Rules
Stitches is a region puzzle. The board is a grid split into regions. A thick line is the border between two regions. A thin line stays inside one region. The frame is thick. Neighbouring regions are joined by exactly one stitch, even when they touch in several places. A stitch crosses the shared edge of two cells in different regions. It is a short line with a hole at each end. A cell holds at most one hole. A stitch inside a single region is not allowed. The number above a column is how many holes that column must hold. The number beside a row is how many holes that row must hold. Each end of a stitch is a hole. A stitch between two rows counts once in each row. A stitch between two columns counts once in each column. A stitch that stays inside one row counts both holes in that row. A stitch that stays inside one column counts both holes in that column. An X means that cell has no hole. It is a note you place. It is not part of the given puzzle. While you play, a row or column that can still reach its number stays quiet. A clash is a line that already has more holes than its number, two stitches between the same pair of regions, a cell with two holes, a stitch that stays inside one region, or a stitch that ends on an X. The puzzle is finished when the stitches match the one solution and no clash remains. An X on a cell that really has no hole does not change that. Play and print are 5×5, 6×6, 7×7, 8×8, 9×9, 10×10, and 6×8, each at easy, medium, and hard. The daily puzzle is a 7×7 easy grid. People also look this up as a stitches puzzle.
- A count. The number above a column, and the number beside a row, is how many holes that line must hold.
- A stitch. Neighbouring regions get exactly one stitch, even when they touch in several places. It is a short line with a hole at each end.
- No hole. An X means that cell has no hole. It is a note you place. It is not part of the given puzzle.
- A clash. A line with too many holes, two stitches between one pair, a cell with two holes, a stitch inside one region, or a stitch that ends on an X.
The frame is the solved frame. Stitches are teal, including both holes, and each cell that holds a hole takes a teal well. Borders and counts stay ink. No X. No yellow. A printed puzzle page shows the regions, the frame, and the counts, with no stitches. A printed answer draws each stitch as a short line with a dot at each end. On screen, that answer matches the print. The PDF is black and white.
- Count
- Stitch
- No hole
- Clash
Choose Stitch, No hole, or Erase under the board. Stitch starts selected. Drag across the line between two cells, or tap one cell and then its neighbour. A drag through several cells stitches each edge it crosses. One drag is one undo. A tap on a corner, equally close to two edges, stitches the edge between the left cell and the right cell. No hole paints an X. A cell that already has an X stays marked. Erase clears a stitch or an X that the drag touches. Arrow keys move the cell cursor and stop at the edge. The first arrow, when nothing is selected, selects the top-left cell and does not mark it. Shift and an arrow, or S and an arrow, stitches toward that neighbour.X toggles the no-hole mark. Backspace or Delete clears that cell and every stitch that touches it. The keys 1, 2, and3 select Stitch, No hole, and Erase.
Press Hint for one step the counts already force, with a sentence saying why. Hint lights the edges or cells it uses and places the stitch or the X. One press can mark several cells, and undo takes that press back in one step. A stitch press places one stitch. Press Check when you want the board checked. A legal unfinished board gets "No mistakes so far. Keep going!" A broken board gets "Something breaks the rules. Look for the marked counts or stitches." Hint on a broken board gets "This board has a mistake, so there is no hint yet." If Hint finds nothing on a legal board, it says "No forced stitch from here. A stitch or an X may be wrong, so try Check or Undo." Undo and Redo step through the marks. Reset clears every stitch and every X. When the stitches match, they turn teal, and each cell that holds a hole takes a teal well. The X marks stay as they are. The dialog title is "Solved!" The dialog body is "Each neighbouring pair has one stitch, and the hole counts match." The line under the board is "Drag an edge to stitch. Drag cells for no hole. Erase clears." Once the grid is solved, that line is "Each neighbouring pair has one stitch, and the counts match." The Mistakes counter counts how many times Check found a broken board. It is not a score.
