Cross-stitch and paint by numbers from your own photo
Turning a photo into a cross-stitch chart or a paint by numbers page is mostly a game of simplifying: fewer colours, bigger areas, a clear subject. Get those three right and almost any photo works.
Choosing the photo
- One clear subject, large in the frame: a pet, a house, a single flower. Group photos turn into a crowd of blobs.
- Strong light and contrast. Faces in shadow become a single brown patch.
- A plain background. Every background colour is a colour you have to paint or stitch. Crop tightly with the Image Cropper, or replace a busy background with a plain one using the Background Replacer.
Cross-stitch: stitches and fabric size
Aida fabric is sold by count: the number of stitches per inch. The finished size is simply stitches divided by count.
| Stitches across | 11-count | 14-count | 16-count | 18-count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 5.5 in (13.9 cm) | 4.3 in (10.9 cm) | 3.8 in (9.5 cm) | 3.3 in (8.5 cm) |
| 80 | 7.3 in (18.5 cm) | 5.7 in (14.5 cm) | 5.0 in (12.7 cm) | 4.4 in (11.3 cm) |
| 120 | 10.9 in (27.7 cm) | 8.6 in (21.8 cm) | 7.5 in (19.1 cm) | 6.7 in (16.9 cm) |
| 160 | 14.5 in (36.9 cm) | 11.4 in (29.0 cm) | 10.0 in (25.4 cm) | 8.9 in (22.6 cm) |
Add 2 to 3 inches of fabric on every side for hooping and framing. 14-count is the usual starting point; 11-count is easier on the eyes and good for beginners and children.
How many colours? 8 to 12 for a first project or a simple graphic, 16 to 24 for a pet or a landscape. Every extra colour is another skein of thread and more changes of needle, and above about 30 the extra shades are rarely visible from a normal viewing distance.
The Cross-Stitch Pattern maker lets you set the stitches across, the number of colours and the fabric count, shows the finished size under the chart, and draws a grid with bold lines every 10 stitches. Choose the symbols-only chart style to print it in black and white.
Paint by numbers: colours and detail
A paint by numbers page is the photo reduced to a few flat colours, with each area outlined and numbered.
- Children and first-timers: 8 colours or fewer, simple detail, and print on A3 or tabloid if you can, so the areas are big enough for a brush.
- Adults: 12 to 18 colours suit most photos. Above 24, many areas become too small to paint.
- Mixing paints: keep the colour key next to you and mix each colour once, in enough quantity for the whole page, so it matches everywhere.
The Paint by Numbers maker downloads the numbered outline page and, separately, the finished colour preview to paint from. Print with "fit to page" turned on. Acrylic paint on heavy paper or canvas board covers the printed lines best; if lines show through, a second coat usually hides them.
Printing tips
- Print at actual size or "fit to page", never "fill page", which crops the edges.
- For a canvas, a print shop can print the outline directly onto canvas; ask for the image at 300 DPI. Our DPI converter sets that without changing the pixels.
- Split a big chart across several sheets with the Image Splitter and tape them together.
Everything runs in your browser, so family photos stay on your device. For digital art styles from the same photo, see which art style suits which photo.