DESIGN IT
Designer Dots
Create your own cross-stitch pattern with a
perfectly pixelated digital image. BY CHARLES PLATT

Photography by Sam Murphy; cross-stitched by Caroline Murphy

Almost all printed photographs are made of dots. Look
closely in magazines, on inkjet pages, or even on bill-
boards, and you can see the dots — but as you move
farther away, your eyes perceive the image created by the dots.

Here’s a project that applies this optical phenomenon to the ancient art of cross-stitching. Close up you’ll see the stitches, but at arm’s length the stitches will seem to merge to form a photographic image. All you need to make this happen are a little patience, traditional cross-stitching supplies, a digital camera, and an image editing program such as Photoshop.