Turn a wedding photo into a cross-stitch pattern

Updated 3 November 2026

Short answer: choose a photo where the couple's faces are large in the frame, make the pattern wide (120 to 200 stitches) so the faces have enough stitches, and use the full 18 colours for skin tones and the dress.

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Faces need stitches

In a full-length wedding photo, each face may be only 10 stitches wide in the pattern, too small to recognise. Crop to the couple from the waist up, or go wide: at 200 stitches across, faces get far more detail.

Width	14-count	16-count	18-count	22-count
120 stitches	8.6 in (22 cm)	7.5 in (19 cm)	6.7 in (17 cm)	5.5 in (14 cm)
150 stitches	10.7 in (27 cm)	9.4 in (24 cm)	8.3 in (21 cm)	6.8 in (17 cm)
200 stitches	14.3 in (36 cm)	12.5 in (32 cm)	11.1 in (28 cm)	9.1 in (23 cm)

White dresses and dark suits

A white dress needs a few shades of cream and grey to show its folds; otherwise it becomes one flat block. Keep the background different from both the dress and the suit.

As an anniversary gift

A pattern 150 stitches wide is a project of many weeks for most stitchers. Start early if it is for a date.

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Questions people ask

How big should a wedding cross-stitch be?

Wide enough that each face gets about 25 stitches or more. That usually means cropping close or a pattern 150 to 200 stitches wide.

Will people be recognisable?

At a large size with a close crop, the overall look and features read well. Fine detail like exact expressions is limited by the number of stitches.