PC Stitch Pro & designing patterns etc.

[gelflin]

Sorry if this is in the wrong thread, I wasn’t sure where it should go…….

Recently I have been putting my design skills to use designing cross stitch patterns on PC Stitch Pro (big thank you to my Husband who insisted on buying it for me as a present despite my protestations). Over the years I have designed sugar craft items specialising in novelty cakes, advertisements (my beloved career) and many other projects that have caught my interest. Designing my own cross stitch patterns seemed the most natural thing to do.

I have a personal dislike for the image to programme to chart, though this is of course just a personal opinion. But I love to work on colours in blocks, and to only have the amount of colours necessary to create a finished design. When I first loaded up a picture on the programme I was horrified at the number of colours that seemed irrelevant to the picture dotted all over the place. So I started to edit here and there, then huff over a colour and remove it and before I knew it I was deleting images and starting my own from scratch. I have no doubt that the photo to image thing does indeed look beautiful and realistic from a distance but this sort of look just isn’t the kind of finished piece I could enjoy.

I am currently working on a set of large intricate pieces inspired by oil paintings of Henry VIII and his six Wives. Each of these is 12”x16” on an 18 count, though I will probably stitch them on a larger count for our home because I want them to be as large and striking as the originals that hang in galleries. I am also making companion pieces for each portrait with mottos and emblems of the subject. Making such large designs from scratch is time consuming and sometimes frustrating when it doesn’t go the way you want, its then that I fall back to making small designs. I thought that it would be nice to share some of the designs. I have only gotten around to stitching a couple of them and for the ones that I haven’t stitched I would appreciate feedback, especially if it highlights errors or suggests tweaks to the design.

I have given a few links below of images of details and patterns, if anyone is interested in one of the patterns please contact me with your email address, I am happy to share the charts freely within the community for personal use.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The format for these patterns is in PC Stitch Pro, you can use the free version of the Pro or Standard edition to print the patterns (often referred to as the pattern viewer). All of the patterns are subject to the same Copyright laws as any other chart/pattern, please respect my hard work on these designs and abide by the Copyright.

Some of the designs were inspired by clip-art, in the case of these designs I have always acted within the ’Fair Usage’ terms or within the usage set out by the source in accordance with Copyright law.

Sneak Peeks of the Henry VIII Collection:
The portrait I am using for reference is on the left of the image, on the right is a screen shot of a small part of the pattern open in PC Stitch Pro (sorry about distortions to the pattern it seems a hazard of taking screenshots from the programme).

Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour’s Emblem & Motto Companion Piece

Stitched Designs (I will upload pictures of the finished designs as soon as our cable for our digital camera turns up *Grrrr Huff* “I know I put it somewhere ‘safe‘ ”):
Emerald Dragon, originally stitched as a valentine present for my husband this year.
Innocent Cat
Oriental Cat
Siamese Kittens

Unstitched (un tested) Designs:
I Love You Kitty
Patchwork Cat
Valentines Rose
Colourful Cats Bookmark
Kittens Bookmark
Silhouette Cats
Little Black Calendar Cat (all 12 calendar months, or individual patterns for each month)