A coral count, stitch, cell, or X is a clash that is already on the board. With error highlighting off, none of that coral is drawn. A count turns coral when the holes already drawn are more than the number. The stitch that caused it stays violet. A cell with two holes turns coral in the cell, and those stitches stay violet. An X on every cell that is not a hole is also solved, and Hint has nothing left to place. That second picture is not drawn here. Print pages cannot show the yellow, the coral, or the teal.
The counts
A row or column whose remaining holes are zero can take an X on every open cell, and no stitch can cross it. Hint writes those X marks and stops. On a blank grid in this set the first press is that row, or the one edge two regions share. The article keeps the count first. The other end of the same idea is a line whose remaining holes equal the cells still open: every one of those cells is a hole. Hint can say "The remaining holes equal the open cells, so every one of these cells has a hole." On these grids that sentence never writes. The holes stay invisible until a stitch is drawn. A number under 2 cannot hold a stitch inside the line, because that stitch would be two holes. Hint can say "This number is under 2, so no stitch can lie inside that line." On these grids that sentence never writes either. A printed 0 is usually already the zero sentence. A printed 1 can still take a hole that comes in from the next line.
A count of zero Easy
A row or column numbered 0 has no holes. Every cell in it can take an X, and no stitch can cross it. On this blank grid the bottom row is numbered 0. The press marks all five cells.
The yellow wash sits on the five bottom cells. The new X marks are yellow-shade. No stitch is added. The grid is still unfinished. This is the opening press. The counts and the borders stay ink. The toast is "This line still needs 0 holes, so these cells have no hole." Every label returns this hint. It does not finish the grid. The next press on this grid is the one shared edge. Some other blank grids open on that edge instead, and Hint marks a count of zero later. This article does not draw a second opening.
The bottom row is numbered 0, so all five cells have no hole. Yellow sits on that row. The grid is still unfinished. Hint says "This line still needs 0 holes, so these cells have no hole."
The regions
A region needs one hole for each region it touches. When those holes are already accounted for, the leftover cells stay empty. Hint writes the X marks and stops. It does not write the sentence that would mark every remaining cell as a hole. Two regions that touch along only one edge take that edge as the stitch. Hint writes that one stitch. An end that cannot take a hole, because the stitch would pass a count, is what removes the other edges. Hint can say "An end cannot take a hole, or the stitch would pass a row, column, or region count." On these grids that sentence never writes. A blank grid in this set does not open on a finished region.
The region is done Easy
A region needs one hole for each region it touches. When those holes are already required by the lines, the leftover cell stays empty. On this grid, after the four X marks in the top row, region E is the four cells at the bottom right: row 4 column 4, row 4 column 5, row 5 column 4, and row 5 column 5. It touches three regions. Column 4 is numbered 5, and all five cells in that column are still open, so each of them is a hole. Row 4 is numbered 5, and all five cells in that row are still open, so each of them is a hole. That covers row 4 column 4, row 4 column 5, and row 5 column 4. Region E already has its three holes. Row 5 column 5 is on neither of those full lines. The press marks that X.
The holes are not drawn. A hole appears only as the end of a stitch, and this press places no stitch. Hint can say "Every remaining cell in this region is a hole." On these grids that sentence never writes. Hint writes the empty cell. The four X marks in the top row are already on the board. They have no yellow wash. They are not a printed 0. Row 1 is numbered 1. Column 4's five holes include row 1 column 4, so the rest of row 1 needs nothing. The count-of-zero picture is the printed 0. This picture starts after those four X marks. The yellow wash sits on row 5 column 5 only. The new X is yellow-shade. The grid is still unfinished. This is the second press, not the opening. The toast is "This region already has its holes, so these cells stay empty." Every label returns this hint. It does not finish the grid. Two of the three 5×5 easy grids in this set never say this sentence. They still finish from a count of zero and the one shared edge.
Region E already has its three holes on the full lines, so row 5 column 5 stays empty. Yellow sits on that cell only. The four earlier X marks have no wash. No stitches. The grid is still unfinished.
