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Version 3.0, October 24, 1997
INTRODUCTION
This article is intended to provide general information about cross-stitch design software to those stitchers who wish to learn about designing on a computer. The author’s purpose is not to critique or to advertise any design program, so none will be mentioned by name. Nor does the author wish to imply that she is in any way an expert in the field of any kind of software. She does not benefit in any way from any company.
Some of you will already know some of the information in this article, specifically that about downloading software. I am including it for those stitchers who may not be familiar with downloading.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Most cross-stitch design software works in a similar way. The programs are similar in quite a few ways to paint software. They allow you to design charts using a mouse. You may select the size for your chart, usually by the number of stitches wide and high you want it to be. Then, you select the colors you wish to use from a palette included in the program. You may select the type of stitch (cross, half cross, quarter cross, backstitch, etc.) from a toolbar or menu. Using the mouse, you click on the squares in the graph where you want a specific color. If you wish to erase a stitch, all you have to do is to click the right mouse button. Much of the available software will also allow you to import a scanned image like a photograph to create a chart. This gives you two ways to create a design--to draw it yourself (as I do when I'm designing a sampler) or to import an image (I do this with things like buildings or my dogs). With most software, you are able to print your completed chart in coloredstitches, in solid color, or in black and white symbols, together with a color key.
This is a simplistic explanation, but it is basic to most software. You will generally find that the more a program will do for you, the more expensive it is. That is not to say, however, the more expensive the software, the better it is. There are some good mid-priced programs that work very well.
WHERE CAN SOFTWARE BE FOUND?
There are three basic places to find cross-stitch design software.
1. Online Shareware and Demos. The first and least expensive place to find xs design programs is here on AOL through the Software Center. Programs there are distributed as shareware or as demos, and the only cost for you to examine and to try them is the time you spend downloading the software. An advantage to using shareware is that you are able to try before you buy. A shareware version of a design program is usually limited in what it will do, but there’s a reason for this. If you like the software, you are asked to register it. This involves sending a registration fee (average, around $30-$40) to the author/ company. You’ll find the registration information in the program itself after you download it, usually as a "Read Me" text file. I encourage you to register. As an incentive, the author will usually send you an upgraded version of the program which will be better and do more than the one you downloaded. You may even be entitled to more upgrades as they become available. As an example, I began with a shareware design program. I received two upgrades--versions of the software that each did morethan the one before. Then, when the company came out with a state-of-the-art (and substantially more expensive) design package, they offered it to me at half price for a limited time. I grabbed it and ran!!! One other comment about registration: This is how the people who write shareware stay in business and are able to offer progressively better programs.
I should note that the following is for PC users. For Mac users, the best place to go to find programs for design is the Internet (see below). To find the shareware available on AOL, go to Keyword: Software Search. In this window, click at the top on the All Dates box. In the middle of the window, don't click anything. At the bottom is a box in which you should type cross stitch. After you have done so, click the Search button. In a short time, a list of cross-stitch items will appear. When you double click on any one of them, a description of the file will appear for you to read The description will tell you what the item is, what it does, and how long it will take for you to download.
I recommend that you print the descriptions of all the design software to read at your leisure. They also contain important information you will need to install the programs after you download. After you have chosen one or more to download, sign onto AOL and follow the above directions to get back to the shareware. Double click on the item you wish to download. Below the description is a Download Now button. Just click it, and the software will download to your hard drive. You can do this with any of the items you wish to try. The speed at which the download occurs depends upon the speed of your modem. An estimated download time will appear on the description you printed.
These programs will download to your AOL25, AOL30, or AOL for Win95 download manager (depending upon which version of AOL you use.) Many of them come zipped, which means they have been compacted to download more quickly. The majority of them will unzip automatically, using AOL's unzipping feature when you sign off. To locate the programs after you sign off, you’ll need to go to Program Manager (Windows 3.1) or Windows Explorer (Windows95). Open your AOL program by clicking on it and double click on Download. In that folder, you will find the software. If they aren’t already there as .exe files, you will find them as .zip files. The .zip files have to be decompressed using an unzipping program. Installation instructions will be found on the shareware description you printed.
