FAQs

FAQs

How long have you been in business?

We commenced the service at the beginning of 1994 but demand only really took off about 18 months later as the cross stitches from the first patterns that we produced were completed and created demand from those who saw them. Most of our business comes from repeats and word of mouth referral.

Do you supply complete Kits?

Basically, no. Most of our customers are experienced "stitchers" with a good existing stock of cottons purchased as required from the local craft shop. For new "stitchers", we believe that the advice from your local shop and their wide selection of embroidery fabrics and canvasses is important. However, in response to frequent requests, we do now (reluctantly) offer the service of providing short lengths of cottons (individually named and wound on cardboard bobbins), if requested at the time of pattern order, for all colours requiring less than one tenth of a skein, and at a price of 60 cents per colour. Often there are 20 to 40 colours in this category that really improve detail such as skin toning or gradual shading of the sky, clouds, or foliage but new users without adequate stocks could not afford the extra outlay for these colours otherwise. Using more colours allows the inclusion of critical colours such as the "clown's nose" or eye colours, when these colours would otherwise be swamped by more prevalent but less critical ones. The more colours used, the more photo like will be the result. We specialise in photorealism rather than a "paint by numbers" project.

Can you print the colour pattern directly on to a canvas?

No, whilst at first sight this may appear easiest to work from in practice it is far less satisfactory than having the printed pattern on paper with a key matching symbols to each DMC colour. Firstly, with the very wide range of colours desirable to get the gradual tonal change of a photo it would be very difficult to distinguish colours even where the colour is uniform across the square. This is particularly true for the higher quality projects using fine gauge fabrics. Secondly, with fabric variations, it is impossible to print exactly on each square and most changes of colours will occur in the middle of a square making it difficult to choose which colour to use even when they can be properly identified. The computer process used decides the average colour across the square that is likely to be different to the best match of any single portion of the square. This is how the eye sees the picture from a distance and is required for photorealism.

What are the size and colour limits that can be produced?

We can produce patterns up to 1000 squares in any direction, far larger than the largest customer requirement to date – (approaching 700 squares). We select from the full range of DMC colours and have for several customers, created patterns with 150 different colour symbols. Very few colour photos will meet customer expectations of detail and photorealism with less than about 100 squares in at least one dimension and less than 40 colours unless "black and white" or Sepia tones are requested. or the desired pattern is a simple family crest or similar with few discrete colours. Typically, far more squares and colours are desired.

How clear are the patterns to follow? Do you supply details of the DMC cotton usage?

Print quality of the patterns is on a par or better in all cases than the patterns commercially available in kits or in glossy magazines. Typically we print patterns with around 8 to 12 squares per inch, but enlarged patterns can be provided at the expense of a larger number of pattern sheets. A colour to symbol key, and a colour sample of each DMC cotton is provided, along with an estimate of the number of skeins of each colour required. Unless otherwise requested the usage is based on 14 squares to the inch and two strands. Usage is approximate even when the gauge is specified as it depends on the spread of the colour throughout the pattern and user stitching preferences.

How can I feel confident of the final result before spending "months" on my masterpiece?

We strongly prefer to provide a colour print of the final result, maybe with several samples of size (number of squares) and number of colours, before the customer finally specifies these. Although the best printing process that can economically produce one off prints is not 100% accurate in colour rendition, the range of colours and more particularly, the detail, give a good indication and the final result, but with better colours in the completed result. To ensure that customer's expectations are met and because almost every customer requesting samples proceeds to obtain a full pattern, we provide this service at a subsidised rate of $5 per sample print plus $5 scanning fee, refundable on pattern costs.

Can you change colours from those in a photo?

On a very limited scale only. It is relatively easy to remove blemishes, remove a cigarette being smoked, move a cloud, or even increase the blue in a sky. It is very difficult however to change the colour of an object including shading and particularly different lighting and shading across a surface to match up to a user's sample. We can remove objects only where the background is similar to that from elsewhere that we can "paste" to the area.

Do you sell software to undertake this process on a Personal Computer?

