Pattern Gradings

When you browse through the gallery you may notice that all of our patterns are graded as either beginner, intermediate or advanced. Unless otherwise stated, none of the patterns contains any part-stitches, they are all full cross-stitches.
The gradings are a guide to the level of work involved in each pattern and are related to the size and hence the number of stitches in the finished image or to the colour of cloth on which it is stitched (black is notoriously difficult to stitch - put a white cloth on your lap and work in good light). Tapestry patterns are considered to be slightly easier than cross-stitch as there are half as many stitches!
There is no reason why a novice cross-stitcher cannot attempt any of our patterns.

Computer Charts

I am sure that in the past you have seen some dreadful computer designed charts. You know the ones I mean, hundreds of colours and odd stitches all over the pattern that really don't add to the design and cause tremendous frustration when stitching. Often the colour key uses typewriter characters, making it very difficult to decide between a capital letter and a lower case one.
Our designs are scanned from original artwork and then put through our software import facility. For some computer charts, this is what you get, one pass through the software and nothing further.
With a Photothreads chart it doesn't end there! The initial import is often repeated many times, using different settings to get the best result possible. This first pass might use 40 or more colours and also determines the best size for a particular pattern.
Once I am happy with the initial result I then modify the colour palette, as often many of the colours can be merged without affecting the end result. It is my aim to use no more than 40 colours for any of our patterns and so far it has not been necessary to increase this number.
I also check for odd stitches and clean up any halos around the work that can appear as a result of scanning. Sometimes I will have to re-work large areas of the design to ensure that it matches the original as closely as possible.
Lastly, I do a colour check, making sure that the threads chosen match against the original artwork. This can sometimes be tricky due to the limited number of colours available in the thread range and explains why only some of our patterns can be produced for tapestry (needlepoint).
The final step is to seek the approval of the artist - sometimes the hardest part of the whole process!
So as you can see, although these designs are produced using a computer, it is not simply a case of pushing a button and out comes a chart. They are the result of hours of painstaking work and the experience that comes with many years of practice.

I hope you enjoy the result.

this work is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the owners.
© 2004 lyn randall photothreads