COZY x Pixel Stitch is a collaboration between COZY and Pixel Stitch, a Pakistani studio that turns the cross stitch of women artisans into modern pixel art. Together we made two tees, the Sardines & Lemon Tee and the Summer on the Inside Tee, each screen printed in Karachi and then finished with details stitched by hand. Only 40 pieces were made, and the artisans are paid directly for their work.
Where Pixel Stitch began
Pixel Stitch started in Gilgit. Its founder, Hasan Habib, visited the Prince Barkat Foundation there and met women doing intricate floral cross stitch that had no market.
The studio kept the technique and changed the designs. Cross stitch is built on a grid, with one small X in each square, the same way a screen image is built from pixels. Pixel Stitch turns that overlap into modern pixel art so the artisans can earn from a skill they already have. The studio is working toward 1,000 women artisans across Pakistan.
How the collaboration started
We found Pixel Stitch at Mashion in Karachi and bought one of their stitched frames as a gift. We kept thinking about it after the bazaar, so we got in touch and asked if they would make something with us. We wanted their work on something you wear every day.
Two tees built on one idea
The collection started from one idea: keeping summer with you after the season ends. Our designer drew both tees.
The Sardines & Lemon Tee in sky blue has a printed sardine tin on the chest, with a lemon slice and wedge stitched beside it. The Summer on the Inside Tee in butter yellow carries a printed beach scene on the back, with stitched flip-flops.
Sampling and production
Before anything went into production, Pixel Stitch redrew every part meant for thread on a grid, square by square, with one square for each stitch. The finished grid is a stitch map, and every colour on it is matched to their thread book. We kept the palette to four colours: blue, orange, white and lemon yellow.
We cut, sewed and screen printed the tees in Karachi, in 220 GSM COZY Cotton. It does not shrink. Screen printing was a deliberate choice, because a needle tears through a heat transfer sheet but passes cleanly through a screen print.
Each artisan then received a packet with the pattern and the exact threads for her piece. She fixed a small hoop over the spot, laid dissolvable cloth with the pattern on top, and stitched through the cloth and the tee together. A double thread keeps the stitches close and full, with no fabric showing between them. A wash dissolved the cloth and left the stitching in the cotton.
Why there are only 40
Every stitched detail is worked by hand, one tee at a time, and that takes far longer than printing. So we made 40 pieces across both designs, and the collection will not be restocked. Thread colour can shift slightly from one tee to the next, so no two are exactly alike.
Each order comes with a free limited edition COZY bag in butter yellow and a thank-you video from one of the artisans, so you can see who is behind the work.
See both pieces in the COZY x Pixel Stitch embroidered tees collection, or go straight to the sardine t-shirt or the summer t-shirt.