Only one shared edge Easy
Two regions that touch along only one edge take that edge as the stitch. On this grid, after the bottom row of X marks, the region in the top-left touches the region below it only between row 2 column 1 and row 3 column 1. They do not touch anywhere else, even on the blank grid. The bottom row of X marks is not what makes the edge unique. The press places that stitch.
Hint reached the count of zero first on this grid, because that line is earlier in the walk. The picture is the later state, so those five X marks are already on the board. They have no yellow wash. Some other blank grids open on this sentence. This article does not redraw one of those openings. The yellow wash sits on the two cells of the new stitch, and the stitch itself is yellow-shade, including both holes. The older X marks stay muted. The grid is still unfinished. The toast is "These two regions share only this edge, so that edge is the stitch." Every label returns this hint. It does not finish the grid. Every walk in this set ends on this sentence, and the live button skips that last toast. On this grid the last press is the edge between row 4 column 4 and row 4 column 5. That press is not drawn.
The top-left region and the region below it share only the edge between row 2 column 1 and row 3 column 1. The new stitch is yellow. The five bottom X marks have no wash. The grid is still unfinished.
A hole's way out
A cell with no edge into another region has no hole. A hole with only one open edge takes that edge. Hint writes the X, or the one stitch, and stops. The hole in the second picture is not drawn until the stitch appears. A line that is already full is why that cell is a hole, and the toast is still the one-open-edge sentence. A blank grid in this set does not open on either sentence.
No open edge Easy
A cell with no edge into a different region has no hole. On this grid row 1 column 5 sits in the corner of its region. The cells on its left and below it are the same region. The top and the right are the frame. There is nowhere for a stitch to leave. The press marks that X.
The earlier stitches and X marks are already on the board. They are not what closes this cell. The cell was closed on the blank grid too. Hint reaches it only after those earlier presses, because this grid opens on the one shared edge. The yellow wash sits on row 1 column 5 only. The new X is yellow-shade. The two stitches stay violet. The older X marks stay muted. The grid is still unfinished. This is not the opening. The toast is "This cell has no open edge, so it has no hole." Every label returns this hint. It does not finish the grid. The 5×5, 6×6, 10×10, and 6×8 easy grids in this set never say this sentence. Larger easy grids can. The next press on this grid is the cell in the section on what still fits.
Row 1 column 5 has no edge into another region. Yellow sits on that cell only. The two stitches stay violet. The grid is still unfinished.
One open edge Easy
A hole with only one way out takes that edge. On this grid column 4 is numbered 3. One hole is already drawn, at row 3 column 4. Two cells in that column are already marked empty, row 1 column 4 and row 2 column 4. Two cells remain, row 4 column 4 and row 5 column 4, and the column still needs two holes. Both of those cells are holes. They are not drawn yet. The lower one, row 5 column 4, can leave only upward. Its right-hand cell is empty, the bottom is the frame, and the cell on its left is the same region. The cell above it still has two open edges. The press stitches upward because the lower cell has one way out.
The yellow wash sits on both ends of the new stitch, and the stitch is yellow-shade. That is the first time those two holes are visible. The older stitches stay violet. The older X marks stay muted. The grid is still unfinished. This is not the opening. The opening on this grid was the one shared edge between row 3 column 3 and row 3 column 4. The full line is why the lower cell is a hole. The toast is still "This hole has only one open edge, so that edge is the stitch." Every label returns this hint. It does not finish the grid. Hint on an easy grid in this set uses the earlier sentences. It does not use this sentence on every easy size. The 5×5, 6×6, 8×8, 10×10, and 6×8 easy grids in this set never say it. The 7×7 and 9×9 easy grids can.
Column 4 still needs two holes and has two open cells, and row 5 column 4 can leave only upward. The new stitch, between row 4 column 4 and row 5 column 4, is yellow. The grid is still unfinished.
What still fits
The remaining holes in a line can be placed in more than one way, and some cells are in none of those ways. Hint marks those cells with an X. The sentence that would keep a cell because every placement uses it never writes. Hint can say "Every still-valid placement of the remaining holes uses this cell." On these grids that sentence never writes. A blank easy grid in this set never says this sentence. Easy, medium, hard, and any other label return the same hint when this is the next step.
