A cross stitch poster prompt for ChatGPT
Updated November 2026

What this style is
A woven or cross stitched textile pattern built from square stitches, with letters, flowers and ornament drawn on a pixel grid and photographed on fabric or laid over a photograph. Each square has thread texture.
What makes it look like this
- every letter built from square stitches
- checkerboard medallion
- border of repeating flowers
- thread fibres visible
- pixel grid alignment
Colours
#EFE7D2#7FB04A#E9E34B#E76F51#1B1B1B#3C5A9A
Cream or dark ground with two or three thread colours plus black. For a brand, thread the type in the brand colour and keep the pattern in complementary threads.
The prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT with image creation on. Change the subject and the three lines of words for your own, and check the spelling before you send it.
Create a finished graphic design: a poster in A3 portrait (1:1.41) format. It is for: Monday knitting circle at a community centre.
It must look designed and made by hand by a skilled human designer and illustrator, in the style described below. Treat the style as a strict art direction.
STYLE: Stitched Pixel Type
A woven or cross stitched textile pattern built from square stitches, with letters, flowers and ornament drawn on a pixel grid and photographed on fabric or laid over a photograph. Each square has thread texture.
Signature moves to keep:
- every letter built from square stitches
- checkerboard medallion
- border of repeating flowers
- thread fibres visible
- pixel grid alignment
SUBJECT
Show Monday knitting circle at a community centre in this style. Make the subject the hero and fit everything to it: props, setting and details should belong to this subject, not to the example the style came from.
COMPOSITION
The pixel pattern fills the full sheet as a repeating border or checkerboard medallion, with a title woven as large blocky letters across the middle. Quiet cream rows surround the title for text.
TYPOGRAPHY
Pixel blocky capitals woven from stitches, uniform stroke, set on the grid with no smooth curves.
Render exactly these words, spelled exactly as written, and no other text anywhere:
- headline: "Stitch Night"
- second line: "Bring yarn, we bring tea"
- small details: "Mondays 18:00, Fruängens Bibliotek"
Give them a clear hierarchy: the headline large and dominant, the rest much smaller.
COLOUR
Palette: #EFE7D2, #7FB04A, #E9E34B, #E76F51, #1B1B1B, #3C5A9A. Cream or dark ground with two or three thread colours plus black. For a brand, thread the type in the brand colour and keep the pattern in complementary threads.
TEXTURE AND FINISH
Visible thread twist on each stitch, soft fabric weave, light shadow between stitches.
AVOID
- smooth vector curves
- gradients
- glossy 3D
- photoreal flowers
- lens flare
- gibberish text
- anything that looks AI generated: plastic sheen, airbrushed skin, overly smooth gradients, glow and lens flare, HDR, stock photo smiles
- gibberish letters, made up words or any text other than the exact words given
- watermarks, signatures, UI elements, borders or frames around the design
- filler decoration: sparkles, floating dots and stars, confetti, random geometric shapes, gradient orbs, ornamental dividers
- uniform line weight, plastic or airbrushed shading, soft storybook gloss, perfect symmetry, melted or merging details, impossible objects
- showing the design as a mockup (a poster on a wall, a phone, a hand holding it): the artwork itself must fill the whole canvas edge to edge, flat and straight on
Do not search the web or look anything up: work only from this brief, so nothing from elsewhere leaks into the design.
Make the image now, in A3 portrait (1:1.41) format, without asking questions first.
(Brief written with OpenTempl, the free, open source design app at opentempl.org. The designer brings the picture back there to set and edit the words.)How to use it
- Open ChatGPT and check that image creation is available on your account.
- Paste the prompt. Replace the subject line and the words in quotes.
- Send it. If something is off, ask for one change at a time.
- Check every word on the poster. A typo in your prompt is copied into the picture.
Three versions for common jobs
The same prompt, set for a gig poster, an Instagram post and a menu. The words are examples; replace them.
Gig poster
Create a finished graphic design: a poster in A3 portrait (1:1.41) format. It is for: a live music night with three bands at a small venue.
It must look designed and made by hand by a skilled human designer and illustrator, in the style described below. Treat the style as a strict art direction.
STYLE: Stitched Pixel Type
A woven or cross stitched textile pattern built from square stitches, with letters, flowers and ornament drawn on a pixel grid and photographed on fabric or laid over a photograph. Each square has thread texture.
Signature moves to keep:
- every letter built from square stitches
- checkerboard medallion
- border of repeating flowers
- thread fibres visible
- pixel grid alignment
SUBJECT
Show a live music night with three bands at a small venue in this style. Make the subject the hero and fit everything to it: props, setting and details should belong to this subject, not to the example the style came from.
