.
Questions
Is converting an image to a rhinestone template free?
Yes. Uploading, converting, previewing and the calibration strip are free, with no account and no upload to a server. The cut files are the paid part.
What image format should I use?
PNG, JPG or WebP. PNG is best because transparency is read correctly. Black ink on a transparent or white background gives the cleanest threshold.
Why does my photo turn into a blob?
A stone is 2 to 4 mm wide, so at that resolution a photo has roughly the detail of a mosaic tile. Portraits need a much larger finished size, or a design that was drawn for stones in the first place.
Can I convert a logo I did not design?
Technically yes, and the tool cannot tell. Whether you may use it depends on the trademark. Logos of other companies are theirs, even if you bought the shirt.