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Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:36 pm
by meganap25
After I graduated grad school but before I started my job I took an amazing 2 month road trip with my friend around the US. We camped and hiked and saw SO MANY National Parks. It was awesome and I’ve been trying to find a good way to memorialize the trip. My friend tracked our progress on a map and I want to find a similar way to display our route without outright copying her (plus I haven't found a map I really like) and then 2 years later it occurred to me, I should cross stitch it! So now I have to decide how I want it to look.

I already bought a pattern of the outline of the US and I just need to decide how to fill it in. The woman who made the outline pattern used a straight embroidery stitch in her project but I think I want to use a cross stitch. I was thinking of using 14-ct blue Aida (so that the “ocean” will be blue), doing the outline in black or dark grey, the states we visited in color (each state a different color), in either vibrant colors or pastels, the states we didn’t visit in a more blah color (a dark green or maybe a grey), and the route in red. But now I’m thinking, since most of the states we didn’t visit are in the middle of the US, that it’ll look weird if those are all the same color. So maybe I’ll just do all the states in different colors and use a knot or a bead to mark the places we stayed the night. What do you guys think will look good? Maybe states I visited in bright colors and states we didn't in pastels? I may try laying some stuff out on the computer to get a feel for how it will look. For reference, here is a picture of the project the designer of the outline did and a map showing our approximate route. The finished project will be about 14”x10”

Once I start stitching I will post updates here! (hopefully the pictures show up, this is the first time I've posted pics to the forum)

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Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:48 pm
by AlwaysGoofy
What a wonderful way to celebrate your graduation!

Your pictures came through just great. It sounds like you've got some good ideas on how you want to proceed. I have a hard time picturing things in my mind, so I'm not much help on the design side of things. Do you have a cross stitch design program you can use to get an idea of a finished project?

I look forward to hearing how you decide to proceed and seeing pictures as you work on it...lots and lots of pictures. :D This sounds like an exciting personal project to be working on.

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:38 pm
by meganap25
I am having trouble picturing what it will look like too, but don't have any cross stitching programs. Since I bought the outline online I may print out a couple different copies and use colored pencils to try out different colors. Won't be perfect, but will hopefully give me a better idea.

I've been leaning toward using a variety of bright, vibrant colors for states we visited and a couple more muted colors for ones we didn't pass through. I'll see if I can capture that in colored pencils.

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:16 pm
by Squirrel
What a brilliant idea Megan and I am sure it will be an heirloom to treasure. My only suggestion would be to use bright for where you visited and pastels in the same shades for the others. I think the idea of using pencils to colour in the states is a really good one.

Looking forward to seeing what you finally decide.

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:36 am
by DisneyStitcher
What a great idea! Whatever you ultimately decide on will be fantastic - there really won't be a wrong choice. I would consider doing all the states in pastels. The route will be your bright red (or any other bright color you choose) and I would tack a bead the size of a pin head at each stop. For both the locations and states that you stopped, I would backstitch the name in a much brighter and/or darker thread so it really shows against the state background. For those states that you didn't actually visit, I'd backstitch the name of the state in a more muted but still visible thread -think when your options on a drop down menu are greyed out vs clickable. That way the map itself will look more balanced but your route will still pop out. You could add in little figures close to the locations for particularly iconic places you visited. Maybe a little sailboat at Bryce Canyon, a diamond in Arkansas, a lobster in Maine, that kind of thing. They wouldn't have to be super detailed or anything. Judiciously spaced, they could help you balance any areas you felt were too empty or too crowded. Please let us see whatever you decide to do - it is a wonderful project with endless possibilities.

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:03 am
by rcperryls
I agree that this sounds like a great idea. I was also going to suggest that perhaps instead of using a pale or pastel color for the states you didn't visit, you could do a half stitch rather than a full X. I don't know how the coverage would be on that count, or maybe stitch all of those states in one soft pastel. The states you visited would then be a bright border around them. Since I am terrible at picturing things though, I would certainly color in a chart with colored pencils or markers before beginning to stitch.

And your photos came in perfectly.

Carole
:dance:

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 6:13 pm
by Allyn
Being a cartographer on the side, I absolutely love this idea. I think I like the states you visited in bright colors and the states you didn't in gray or tan or some other neutral color. The bright-colored states will pop next to the neutral color. So the visited states aren't 'flat', use a darker shade of the bright color in the row or two of cross stitches right around the border of that state and use a lighter shade of that color to fill in the field. Do that for the non-visited states, too, even though they're the same neutral color, pick a shade darker and do the couple of rows of cross stitches around the border of each state. That'll reduce the blah factor.

Outline the states in something dark that isn't black like 3799 and mark your route in something that you didn't use as a state color -- maybe a bright green or a bright pink...or maybe even gold braid. Mark the places you stopped with beads or French knots or use two strands of dark something -- blue or gray -- and number the stops and then stitch a legend down one side (though that might not work well in 14 count since the legend would be big....so maybe put the legend in columns below the map).

You could also find little motifs for some of the states -- like a little grain symbol in one of the midwest states, a little Longhorn for Texas, stuff that kinda symbolizes what that state is known for or something memorable you saw while you were there. Each state wouldn't need a symbol, but a few sprinkled around would add visual interest. ....a little whale off the coast of California and Massachusetts....a dolphin or a manatee off the coast of Florida...you get the idea. Like the example map you showed with the little 'stick' trees, they'd only need to be simple backstitched outlines.

I'm not sure I'd do it on blue fabric. If you don't have full coverage, you'll have blue peeking through the stitches. That'll be your call.

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 5:45 pm
by meganap25
Thanks for all the advice! Thanks especially to Allyn for the idea to use a darker color around the edges of the states. It will make the map pop and I never would have thought to do that myself.

I filled the states in with color just on my pdf editor to kind of see how it looks. I didn't use red because I think my route will be in red, but I may use a gold or a neon instead, in which case I would have another color to use for the states. Does this help you picture it? The neutral color doesn't look as bad as I thought. I might go that route.

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Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:06 pm
by rcperryls
I personally think I would go with the neutral color for the states you didn't visit or make them all one pale color but not different colors for each one. I'd probably like a very pale beige or ecru since you'd want the focus to be on the route and the states you visited. I am really looking forward to seeing your progress on this project and seeing your journey.

Carole
:dance:

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:06 am
by AlwaysGoofy
rcperryls wrote:I personally think I would go with the neutral color for the states you didn't visit or make them all one pale color but not different colors for each one. I'd probably like a very pale beige or ecru since you'd want the focus to be on the route and the states you visited. I am really looking forward to seeing your progress on this project and seeing your journey.

Carole
:dance:
I was thinking the same thing as I looked at the picture. I would go with one color for all the states you didn't visit. But that's just me. In the end, it's your picture and it should make you smile while you're working on it and when it's done. :D

Re: Advice on Design of New Map Project?

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:04 pm
by Allyn
I definitely like the neutral color. The pastels seem to muddy things up as far as what you're trying to show.