COMPOSITION
The pixel pattern fills the full sheet as a repeating border or checkerboard medallion, with a title woven as large blocky letters across the middle. Quiet cream rows surround the title for text.
TYPOGRAPHY
Pixel blocky capitals woven from stitches, uniform stroke, set on the grid with no smooth curves.
Render exactly these words, spelled exactly as written, and no other text anywhere:
- headline: "Three Bands, One Night"
- second line: "Doors 20:00, entry 100 kr"
- small details: "Fri 14 Nov, Kolingsborg, Stockholm"
Give them a clear hierarchy: the headline large and dominant, the rest much smaller.
COLOUR
Palette: #EFE7D2, #7FB04A, #E9E34B, #E76F51, #1B1B1B, #3C5A9A. Cream or dark ground with two or three thread colours plus black. For a brand, thread the type in the brand colour and keep the pattern in complementary threads.
TEXTURE AND FINISH
Visible thread twist on each stitch, soft fabric weave, light shadow between stitches.
AVOID
- smooth vector curves
- gradients
- glossy 3D
- photoreal flowers
- lens flare
- gibberish text
- anything that looks AI generated: plastic sheen, airbrushed skin, overly smooth gradients, glow and lens flare, HDR, stock photo smiles
- gibberish letters, made up words or any text other than the exact words given
- watermarks, signatures, UI elements, borders or frames around the design
- filler decoration: sparkles, floating dots and stars, confetti, random geometric shapes, gradient orbs, ornamental dividers
- uniform line weight, plastic or airbrushed shading, soft storybook gloss, perfect symmetry, melted or merging details, impossible objects
- showing the design as a mockup (a poster on a wall, a phone, a hand holding it): the artwork itself must fill the whole canvas edge to edge, flat and straight on
Do not search the web or look anything up: work only from this brief, so nothing from elsewhere leaks into the design.
Make the image now, in A3 portrait (1:1.41) format, without asking questions first.
(Brief written with OpenTempl, the free, open source design app at opentempl.org. The designer brings the picture back there to set and edit the words.)Instagram post
Create a finished graphic design: a instagram post in 4:5 portrait format. It is for: an announcement post for a new product launch from a small shop.
It must look designed and made by hand by a skilled human designer and illustrator, in the style described below. Treat the style as a strict art direction.
STYLE: Stitched Pixel Type
A woven or cross stitched textile pattern built from square stitches, with letters, flowers and ornament drawn on a pixel grid and photographed on fabric or laid over a photograph. Each square has thread texture.
Signature moves to keep:
- every letter built from square stitches
- checkerboard medallion
- border of repeating flowers
- thread fibres visible
- pixel grid alignment
SUBJECT
Show an announcement post for a new product launch from a small shop in this style. Make the subject the hero and fit everything to it: props, setting and details should belong to this subject, not to the example the style came from.
COMPOSITION
The pixel pattern fills the full sheet as a repeating border or checkerboard medallion, with a title woven as large blocky letters across the middle. Quiet cream rows surround the title for text.
TYPOGRAPHY
Pixel blocky capitals woven from stitches, uniform stroke, set on the grid with no smooth curves.
Render exactly these words, spelled exactly as written, and no other text anywhere:
- headline: "Now In Store"
- second line: "The autumn collection is here"
- small details: "Open daily 10 to 18"
Give them a clear hierarchy: the headline large and dominant, the rest much smaller.
COLOUR
Palette: #EFE7D2, #7FB04A, #E9E34B, #E76F51, #1B1B1B, #3C5A9A. Cream or dark ground with two or three thread colours plus black. For a brand, thread the type in the brand colour and keep the pattern in complementary threads.
TEXTURE AND FINISH
Visible thread twist on each stitch, soft fabric weave, light shadow between stitches.
AVOID
- smooth vector curves
- gradients
- glossy 3D
- photoreal flowers
- lens flare
- gibberish text
- anything that looks AI generated: plastic sheen, airbrushed skin, overly smooth gradients, glow and lens flare, HDR, stock photo smiles
- gibberish letters, made up words or any text other than the exact words given
- watermarks, signatures, UI elements, borders or frames around the design
- filler decoration: sparkles, floating dots and stars, confetti, random geometric shapes, gradient orbs, ornamental dividers
- uniform line weight, plastic or airbrushed shading, soft storybook gloss, perfect symmetry, melted or merging details, impossible objects
- showing the design as a mockup (a poster on a wall, a phone, a hand holding it): the artwork itself must fill the whole canvas edge to edge, flat and straight on
Do not search the web or look anything up: work only from this brief, so nothing from elsewhere leaks into the design.
Make the image now, in 4:5 portrait format, without asking questions first.
