For the little face at your window

Your cat, captured in cross stitch.

A close crop gives a cat’s eyes, nose and ear shapes more room in the stitch grid. A patterned coat may need a few extra colors, and a little patience.

Upload your pet photo Try a sample

Give the face enough stitches

Choose a front or three-quarter view with both eyes in focus. Leave the ears inside your crop. Start at 100 or 120 stitches wide and 16 colors; compare 24 colors when tabby or tortoiseshell markings merge.

Protect what makes your cat recognizable

Start with cleanup Off, then compare a gentle setting. A catchlight may be a single stitch, so inspect it at full zoom. Our conservative cleanup uses color contrast, not animal recognition: it cannot identify an eye or guarantee preservation.

Source cat photograph used for this conversion — Source photograph

Actual cat photo conversion: 100 by 100 cross stitch grid with up to 16 RGB colors — Actual grid output · 100 × 100 stitches · 16-color limit · cleanup Off · dithering Off · center square crop

Whiskers and backgrounds

This version uses full crosses only, so very fine whiskers may not survive. Cropping removes outer areas, not the irregular background around fur. Use a transparent source or erase cells if you want unstitched fabric around the portrait.