How to choose a photo that makes a good cross-stitch pattern

Start with a clear subject

The best photos have one subject that fills most of the frame, against a plain or blurred background. A dog on a sofa works; a dog in a busy park often doesn't, because the converter spends colors on the background.

• Crop tight around the subject before you upload. Every square you save on background is a square of detail on the subject.
• Pick strong light from one side. Flat, grey light makes a face lose its shape at low resolution.
• Avoid tiny details that matter, like text on a sign. One stitch is the smallest thing you can draw.

Size: more stitches, more detail, more time

Here's the same print at three widths, made by the pattern maker in your browser just now. Faces need roughly 100 stitches across before they look like someone in particular. Bold shapes, like this wave, read well from about 60.

On 14-count Aida, 150 stitches is about 10.7 inches wide. At a steady pace of 100 to 200 stitches an hour, a full 150 by 100 piece is 75 to 150 hours of stitching. The fabric calculator shows the size for any count.

Colors: fewer than you'd think

Each color is a thread to buy, start and finish. Most photos look right between 15 and 35 colors. Past that, extra threads add only slight shading differences you won't see from across a room.

If the chart looks muddy

1. Crop closer, so the subject fills the frame.
2. Raise the width a little; small charts merge eyes and edges.
3. Lower the color count. It sounds backwards, but fewer, clearer colors often read better than many similar ones.
4. Tap a thread in the key and swap it if it's not the shade you want, or leave a plain background as bare fabric.

Single stitches and blending

Photos produce “confetti”: lone stitches of one color surrounded by others. They make a chart slower and fiddlier to stitch. The pattern maker tidies them by default. Turn on Blend colors only for soft gradients like skies or skin, and expect more confetti when you do.

Your photo stays yours

Threadhood makes the chart in your browser. The photo isn't uploaded, so family pictures stay on your phone.

Open the pattern maker and try a photo now.