Nothing uses this cell Medium
A cell can be empty because no way of placing the remaining holes uses it. On this grid, after the corner X, column 5 is numbered 2. Row 1 column 5 and row 5 column 5 are empty. Three cells remain, row 2 column 5, row 3 column 5, and row 4 column 5, and the column still needs two holes. Each of those cells has only one way out. Row 2 column 5 can leave only downward, into row 3 column 5. Row 3 column 5 can leave only upward, into row 2 column 5. Row 4 column 5 can leave only to the left, into row 4 column 4. It cannot pair upward or downward inside its own region, and the cell below it is empty.
Two holes at row 3 column 5 and row 4 column 5 cannot stitch to each other, because they are the same region. The only way out of row 3 column 5 is upward, which would add a third hole, and the column wants two. Two holes at row 2 column 5 and row 4 column 5 fail because the only way out of row 2 column 5 is downward, into a cell that would then have to be a hole as well. The only pair that works is row 2 column 5 stitched to row 3 column 5. No placement uses row 4 column 5. The press marks that X. Row 4 is not full. Row 4 is numbered 4. One hole is already drawn, at row 4 column 1, and four cells in that row are still open. The column is the reason. Every press of this sentence marks an X. The yellow wash sits on row 4 column 5 only. The new X is yellow-shade. The grid is still unfinished. This is the press after the corner X on the same grid. It is not the opening. The toast is "No still-valid placement of the remaining holes uses these cells, so they have no hole." Every label returns this hint, including an easy label on this picture. It does not finish the grid. Hint on an easy grid in this set finishes before it reaches this sentence.
Column 5's two remaining holes are row 2 column 5 and row 3 column 5, so row 4 column 5 has no hole. Yellow sits on that cell only. The grid is still unfinished.
Two edges
Two regions can still touch on more than one edge. Hint keeps the edge that still agrees with the counts and draws that stitch. The other edges are not all blocked by an X or by a number under 2. One of them has to be tried. Hint can also say "Leaving this edge open contradicts the counts, so it is the stitch." or "Stitching this edge contradicts the counts, so it is not a stitch." On these grids those sentences never write. A hard grid in this set still opens on a count of zero or on the one shared edge. Hint does not hide this sentence on an easy label.
The edge that survives Hard
Two regions can still touch on more than one edge. Hint keeps the edge that still agrees with the counts. On this grid, after the X marks and before any stitch, the region at the right and the small region beside it touch in three places: across row 4 column 4 and row 4 column 5, across row 5 column 4 and row 5 column 5, and between row 3 column 4 and row 4 column 4.
The middle edge is already impossible. Row 4 column 5 is empty, and row 4 is numbered 1, so a stitch inside that row would be two holes. Placing it breaks the board at once. The bottom edge still looks open. Placing it does not turn anything coral. The row of 2 is then full, so the rest of that row is empty, including the other cell of the small region. Column 5's single hole is used, so the top of that column is empty. The small region's second hole is then the cell above the stitch, and the rest of row 4, which is numbered 1, has to stay empty. That second hole has nowhere to go: left is a cell that can take no stitch, right is empty, down is its own region, and up would be a second stitch between the same two regions. The search stops while the board is still unfinished. Check would still say "No mistakes so far. Keep going!" Hint does not draw that placement. It draws the edge that survives, between row 3 column 4 and row 4 column 4. One of the other edges dies immediately. The bottom edge dies only after the later counts. The other edges were not all already coral.
The yellow wash sits on both ends of the new stitch. The stitch is yellow-shade. The earlier X marks have no wash. There is no earlier stitch. The grid is still unfinished. This is not the opening. The opening on this grid was the column numbered 0. The toast is "Of the edges between these regions, only the one that survives agrees with the counts already found." Every label returns this hint, including an easy label on this picture. It does not finish the grid. Hint on an easy grid in this set, and on a medium grid in this set, finishes before it reaches this sentence. The last press on this grid is the one shared edge, and the live button skips that toast. That press is not drawn.