There are sites on the Internet from which you can get information about design software. As of this writing, I have not had the opportunity to visit all of them, so I cannot comment about what they offer. I will address them in a later article.
2. Advertised Software.
There are design programs much more complex than the ones I just described. I don’t mean that they’re more difficult to use. They are not. They just do more than most shareware does. Now, we’re beginning to talk about a larger investment. Much of this software costs anywhere between $100.00 and about $500.00. What I suggest you do is to decide how you’re planning to use the program you purchase and what you’re willing to pay. I’ll discuss features to look for in the next section.
The best place to find ads for these programs is in stitchery magazines. The most complete listing I have found is in Just Cross Stitch; however, some of the companies do run ads in other cross-stitch magazines. The ads usually highlight some of the features of their software; however, in reading them, I never feel that I am getting enough information to order sight unseen. I would recommend that you call the number listed with any ad to ask for complete information about the program before you purchase it or write to the company to request information. They may even have a demo disk to send you so you can see how the program works.
3. Internet
You can find an excellent listing of available design software (both shareware andretail) in section 7 of the Counted Cross Stitch FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on the Web. Some of the listings contain more information about the programs than do others. To find the FAQ, on the AOL Main Menu, click Internet Connection. In the upper box on the left side of your screen type in this address: http://www.wco.com/~kdyer/xstitch.html. You can also click on the address, which you see in blue. It will take you directly to the site. It is the Cross Stitch FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), which is authored by Kathleen Dyer. You can go to any item printed in blue on the home page just by clicking on it. These are hyperlinks. The Counted Cross Stitch FAQ is one of the items listed. Using the software section of the FAQ will help you find lots of information about design software without having to lose yourself in the Internet. :-)
MAJOR FEATURES TO CONSIDER?
There are features I’d recommend you look for when you consider purchasing any software for design. Obviously, you will want something to meet your needs when you design. You may not require every bell and whistle offered in top-of-the-line programs. You will also want something that works on your computer. There is software available through magazines and via the Internet that will work with DOS and with Mac.
One thing to consider is how large a graph the software will allow you to make. This varies from program to program. In general, the more sophisticated (and expensive) software will permit you to create larger charts. Advertisements do not always tell you maximum chart size, so this may be a question you want to ask a company before purchasing. The largest graph size I have seen is allowed is infinite. Mine allows charts up to 999 x 999 stitches, and I can't imagine doing one that large. :-)
Another major consideration is which floss color palettes are included in the software. The majority offer the DMC palette, and up-to-date software should include all 390 colors. More sophisticated software may also include an Anchor palette, a J.P. Coats palette, or both. State-of-the-art programs add a feature which allows the designer to create custom palettes for other fibers. I have this feature and like it very much, but you may not find itnecessary.
A related feature is how many colors the software will let you use in one chart. Again, this varies widely. From what I’ve read recently, the highest number allowed by any program is more than 200.
Something I consider important is to have the ability to assign symbols I prefer to colors, if I am printing my chart with symbols. In some cases, I have found that two symbols look very much alike and are difficult to distinguish when the chart is printed. When this happens, I change one of the look-alikes to something different. You may also want to know whether you can select a font for your symbols other than the one that came with the program. Some software will allow you to do so, while some does not.
A decision you will want to make is whether you want your software to be able to import images, such as scanned photographs or graphics, and convert them into charts. Different programs do this with varying degrees of ease and quality. In some software, this function is built in; however, I have seen at least one package which requires you to purchase an add-on program to import. Also, some programs allow a greater degree of flexibility in charting from graphics files than do others. I am able to import a photograph and then to specify what size, in stitches, I want the chart to be. The program then automatically scales the image. I can specify a maximum number of colors to be used in the chart. Then, I click a button, and less than a minute later, I have a finished chart. As of this revision, I am finding software that is Twain compliant, meaning one can scan a graphic directly into the cross stitch design program. No other software is needed, except the software that came with your scanner.
