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TO MY CROSSSTITCH TIPS & TRICKS PAGE
ON DESIGNING AND STICHING


update: March 23rd 2004

 
HOW TO START DESIGNING:

 

When creating your own cross stitch patterns with the help of
digital software (there are numerous ones !) you need to keep one basic
rule in mind: every pixel is converted to a cross stitch in your pattern.
I create my basic images in Paint Shop Pro which is graphical software.
It took me a lot of research and trying out for finding me a special way
how to prepare my basic images for my patterns. When ever I bumped into
pixelpainted images - which is a special graphical technique to make
digital images - I tried to convert them into patterns: and they
worked out PERFECTLY !!! My patternmaker PMP allows me to import
the .psp file into the wizard and converts it to a pattern in a jiffy.
All it needs then is the addition of some backstitches, but sometimes
even that isn't really needed ...


PIXELPAINTING IMAGES

There are several ways to obtain a basic image:

- You draw one from scratch
- you draw over an image from photographs / © free images
- OR you use a simple b & w © free image.

  Basics: use a line 1 pixel wide with the anti alias OFF !!
Remember: every pixel = 1 cross stitch so the bigger your
basic image the larger will your pattern turn out to be .....
I work on a transparant background wich will give me a
clean cut outline when importing - and preferably I work
in layers when a composition holds more than one object.
That way I can move the objects around when I'm not
pleased with the original composition .....


When creating your own drawing you start with a transparant
layer to work on. For drawn over images I put the original
resized one on the bottom - put a transparant layer on top
and start drawing. For the b & w images I've found a
remove white filter which cleans up my basic image AFTER
I've resized it. In all cases I end up with a small b & w image
that only contains a black outline of 1 pixel only!!!

Then I start colouring my basic image with a special
DMC / PSP / PMP colourgrid I've designed. It contains all shades of
DMC floss which my Pattern Maker Pro converts into stitches of
the exact colour of DMC cotton floss :OD It even creates a perfect
overflow of colours when colouring in Paint Shop Pro with it!!!
I keep amazing myself about the grid I've created, it's just stunning
how the two different kinds of digital software work out so well together......

The colouring of my image is based on a special technique which
is built in when using Paint Shop Pro, but I'm sure that other
graphical software will be able to do the same. It's a way of
picking out the right colours in the same shading line and
applying a certain amount of shading to all the small
subparts of a drawing. Most pixelpainting artists who create
images from scratch start out with coloured outlines - which
is NOT needed for my technique - hence the b & w outline I use.
After the colouring it's simple: copy / paste your PSP image
with the help of your clipboard into your PMP software and
let the importing wizard do it's job and a home made
pattern is born in a matter of seconds. Note: other digital
patternmakers who can't import .psp images should
be able to convert a .bmp image from the .psp file
when the pixelpainting process is finished.



You don't need to waste good money on pixelpainting tutorials,
because there are some FREE ones to be found online.
And in case you are a cross stitch a holic (or just a future pixelpainting
artist !!! ) and want to learn MY SPECIAL TECHNIQUE - PLEASE JOIN
my newsgroups and I'll be happy to teach you how it works FOR FREE !!
I do however ONLY help out those folks who are creating stuff just
for fun and who are NOT working commercially !!!!! You will also find
LOADS of links to tutorial and other interesting websites etc posting
within our newsgroups. For the links to the annexcafe cross stitch
patterns newsgroup please browse back to my arts & crafts page AND
for those who just love to learn how to pixelpaint - without turning
it into a x-stitch pattern: join our recently started pixel.painting
newsgroup at the same server .....

 

 

NOW WE CAN START STITCHING:

 

 

Border the material by holding it under a sewing machine or
by hand. Get yourself some contrasting sewing yarn. Fold the
cloth in the middle horizontally and press it flat with a iron ...
now you sow in a double thread of the contrasting sewing
yarn - so the same with the cloth vertically. Now you have
a cloth with a cross and you know exactly where the
middle of your pattern should be.

The PM - pattern is printed in parts: you can cut them
out and leaving an edge and fix them together with
paperglue and stick them together on the backside
(for security) with some sellotape - by count stitches you
search for the middle of the pattern ... you draw in the
same lines on the pattern as you have on your cloth
 -> this is your guidance line!

From the middle you can count stitches vertically and
horizontally and stitch some contrasting sewing yarn to
form a frame in which your pattern will go ... now you
also have a guidance line from the edge of the frame!
Now you can start your cross stitch right in the middle
of the material !

 

 

 

 

SETTING OUT GUIDANCELINES:

 

MATERIAL WITH GUIDANCELINES

 
This is how your cloth looks ...
Now you can start your cross stitching !


Allow outside the framelines atleast 4 inches
(or10 cm.) of cloth for professional framing !!

 

 

 

 

SOME HANDY TIPS & TRICKS:

 

You can use pins for counting stitches if you do not have
a gridded material. I start counting and put a pin on the
place of every 10th stitch etc until you reach the right point.
Always check twice or more !

All stitches should go the same way - for example cross stitch:
bottom left to upper right & bottom right to upper left corner.

If not all stitches go the same way ... once you get if framed
(by a professional framemaker) when the light falls onto
your picture you will see differences in light ... And that
is very unpleasing for the eye.

When fastening a new thread on the backside of the
material ... do not use too long threads. Do not use
to long threads to cross stitch because you get knots
into them and then you will have to cut them because
you can hardly get the knots out!

From a piece of cardboard (from an old shoebox for
example) I tend to make myself a threadholder. Cut out
a long square of cardboard and with a perforator
 (from the office) I punch holes around the edge of
the card. Through these holes you can pull through
the embroidery yarn you have cut off to work with.
Above each hole you can write down the number of the
yarn and the symbol in which it is represented on the
pattern. Now you can never make a mistake in colour ...
and everything is neat and tidy!

I use an old sigarbox or plastic box in which I put my
strands of silk yarn. You can even make a small cardboard
cards and roll the strands on it + put the number of
the yarn on it! Now shuffle them on number ... and you
can always find the number of yarn where you need
to cut a embroidery thread from. There are special
systems available in Arts & Crafts Shops as well, but
they tend to be more expensive.

 

 

 

 

HAPPY STITCHING !!!

 

 

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THANKS FOR THE GRAPHICS ROXY !