(Brief written with OpenTempl, the free, open source design app at opentempl.org. The designer brings the picture back there to set and edit the words.)Menu
Create a finished graphic design: a poster in A3 portrait (1:1.41) format. It is for: a one page menu for a neighbourhood cafe.
It must look designed and made by hand by a skilled human designer and illustrator, in the style described below. Treat the style as a strict art direction.
STYLE: Stitched Pixel Type
A woven or cross stitched textile pattern built from square stitches, with letters, flowers and ornament drawn on a pixel grid and photographed on fabric or laid over a photograph. Each square has thread texture.
Signature moves to keep:
- every letter built from square stitches
- checkerboard medallion
- border of repeating flowers
- thread fibres visible
- pixel grid alignment
SUBJECT
Show a one page menu for a neighbourhood cafe in this style. Make the subject the hero and fit everything to it: props, setting and details should belong to this subject, not to the example the style came from.
COMPOSITION
The pixel pattern fills the full sheet as a repeating border or checkerboard medallion, with a title woven as large blocky letters across the middle. Quiet cream rows surround the title for text.
TYPOGRAPHY
Pixel blocky capitals woven from stitches, uniform stroke, set on the grid with no smooth curves.
Render exactly these words, spelled exactly as written, and no other text anywhere:
- headline: "Cafe Menu"
- second line: "Coffee, pastries and lunch"
- small details: "Filter coffee 35 kr, Cinnamon bun 40 kr, Soup of the day 120 kr"
Give them a clear hierarchy: the headline large and dominant, the rest much smaller.
COLOUR
Palette: #EFE7D2, #7FB04A, #E9E34B, #E76F51, #1B1B1B, #3C5A9A. Cream or dark ground with two or three thread colours plus black. For a brand, thread the type in the brand colour and keep the pattern in complementary threads.
TEXTURE AND FINISH
Visible thread twist on each stitch, soft fabric weave, light shadow between stitches.
AVOID
- smooth vector curves
- gradients
- glossy 3D
- photoreal flowers
- lens flare
- gibberish text
- anything that looks AI generated: plastic sheen, airbrushed skin, overly smooth gradients, glow and lens flare, HDR, stock photo smiles
- gibberish letters, made up words or any text other than the exact words given
- watermarks, signatures, UI elements, borders or frames around the design
- filler decoration: sparkles, floating dots and stars, confetti, random geometric shapes, gradient orbs, ornamental dividers
- uniform line weight, plastic or airbrushed shading, soft storybook gloss, perfect symmetry, melted or merging details, impossible objects
- showing the design as a mockup (a poster on a wall, a phone, a hand holding it): the artwork itself must fill the whole canvas edge to edge, flat and straight on
Do not search the web or look anything up: work only from this brief, so nothing from elsewhere leaks into the design.
Make the image now, in A3 portrait (1:1.41) format, without asking questions first.
(Brief written with OpenTempl, the free, open source design app at opentempl.org. The designer brings the picture back there to set and edit the words.)Layout, type and finish
Layout. The pixel pattern fills the full sheet as a repeating border or checkerboard medallion, with a title woven as large blocky letters across the middle. Quiet cream rows surround the title for text.
Type. Pixel blocky capitals woven from stitches, uniform stroke, set on the grid with no smooth curves.
Finish. Visible thread twist on each stitch, soft fabric weave, light shadow between stitches.
What to keep out
- smooth digital curves
- gradients
- glossy 3D
- photoreal flowers
- lens flare
- gibberish text
Make your own in OpenTempl, free
Bring your own OpenAI key and the Generate tab uses this exact art direction, called a Look. It can leave room for your words, so you set them as live text and fix a typo without making the picture again. OpenTempl is free and works offline. OpenAI bills you for the images you make, and OpenTempl takes nothing.
More styles
- Folk Cutout Garden: Hand cut flowers, horses and birds mirrored on black, bright as embroidered cloth.
- Halftone Duotone: A photographed face or animal in two clashing inks, giant type biting into it.
- Pixel World: Voxel flowers, dither clouds and chunky dot type float in a cut paper sky.
- Folk pattern templates in the editor
- All 31 prompt styles
Questions
Can ChatGPT make a real a cross stitch print?
It makes an image that imitates the look. For a physical version, use the image as artwork and take a print file to a printer that can reproduce the medium: a woven or cross stitched textile pattern built from square stitches, with letters, flowers and ornament drawn on a pixel grid and photographed on fabric or laid over a photograph.
What size should I ask for?
This style is set up for poster (A3 portrait), Instagram post (4:5), square post, story (9:16), flyer (A5). Name the format in the prompt, as the examples do, and the layout follows it.
Why do the words come out wrong?
Image models draw letters as pictures, and they sometimes get them wrong. Keep the words short, put them in quotes, and check every letter. In OpenTempl you can leave room for the words and add them as live text.