Reduce a photograph to a grid of X-shaped stitches on woven aida cloth. Each cell averages the color beneath it, snaps to a limited thread palette, and renders as two crossing diagonal strokes with highlights that simulate rounded embroidery floss.
Pixelation vs cross-stitch
Pixelation averages colors into flat squares. This filter renders each square as two diagonal threads with rounded ends and offset highlights, draws a fabric weave in the background, and places needle holes at every grid intersection. The result reads as a textile, not a downscaled image.
Stitch scale
Controls how many stitches fit across the image. A low value (3-8%) packs hundreds of small stitches and preserves most of the subject detail. A high value (30%+) creates large, clearly visible thread crossings where only shapes and broad color areas survive.
Thread palette
Sets the number of distinct colors available. The quantizer divides each RGB channel into evenly spaced levels, so 8 on the slider gives about 27 possible thread colors and 32 gives about 125. Fewer colors forces the image into flat, graphic blocks. More colors keeps gradients and skin tones intact.