Original photoFront-facing eyes and clearly separated markings.
TABBY MARKINGS CASE STUDYMake a tabby portrait
Meet Pepper, a brown mackerel tabby.
Pepper enjoys sitting beside the garden plots in the afternoon. Side lighting reveals the dark stripes, warm brown coat, and pale muzzle without hiding the green eyes.
Starting width80 stitches
Palette24 colors
Fabric16-count Aida
PHOTO TO GRID
Preserve the eyes and three signature stripe groups
Instead of tracing every hair, the pattern should keep the forehead M, cheek lines, chest bands, and dark tail rings.
80-stitch previewA slightly larger grid protects the striped expression.
Why this photo works
The eyes are level and the most important markings are broad enough to survive the grid. Warm side light separates brown midtones from near-black stripes.
The background is visually busy, so a tight head-and-chest crop and one confetti cleanup pass are more useful than simply adding colors.
Recommended settings
- Width
- 76–84
- Colors
- 22–26
- Brightness
- +4
- Contrast
- +14
- Cleanup
- One pass
Keep the markings that create identity.
Let the grid simplify the rest.