A photo taken on a mobile phone, in low light, or with a cluttered background becomes a pattern full of stray dots and indistinguishable colors. The trick is to improve it before converting it. Today we’ll show you how to do this in a couple of minutes with Nano Banana, Gemini’s image editor, and provide ready-to-copy prompts.
In this guide
Why a normal photo makes a poor pattern
A cross-stitch pattern is a photo reduced to a grid of dots and a few thread colors. A 12-megapixel photo has millions of dots and thousands of shades; a 100 × 100 pattern has 10,000 stitches and about 20 or 30 colors. Everything that is superfluous in the photo becomes noise in the embroidery:
What spoils a pattern
- Grain and noise in indoor or nighttime photos: they become stray dots.
- Strong shadows on the face: dark patches under the eyes or nose.
- Cluttered backgrounds: hundreds of stitches in different colors that add nothing.
- Low contrast: the person or pet blends into the background.
- Small subject: the face is reduced to just a few dots.
What makes a good pattern
- Soft, even lighting.
- A large, clear subject.
- A plain or non-existent background.
- Clear, well-separated colors.
- Large areas of color without fine textures.
Our Your Photo, Embroidered tool already cleans up a lot of this on its own (we explain this in the Your Photo, Embroidered guide). But the better the starting photo, the better the pattern will be. And that is where AI helps tremendously.
What Nano Banana is and how to use it
Nano Banana is the name given to Gemini’s image editor, Google’s artificial intelligence. You give it a photo, write in Spanish what you want to change, and it returns the edited photo. You don’t need to know anything about photography or editing software.
- 1 Open GeminiOpen the Gemini app on your phone or go to gemini.google.com with your Google account. There is a free version with a limited number of images per day.
- 2 Upload your photoTap the + or paperclip button and choose the photo. Use the original, not a screenshot or a photo forwarded on WhatsApp, as these lose quality.
- 3 Write the promptThe prompt is the instruction. Copy one of the ones below and adapt it to your photo.
- 4 Review and downloadCompare it with the original. If you like it, download it and open it in Your Photo, Embroidered.
Before uploading a photo, keep in mind
When you use Gemini, the photo is sent to Google’s servers. Our Your Photo, Embroidered tool, on the other hand, works on your phone and does not upload the photo anywhere. Use photos of yourself or people who have given you permission, and think twice about photos of children.
The formula for a good prompt
A good prompt has three parts: what you want to change, how you want it, and what should not change. The third part is the most important: AI tends to “improve” faces, and if you don’t forbid it, your granddaughter may end up looking like another girl.
Change the background to a solid cream color without shadows. Keep the person, their face, hair, and clothes exactly the same.
- One change at a timeFirst clean up the photo, then change the background, then the lighting. If you ask for everything at once, it is more likely that something will go wrong.
- Be specific“Solid light sage green background” works better than “pretty background.”
- Correct as you goIf you don’t like something, write it in the next message: “The eyes have changed; leave them as they are in the original photo.”
- Go back to the originalIf the photo has been ruined after several changes, start over with the original.
Ready-to-copy prompts
Hold your finger over the text to select and copy it. Replace the text in brackets with your own.
1. Clean up and improve the photo (always start here)
Improve this photo: make it sharper, remove noise and grain, and correct the lighting and colors so they look natural. Do not change the face, expression, proportions, or clothes.
2. Solid or non-existent background
This is the change that improves a pattern the most. With a white background, you can leave it unembroidered: the fabric remains, and you only embroider the design.
Replace the background with solid pure white, without shadows or gradients. Keep [the person / the dog] exactly the same, with clean edges.
Replace the background with a solid, even color [light sage green / dusty pink / sky blue], without textures. Do not change anything else.
Remove [the streetlight / the car / the person in the background] and fill that space with the same background as the surrounding area. Do not change anything else.
3. Portraits of people
Light the face with soft, even lighting, like that from a window, without strong shadows under the eyes or nose. Sharp eyes. Do not change the features, age, or expression.
Create a square head-and-shoulders shot, with the face centered and taking up most of the image. Keep the person exactly the same.
Combine the person from the first photo and the person from the second into the same portrait, side by side, with the same lighting and a solid cream background. Keep both faces exactly as they are in their photos.