You will also want to know what kinds of stitches the program will allow. This may vary, and as with everything else, the more you pay, the more you get. Stitches supported may be cross, half cross in both directions, quarter cross in 4 directions, three-quarter stitch, backstitch, and French knots. The first shareware I used allowed backstitch; however, it could be only horizontal, vertical, or diagonal across one square. What I use now gives me the ability to draw a backstitch from anywhere to anywhere I choose. If you want to do charts containing things like hardanger embroidery, you may have to purchase a program with an added module for hardanger. I get around this by importing a chart to my paint program and drawing the hardanger stitches there.
The sixth major feature to consider is what thread counts the software will allow. As an example, my first shareware permitted me to use 11, 14, and 18 stitches to the inch. This can be limiting. With my current software, I can specify any thread count I wish. It allows me great flexibility when I am designing. If I am going to stitch a piece on 28-ct. fabric over one thread, for example, I will not be able to print a legible chart at that size. I can, however, print one to see exactly what size the finished piece will be. Then, I can go back, change the thread count to something easy to read (10, 12, or 14 stitches per inch for me), and print a usable chart.
I also recommend that you know in what formats a chart will print. Depending upon the program, you can print in colored stitches, in solid color, in solid color with a black symbol, or in black symbols. I usually print my working charts in symbols only at about 12 stitches per inch.
OTHER FEATURES TO CONSIDER?
Much of the software on the market today has other features which save time. They may or may not be things you would like to have. Most programs will allow you to rotate, to copy and paste, and to mirror-image patterns or sections of them. These features can save a great deal of time if you are designing something which repeats, like a border. They will also allow you to move either a section of a chart or the whole chart into another pattern you are creating. With them, you can also move areas of a chart to different places in the same chart.
One of the more recently added features in some design software is a variety of ground fabric colors from which to choose. This may or may not be something you find necessary. I always print my completed chart with a white background, but it is interesting to change the color of the fabric to get some idea what the finished piece will look like. Some software goes one step farther and will allow you to create custom colors for your fabric.
Most programs now allow you to zoom in and out on your chart. This is especially useful with larger, more complex charts. While you may not be able to see the entire design area while you are charting, you may zoom out to see the entire project or most of it. Zooming in will let you examine a particular area of the chart up close.
A feature available on some programs will permit the user to open more than one window at a time. I found this useful during creation of my one of my designs. In one window, I had the regular view of the chart. Because it was a big one, I couldn’t see the whole thing at once. I opened a second window containing the same chart and zoomed out. Every time I added something to the regular chart, it also appeared in the smaller, zoomed-out version. This was an easy way to see how my color placements would look.
The older shareware programs provided grids with a heavy black line every 10 squares. Today, there are more grid options available to you, depending upon the software you choose. The most advanced software allows you to do a variety of things. Heavy grid lines can be placed however often you want them, or they can be omitted altogether. Some programs will even allow you to specify the thickness of grid lines and to print them in color. Some will permit solid, dotted, or dashed grid lines. And some will allow you to view a grid in one style onscreen and to print in another style. You may also completely delete the grid to see more realistically how a pattern will look when stitched.
A time-saving feature is flood-fill. It will allow you to outline an area which will all be the same color. In most cases, rather than to click on each square inside the area to add the same color, you may select flood-fill, move your cursor into the area, and click once. The entire area will fill with color. You’ll be familiar with this feature if you use a draw program.
Some software will allow you to select how thick you want a stitch to appear on the chart. I would ordinarily use this feature if I were printing a chart with a small thread-count and wanted to see the stitches in color.
You may want software that will allow you to change the font you use for symbols. This feature lets you use any font installed on your computer as symbols.
