Their drawing, stitched to keep
Photograph the drawing and watch it become thread. Nothing is sewn until you approve it. For grown-ups or for the artist, from $45.
$59Polo, White · L
Nothing is stitched until you approve it.
What actually comes back
The preview above is computed, so here is the physical answer: a painting on paper, the same painting stitched, and the finished sweatshirt being worn. Butter Comfort Colors, photographed as they came and not retouched.
-
The painting -
The same painting, in thread -
On the sweatshirt
I had our daughter’s first drawing of ‘Mom and Dad’ stitched onto a shirt for my husband’s birthday. The stitching is so precise, you can see every line she actually drew.Stephanie D.
He was not even two when he made this, so it is just paint he pushed around with his hands. Now it is stitched on a shirt instead of leaning against a wall at home.Elena T.
Fifteen threads, six to a design
An embroidery machine does not mix colour. It carries stocked thread and swaps spools between them, so a design is built from a handful of exact shades rather than a gradient. These are the fifteen we can stitch. Your drawing is matched to the closest ones, and you decide which stay.
- White 1801
- Black 1800
- Grey 1718
- Navy 1966
- Aqua/Teal 1695
- Purple 1832
- Maroon 1784
- Red 1839
- Flamingo 1910
- Orange 1987
- Gold 1951
- Old Gold 1672
- Kiwi Green 1848
- Kelly Green 1751
- Royal 1842
How it works
-
Photograph the drawing
Upload a photo of the drawing. We read the shadow and the colour of the paper back out of it, separate the drawing from anything else that crept into the frame, turn every patch they coloured in into one solid colour, match the ink to stocked threads, and thicken any line too fine to survive a needle. That takes about half a minute.
-
Adjust it, then approve
After that, swapping a thread, changing the garment or moving the placement is instant, and you can retake the photo as many times as you like. How to get the preview just right, step by step. What you approve is what gets stitched. We send the embroiderer artwork already built from the exact threads you chose, so there is no interpretation step between your screen and the machine.
-
Stitched and shipped
It is sewn onto your pick of a garment-dyed Comfort Colors t-shirt or sweatshirt, a cotton pique polo, a heavyweight fleece hoodie, a stretch quarter-zip, a Columbia fleece jacket, an insulated duck-cloth work jacket, a Nomadix puffer blanket, a heavy cotton canvas tote, or a kids’ sweatshirt or hoodie so the artist can wear it too, then shipped to you, or straight to whoever the drawing was for.
What it is stitched onto
| Garment | Fabric | Blank | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-shirt | 100% ring-spun US cotton | Comfort Colors 1717 · 6.1 oz | $49 |
| Polo | 100% ring-spun cotton | Gildan 64800 Pique · 5.2 oz | $59 |
| Sweatshirt | 80% ring-spun US cotton, 20% polyester | Comfort Colors 1566 · 9.5 oz | $69 |
| Hoodie | 80% combed ring-spun cotton, 20% recycled polyester | Three-Panel Fleece · 8.25 oz | $69 |
| Quarter-zip | 90% polyester, 10% spandex | Sport-Tek ST850 Stretch 1/4-Zip Pullover · 6.8 oz | $89 |
| Fleece jacket | 100% polyester fleece | Columbia Steens Mountain 2.0 Full-Zip Fleece (147667) · 7.4 oz | $129 |
| Work jacket | 100% cotton duck shell, insulated polyester lining | CornerStone CSJ41 Duck Cloth Hooded · 12 oz | $179 |
| Puffer blanket | 100% recycled polyester, recycled fill | Nomadix · 74 × 55 in | $229 |
| Tote bag | 100% cotton canvas | AS Colour Carrie Tote 1001 · 9.4 oz | $45 |
| Kids' sweatshirt | 50% cotton, 50% polyester | Gildan 18000B Youth Crewneck Sweatshirt · 8 oz | $49 |
| Kids' hoodie | 50% cotton, 50% polyester | Gildan 18500B Youth Hooded Sweatshirt · 8 oz | $55 |
No drawing to hand, or a dog who deserves it more? Stitch your pet on the same garments, drawn from one photo in six styles.
Frequently asked
Anything else, write to hello@thecuriousthing.com.
How close to the original drawing will it be?
Every line is kept, but embroidery has a minimum stitchable thickness, so very fine pencil lines are thickened to survive being sewn. You see exactly what that looks like, on the garment and close up, before you approve it.
Why only six colours?
Embroidery machines run a fixed set of thread stocks and change threads between colours. Six is the ceiling per design, chosen from fifteen stocked shades. We match your drawing to the closest ones and you can swap any of them.
What makes a good photo?
Lay the drawing flat in even light, keep shadows off the page, and fill the frame. Bold marker reads better than faint pencil. You can retake and re-run as many times as you like.
What if they have not drawn anything yet?
Let them make something in the Curious Theatre, our free drawing toy. They draw on the screen, it comes to life as a paper puppet on a little stage, and the grown-up button brings the drawing straight back here, ready to stitch.
What happens to the photo?
It is sent once, to read the drawing off the paper, and it is not kept. We store only the finished thread artwork you approve, never the photograph, and the drawing is never used to train anything.
When is it actually stitched?
Only after you approve the stitching on screen and payment is confirmed. Nothing is sent to the embroidery machine before both.
When will it arrive?
The clock starts when you approve the stitching and payment confirms, not when you upload. The stitch path is digitised first, which takes up to 36 hours, then the garment is stitched in 2 to 5 business days and US standard shipping is 2 to 5 business days on top. Shipping in the US is included in the price.
Their drawing, in thread, from $45
Photograph it and watch it become thread. Nothing is sewn until you approve it.
Stitch their drawing