I’d say I pretty much get asked daily how I make my patterns…so here is a tutorial of how I do it, with some options in case you don’t want to buy a program. I made a Dig Dug Pattern as an example…
1st – Get the sprites
a) download them from a site – I prefer The Shyguy Kingdom or The Spriters Resource.
b) fire up an emulator like MAME or FCEU, download a rom, run your game, take a screenshot.
2nd – Arrange the sprites
a) I use photoshop to arrange the sprites how I want them, a free option is GIMP. 
(enlarged, you use the small image)
3rd – Make the Pattern
a) I use PCStitch, but its not free.
b) Dark Lilac is a free website you can convert your pattern on (ive used it a few times and am not always happy with the floss choices)
c) RGB to DMC chart – If you know the RGB values of the colors here is an easy conversion chart.
DMC colors: 310, 5200, 995, 973, 817, 702
4th – Tips…
a) The chosen colors arent always right, dont be afraid to buy something different when you get to the store.
b) If you feel a color is a little off (most often skin tones), try a few different conversion programs (they’ll each give you a different color), write them all down, and choose at the store what looks the best.
c) I’ve also been at the store and said to myself “there is no way this is the right color”, but bought it anyway and once you start stitching, its perfect. so maybe just buy all the colors that seem right and test them out, It’ll probably only run you an extra $1 anyway.
I think that is about it! Let me know if there are any questions about this so I can update it.
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