No. We have tried such "hobby" PC software as often advertised in overseas needlework magazines, but apart from the very expensive ones they had limited facilities and gave very mixed results. We are confident that our process gives far superior results. To calibrate our scanners to the cotton colours, we stitched a 10 by 10 sample of all 392 DMC colours and scanned that from several different angles to ensure that the scanner was seeing what the human eye sees in a completed work. The same calibrated scanner is used to scan your photos. Our colours are selected from those DMC colours plus hundreds of blended ones.

Will my photo or drawing be suitable for a Cross Stitch?

To get good photorealism from a colour photo always means a more complex pattern in terms of number of squares and colours than the simple pre-printed canvasses available in the shops. With more colours and detail the results are correspondingly much more "photo-like". Whilst we can create a satisfactory cross stitch from almost any photo, experience has shown that often excessively large numbers of squares and different colours are required for some subjects. The larger projects (more squares in the pattern) and with more colours invariably create the best results. The best way of considering the need for a larger number of colours is comparing a "paint by numbers" picture with an original oil painting. Similarly, as an example of the need for adequate squares, consider that if a person's face is one tenth of the width of the picture to be converted to a pattern 80 squares wide, then the face will only be 8 squares across - and impossible to provide in adequate detail. 8 squares across for an eye on the other hand gives a good impression of an eye.

In considering the types of photo that produces the best results, past demand from our customers gives a good indication of the most promising type of projects.

a) Around 60% of patterns have been from wedding photos or similar portraits - normally a head and shoulder portrait of the bride, or bride and groom. The orders are often from the bride’s mother or grandmother but also come from people creating a cross stitch from the parents weddings as a silver or golden wedding anniversary present. Head and shoulder portraits, particularly of only one or two people turn out extremely well and full length patterns can also be good but larger patterns are needed. A single person head and shoulders portrait minimum size is generally about 140 squares wide and for "two people" portraits at least 150 to 200 squares wide are likely to be desired. For colour prints with no background typically 50 or more colours are chosen.. It is noted that cross stitches in black and white and 8 intermediate "grey" shades (from colour or black and white photos) are often very effective wedding pictures.

b) The next most popular and comprising over 10% is of houses with associated gardens, typically the family home at the time it is sold or for a wedding anniversary present. We have found that in general houses (and landscapes) are the least successful because of the amount of detail of window sills guttering, corrugated iron or tiles etc. that the user expects to see, and the very wide colour tone ranges, in the associated garden and sky as well as the house and shadows. They are very successful though on large patterns over 250 squares wide with typically 70 plus colours. Also black and white "pen and ink" sketches of houses are often very effective and less time consuming to stitch when large patterns are desired.

d) Pets or other animals comprise around 5 to 10% and have included horses, dogs, cats penguins, tigers, bears, giraffes, budgies etc. We have had some ecstatic pet owners. Provided that the subject size is sufficiently large relative to the desired background then these are usually very successful. A horse, side on, normally takes over 240 squares across to ensure adequate detail in the relatively small head and legs.

It is important that we have the best original possible to work from. Colour photo copies and particularly non glossy magazine pictures are rarely satisfactory, but good quality glossy book or magazine photos are fine.

Can you make black and white or sepia patterns from photos?

Yes and black and white or sepia pattern from either colour, black and white or sepia originals often create a striking result. There are only about 6 pure greys plus black and white DMC colours, with blending this allows about 10 or 12 colours to choose from. There are more sepia colours and with blending often 20 or so colours could be used giving more gradual tonal changes and thus closer photorealism than using greys.

Why do you specify size in squares and not actual inches or cm?

The number of squares wide and tall is the only important measure in determining the detail in the final result. The physical size of the final result depends on the number of squares per inch (fabric is generally not specified in squares to the cm) that it is stitched on. The coarsest fabric usually selected is 14 squares to the inch but some customers have stitched at up to 32 or more to the inch with a single thread (no blended colours). A cross stitch with 280 squares across would be 20 inches (50 cm) wide using 14 count fabric but would be 10 inches (25cm) wide using 28 count. It is also important not to get confused between the size of the pattern (now printed on twice A4 sized paper about 420 by 297 mm paper) and the final size of the stitched project. For clarity, the printed pattern always is much larger than the final cross stitch.

Is there something we haven't covered here? If so, email us for further information.

Create a Cross Stitch from a Photo

Embroidery Art Specialists,

PO Box 10-012, Wellington, New Zealand

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03 Mar 2001