Went to the designers website and it showed the picture a lot larger. It says you can use any color for the fabric. I would use either ivory or antique white Aida cloth if I was doing it. The designer also says the pattern is black and white and only uses full cross stitches. They also say the pattern difficulty is for experts. This is a beautiful pattern, but if you are a beginner or advanced beginning stitcher I would work my way up to this pattern so you didn't get frustrated possibly.