4. Pets
Place my [dog / cat] on a solid [light beige] background. Sharp fur with well-defined strands and bright eyes with a small reflection of light. Keep their face, spots, and colors exactly the same.
Lighten my [black cat] slightly so that the eyes, ears, and outline of the fur are visible, without changing its color. Use a very light, solid gray background.
5. Old family photos
Restore this old photo: remove scratches, stains, and creases, and improve the sharpness. Keep the faces exactly the same.
Colorize this black-and-white photo with natural, soft, period-appropriate tones. Do not change the faces or clothes.
If you prefer to embroider it in grayscale, do not colorize it: in Your Photo, Embroidered, choose the Black and white style.
6. Illustration style for small patterns
A 40- to 80-stitch pattern cannot accommodate the details of a photo. If you first convert it into a flat-color drawing, the result will be much cleaner and easier to embroider.
Convert this photo into a flat-color illustration with about 15 well-separated color areas, without gradients or textures, on a white background. Maintain the resemblance.
Convert this photo into a simple, charming drawing in a storybook illustration style, with simple shapes, soft outlines, and a few pastel colors on a white background. Make sure [the person / the pet] is recognizable.
Change the colors of the image to a soft palette of [cream, dusty pink, and sage green], while maintaining the highlights and shadows. Do not change the shapes.
7. Landscapes, houses, and flowers
Simplify this photo for embroidery: a solid, single-tone sky, fewer loose leaves, straight and sharp house edges, and clear, well-separated colors. Keep the shape of the house and the windows.
Isolate the flower on a solid white background, with well-defined petals and bright but natural colors. Do not add new flowers.
Which settings to choose next in Your Photo, Embroidered
Once the photo is ready, open it in Your Photo, Embroidered. These settings are a good starting point; then check the cleanliness indicator and make any necessary adjustments.
| Your photo | Size | Colors | Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait with a solid background | 150 stitches | 30 | Care for faces and hair, Hair |
| Pet with a solid background | 100 to 150 stitches | 20 to 30 | Fur (animals) |
| White background | Whichever you prefer | Depending on the design | Leave the background unembroidered |
| Flat-color illustration | 40 to 80 stitches | 10 to 20 | Remove stray dots, Strong cleaning |
| Restored old photo | 100 to 150 stitches | 20 to 30 | Soft style or Black and white |
| Landscape or house | 120 to 150 stitches | 25 to 30 | Soft gradients if there is a sky |
Sizes of more than 150 stitches and more than 30 colors are available with PyA Pro. For fabric, Aida 14 is the easiest on the eyes; with Aida 16 or Aida 18, the embroidery will be finer and smaller.
Errors to avoid
- Letting the face changeLook closely at the eyes, mouth, and nose before downloading. If it is not the same person, ask it to leave them as they are in the original.
- Plastic skinIf the skin looks too smooth and shiny, ask for “natural skin with its texture.”
- Blurred backgroundsA blurry background with patches of light becomes many colors. Solid is better.
- Watermarks and textIf the image has a watermark or text in a corner, crop it out first, or it will be embroidered too.
- Downloading in low qualityDownload the image; do not take a screenshot.
- Asking for too muchMany changes in a single prompt produce strange results. Several short steps are better.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nano Banana free?
Gemini has a free version with a limited number of images per day, enough to prepare several photos. Google’s paid plans offer more images and higher quality.
Can I use another AI?
Yes. The same prompts work in other AI editors, such as ChatGPT. The important thing is the idea: a solid background, good lighting, a large subject, and well-separated colors.
What if I don’t want to use AI?
That’s fine. Crop the photo on your phone so the subject looks large, and use the tools in Your Photo, Embroidered: Clean area for the background, Clean to remove stray dots, and Combine colors to use fewer threads.
Can I embroider a cartoon character?
For your home, yes. But characters are subject to copyright: you cannot sell embroideries or patterns featuring them. There is no problem with photos of yourself and your pets.
Can I embroider it with Luca-S threads?
Yes. The pattern is generated in DMC colors; copy the numbers from the legend into the DMC ⇄ Luca-S converter, and we will provide the equivalent for each one.
My photo still doesn’t look right
Write to us via chat and tell us which photo you used and what you were hoping for. We will help you make the most of it, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Is your photo ready?
Convert it into a pattern