A feature in some state-of-the-art programs will allow you to print a floss usage chart in addition to a color key. In a dialogue box, you will indicate how many strands you are going to use, how many stitches a specific length of floss will make, the total length of the skein of floss, and how many strands are included in the skein. The software automatically calculates how many yards of floss you will need for each color. Some floss usage charts also will tell you how many stitches of each kind (cross, quarter, etc.) there are in each color.
I have found that the more sophisticated the program, the better the color key it prints. Mine gives me both the symbol and the color, as well as the color number and name. Software may or may not give you the option to print your color key in floss-number order or by color family.
Finally, some of the available programs will allow you to include headers, footers, and page numbers on your charts. For example, you may wish to include the title of the pattern at the top and your name, copyright, date, etc., at the bottom.
I’m sure I’ve missed something here, but if I have, I’ll catch it in a future revision. To remain competitive, programmers who design the software will continue to add features and to improve what is already available.
DRAWBACKS?
Of course there are. It is impossible to print a chart of any size in legible form on one sheet of paper. I have come to the conclusion that this is something we just have to accept and deal with. I keep handy a bottle of rubber cement and a pair of scissors if I decide I want to glue all the pages together after I print the chart.
Another problem I have is with the quality of the charts I have made from scanned photographs. Sophisticated design software can make a very detailed chart from a photo; however, I have found the colors not to be true to what I see in the object I photographed. For example, I did a chart of my house, which has a red brick chimney. In the chart, the color assigned by the program is brown instead of rust. In my opinion, the color differences may result from two things. One is the quality of the original photo. If the colors are not clear or are hazy, they will be translated that way. I have this trouble even though I have another program which will view and let me alter color saturation, etc. The other reason may be that computer imaging is still being perfected. Of course, we can alter the colors in the graphs we make from photos if we feel they aren’t what they
should be. All in all, I would say that image reading is probably sometimes too good. ;-) But the quality of the chart depends upon the quality of the photograph you have scanned. I recently completed the first photo-to-chart project I've ever done, and I had to do quite a bit of cleaning up of background, etc., to get it the way she wanted it.
A drawback I will mention occurs when I print a chart containing similar colors. If I print the chart in color and if the colors are similar (e.g., several close shades of blue from the same color family), it is difficult to distinguish them on the printed chart. After all, we now have available 390 DMC colors and more of Anchor. I am using a computer with 24-bit color, and I’m having much more success than I did with my old computer. I look for this to improve as color cards for computers improve.
I have also discovered that manuals and help files with some of the design software are not adequate. They don't necessarily give the user all the information required to use the program.
The final drawback I find is related to printing a chart with symbols instead of in color. I may be missing something, but fonts are limited in the number of symbols they will allow. I may be able to use 150 colors in a chart, but I don’t have enough symbols to assign one to each color. Thiswon’t be a problem for anyone who doesn’t use a large number of colors in a pattern, but it does confine those of us who use many. I believe my problem has been a matter of having a manual that doesn't give enough information.
SO, WHAT TO DO?
If you want to try designing or if you already design, the available software is a real timesaver. It can save you a great deal of frustration, as well. It takes a great deal of time for me to develop a design, and I estimate that working on the computer cuts the time I spend by at least 50%. I don’t have to sit down with pencils, colored pens, graph paper, and white-out to draw everything. If I make a mistake or want to change something, I can alter it with the click of a button.
Also, please keep in mind that I literally cannot draw even a stick figure. :D I have photographed many things I’d like to stitch, thinking that maybe someday I’d be able to figure out how to graph them. Although I have to do work to the images I import, at least I have the buildings, flowers, birds, or whatever, already in the graph. I just alter the colors.
Finally, I like the professional look of the charts I print. My designing has been primarily for myself or for stitching I do for others. My printed charts are much easier to read than were the ones I did by hand. I’ve never published, but if I ever do, I have the capability to produce a quality chart.
Questions, comments, or information for me to add? Please feel free to email me to let me know.
Copyright 1997 Jill Martz
Produced with Paint Shop Pro, Pattern Maker Pro, and AOLPress