Of the three edges between the right-hand region and the small region, the edge between row 3 column 4 and row 4 column 4 is the one that survives. The new stitch is yellow. The earlier X marks have no wash. The grid is still unfinished.
Common mistakes
Check paints a broken rule. Hint will not explain a board that is already broken. The toast is "This board has a mistake, so there is no hint yet." Check says "Something breaks the rules. Look for the marked counts or stitches." A wrong stitch or a wrong X can also sit there with no coral at all. Then Check says "No mistakes so far. Keep going!" If the marks still force a step, Hint offers it. The wrong mark stays, and the new mark is the one that turns yellow. Hint does not run on a broken board. The figures of a broken board do not draw yellow. With error highlighting off, the same clashes paint nothing coral.
The edge between row 1 column 1 and row 1 column 2 stays inside one region. Coral sits on that edge. No cells, no rows, and no columns. No yellow. Hint says "This board has a mistake, so there is no hint yet."
The stitch between row 1 column 2 and row 1 column 3, and the stitch between row 2 column 1 and row 2 column 2, both join the same two regions. They do not share a cell. Coral sits on both edges. No yellow.
The stitches into row 2 column 2 from the left and from below both end on that cell. Coral sits in the cell. Both stitches stay violet. No row and no column turns coral. A cell with two holes counts twice, so a different pair of stitches can also turn a column number coral. This pair does not. No yellow.
A stitch between row 5 column 3 and row 5 column 4 sits on the row numbered 0. Coral sits on the outside 0. The stitch stays violet. No cell fill. No yellow.
Column 3 is numbered 2. The stitch between row 1 column 2 and row 1 column 3, together with the stitch between row 2 column 3 and row 3 column 3, puts three holes in that column. Coral sits on the outside number. Both stitches stay violet. No yellow.
Row 1 column 2 is marked X, and the stitch runs from there to row 1 column 3. Coral sits on the edge and on the X. No row and no column. No yellow.
The stitch between row 2 column 1 and row 2 column 2 is the other edge between those two regions. Before the next press the board is legal and unfinished. Check says "No mistakes so far. Keep going!" The stitch is not coral. Hint still marks the five cells of the bottom row. The picture is after that press. The wrong stitch stays violet, with no wash. The five new X marks are yellow. No coral.
Row 1 column 2 is a hole in the solution, and it is marked X. Before the next press the board is legal and unfinished. The X is not coral. Hint still marks all five bottom cells, and it does not remove the X. The picture is after that press. The wrong X stays muted, with no wash. The five new X marks are yellow. No coral. Check, before or after that press, says "No mistakes so far. Keep going!"
Row 5 column 1 is empty in the solution. Before the next press the board is legal and unfinished. Hint still marks the other four cells of that row. The picture is after that press. The existing X stays muted, with no wash. The four new X marks are yellow. No coral. Check, before or after that press, says "No mistakes so far. Keep going!"
What to play next
Easy grids follow from a count of zero, a region that already has its holes, and the one edge two regions share. Some easy sizes also mark a cell with no way out, and some mark the one way out of a hole. Hint uses a separate sentence for each of those. It never says that a line is full, that a number under 2 blocks a stitch inside the line, or that an end cannot take a hole. Those ideas are what remove the other possibilities. Start on a 5×5 easy grid, or on the daily 7×7 easy grid. Medium grids add the cell that no remaining placement uses. A medium grid still opens on a count of zero or on the one shared edge. Hard grids add the edge that survives between two regions. A hard grid still opens on a count of zero or on the one shared edge, and it can come back to an early sentence. The sentence about leaving an edge open, and the sentence about rejecting a stitch, do not come up as their own hints. An easy label does not hide a later sentence. An easy grid in this set finishes before those sentences.
A printed puzzle page shows the regions, the frame, and the counts. A printed answer draws each stitch as a short line with a dot at each end. Four 5×5, 6×6, or 7×7 grids share a sheet. Two 8×8, 9×9, 10×10, or 6×8 grids share a sheet. Large print is one grid on the sheet. The printable page isStitches packs.
