Any picture can become a cross stitch pattern, but some pictures turn into much better patterns than others. This guide walks through the choices that make the biggest difference, using the free pattern maker on this site.
1. Choose a picture with one clear subject
A pattern is a very low-resolution copy of your picture: an 80-stitch-wide pattern has only 80 "pixels" across. Small details disappear, so the subject has to read clearly at that size.
- Good: a pet's face, a single flower, a house front, a simple logo you own, a silhouette against the sky.
- Hard: group photos, busy streets, dark photos and anything with fine text.
Crop the photo close to the subject before you upload it. Every stitch spent on background is a stitch you cannot use for the eyes or the petals.
2. Decide the size in stitches
The width you choose is the number of stitches across. The finished size depends on your fabric: divide the stitches by the fabric count to get inches.
| Width | On 14-count | On 18-count | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 stitches | 2.9 in | 2.2 in | Ornaments, cards, simple shapes |
| 80 stitches | 5.7 in | 4.4 in | Pets, flowers, small portraits |
| 120 stitches | 8.6 in | 6.7 in | Detailed portraits and landscapes |
| 200 stitches | 14.3 in | 11.1 in | Full-coverage photo pieces |
Faces need more stitches than you might expect: below about 60 stitches across a face, eyes become one or two stitches and lose their expression.
3. Pick the number of colors
The maker groups similar colors in your picture and matches each group to the closest DMC thread. More colors give smoother shading, but every color is another skein to buy and more thread changes while stitching.
- 6 to 12 colors: cartoons, logos, simple motifs.
- 15 to 25 colors: most photos of pets and flowers.
- 30 to 50 colors: realistic portraits and landscapes.
4. Clean up the chart
Photos produce "confetti": single stitches of a color surrounded by other colors. They are slow to stitch and barely visible in the finished piece. Keep Remove stray single stitches on, and only turn on Smooth gradients for skies, skin and soft backgrounds, because it adds confetti back.
If your subject sits on a plain background, use Leave the background empty. The fabric shows through instead, and you can skip thousands of stitches.
5. Check the preview, then print
Switch between Finished look and Chart. If a color looks wrong, try one or two colors more or less: the matching changes and often fixes it. When you are happy, download the PDF. It includes a cover with the finished size, the color key with DMC numbers and skein amounts, and the chart split into pages with grid lines every 10 stitches.
A note on pictures you don't own
Turning someone else's photo or artwork into a pattern makes a copy of their work. That is fine for a private gift, but you need permission to share or sell it.