I love getting feedback from the readers of this blog and the viewers of my YouTube videos, and this video is a result of some of that feedback. In an earlier video about the MacStitch cross stitch pattern software, I’d gone through the basic functions of the program, including the export functions. One viewer wanted some more information on the export functions, so I decided to do a new video specifically about how I use the export settings. There are lots of ways to adjust settings and make the finished pattern exactly what you want, and you can export it as a pdf and a zip file as well.
Some of the settings include changing how the pattern symbols are printed in the pattern, whether there is going to be a cover page or a preview image, and how the floss key is shown in the pattern. In the video you can see that I’ve made a custom cover page using a Photoshop-type online program called Pixlr. If you’ve never used any type of program like that, it’s well worth spending some time messing around with it and seeing what it can do. I’m positive there are lots of online demos on what you can do with it, it’s set up almost identically to Photoshop. I use it often to resize and edit photos, create website banners, etc. For the cover image I made I used the “1 pixel png” export setting in the import/export menu to save a copy of the preview image to my desktop, then imported that into a new image I made in Pixlr. I added my logo and some text boxes for information about the pattern itself, and added a black border by using the select tool (then inversing the selection) and filling that selection in with black. It didn’t take me long at all to make the cover image, but if you’re new to this kind of program it will likely take some time to get used to what you can do with it.
I hope you enjoy the video, and if you have any feedback or suggestions, please let me know below!
2 Responses
lana
Thanks for this tutorial. I already bought this program, but have some question. It would be great to know how to change stitch size. Thank you!
Dana
Hi Lana, thanks for your question! There are actually a few ways you can change the stitch size. The first is when you’re originally importing your image, you can select which thread count you want to stitch on. If you’ve already got a pattern underway, you can either change the thread count by clicking on the lower right of the border of the MacStitch window – you’ll see the size in stitches shown there. If you click on that number, a small editing window will open up and you can change several options, including the canvas size, cloth colour, and thread count. If you change the thread count, the whole pattern will be resized (so a 10″x10″ pattern at 14 count will now be 5″x5″ at 28 count, you can see the new size in the preview window on the right in the editing window). You will want to choose “yes” for the “Do you want your design resized to fit” pop-up window that will open when you make changes using that editing window. You can also change the thread count in the upper toolbar at the top of the screen – go to View, Stitch Size, then choose what you want the count to become. Changing the thread count in an existing pattern will just change the finished size, not create more detail (or less) in a pattern, as the number of stitches will still be the same. If you want to get more detail into an existing pattern by changing the thread count, you could reimport your image again at a higher thread count. Or, if you wanted to create more (or less) detail in an existing pattern without reimporting the image, what you’d change is the number of stitches in the pattern in both directions (as well as the thread count). So for example, if you have an existing pattern that’s 140 stitches by 140 stitches on 14 count (10″ square), you could create more detail by changing the number of stitches to say 200 stitches by 200 stitches on 20 count. You’d change those numbers in the same editing window as described above. The finished pattern would still be 10″ square, but you’d get a lot more detail in the pattern. You might want to experiment though – you may find you get a better result by just reimporting the image at a higher thread count than adapting an existing pattern (as it may not put the extra stitches in the right place, the details may be a little different than what you want). You can also make an existing pattern smaller and less detailed by using the same method – change the number of stitches vertically and horizontally (as well as the thread count if you wish), and that will shrink your pattern and give it less detail.
Have fun with the software, and happy experimenting! 🙂