- Easy5×5A count of zero and the one shared edge. One of these grids also marks a finished region. That grid is the region picture. The other two finish without it. They do not mark a cell with no way out, or the one way out of a hole. One grid opens on the one shared edge. The other two open on a count of zero.Play 5×5 →
- Easy6×6A count of zero, a finished region, and the one shared edge. All three open on a count of zero. They do not say the later sentences.Play 6×6 →
- Easy7×7Those sentences, plus a cell with no open edge and the one way out of a hole. This is the daily size. They open on a count of zero or on the one shared edge.Play 7×7 →Today's daily →
- Easy8×8A count of zero, a finished region, the one shared edge, and a cell with no open edge. All three open on the one shared edge. They do not say the one way out of a hole.Play 8×8 →
- Easy9×9Those sentences, including the one way out of a hole. All three open on the one shared edge.Play 9×9 →
- Easy10×10A count of zero, a finished region, and the one shared edge. They open on a count of zero or on the one shared edge. They do not mark a cell with no way out, or the one way out of a hole.Play 10×10 →
- Easy6×8A count of zero, a finished region, and the one shared edge, on the wide grid. All three open on a count of zero.Play 6×8 →
- Medium5×5A count of zero, the one shared edge, a cell with no open edge, the one way out of a hole, and the cell no placement uses. They do not mark a finished region. They do not say the edge that survives. The pictures of no open edge and of the unused cell are one of these grids. The one-open-edge picture is another. They open on the one shared edge or on a count of zero.Play 5×5 →
- Medium6×6The early sentences, including a finished region and a cell with no open edge, then the cell no placement uses. They do not say the one way out of a hole, or the edge that survives. All three open on a count of zero.Play 6×6 →
- Medium7×7Those sentences, including the one way out of a hole and the cell no placement uses. They do not say the edge that survives. They open on a count of zero or on the one shared edge.Play 7×7 →
- Medium8×8Those sentences, including the one way out and the cell no placement uses. All three open on the one shared edge. They do not say the edge that survives.Play 8×8 →
- Medium9×9Those sentences, including the one way out and the cell no placement uses. They open on the one shared edge or on a count of zero. They do not say the edge that survives.Play 9×9 →
- Medium10×10Those sentences, including the one way out and the cell no placement uses. All three open on the one shared edge. They do not say the edge that survives.Play 10×10 →
- Medium6×8Those sentences, including the cell no placement uses, on the wide grid. All three open on the one shared edge. They do not say the edge that survives.Play 6×8 →
- Hard5×5A count of zero, a finished region, the one shared edge, a cell with no open edge, and the edge that survives. All three open on a count of zero. They do not say the one way out of a hole, or the cell no placement uses. The surviving-edge picture is one of these grids.Play 5×5 →
- Hard6×6Those sentences, including a cell with no open edge and the edge that survives. All three open on a count of zero. They do not say the one way out, or the cell no placement uses.Play 6×6 →
- Hard7×7Those sentences, including a cell with no open edge and the edge that survives. They open on the one shared edge or on a count of zero. They do not say the one way out, or the cell no placement uses.Play 7×7 →
- Hard8×8Those sentences, including a cell with no open edge, the one way out of a hole, and the edge that survives. They open on a count of zero or on the one shared edge. They do not say the cell no placement uses.Play 8×8 →
- Hard9×9The early sentences, the cell no placement uses, the one way out of a hole, and the edge that survives. They open on the one shared edge or on a count of zero.Play 9×9 →
- Hard10×10Those sentences, including the cell no placement uses, the one way out, and the edge that survives. They open on the one shared edge or on a count of zero.Play 10×10 →
- Hard6×8The early sentences and the edge that survives, on the wide grid. They open on a count of zero or on the one shared edge. They do not say the cell no placement uses.Play 6×8 →
There is no guide-sized seed to open. The boards above are teaching boards.