Stitchboard Admin message #2
Re: Cross Stitch Photo
August 12, 2016 at 4:08:12 AM  (in response to Debonita message #1)
 
Deb,

Welcome!

There are actually two parts to your question.

First, what you need to do is measure your eyeglass case (my guess is you'll be sewing or at least gluing this over an actual case, not using the fabric as an actual case).  So you should bear in mind that your stitching area may be different from your actual case dimensions.

Your measurements should give you an approximate idea of the size of the stitching area.  The way to calculate that out is to take the number of inches and multiply that by the gauge of your fabric.  If you're using 14 count Aida, you'd multiply the stitching area (and not the full dimensions of the fabric) by 14.  If you're using 18 count Aida, you'd instead multiply by 18, 22 count congress cloth would have you multiplying by 22.

Also keep in mind that though this is in no way part of the stitching area, you must cut your fabric larger to ensure you'll have enough room to sew or glue everything.  You may even want to calculate your stitching area a tiny bit smaller, maybe by a couple of stitches, if you think you may run over the stitching area, as you probably don't want to sew over part of your stitching!

Second, for the freePatternWizard, you can only set the number of stitches across.  We have a feature that's in development right now so you'll ultimately be able to set both width and length, but our original concern was that people would skew their patterns by attempting to fit them into both dimensions, so we had decided to let the system handle the length.  There are ways around it, though.  What you can do is to use a graphics program to add borders, depending on which direction needs more stitches.  It's an inelegant solution for now, but it's the best one I can offer until our image manipulation feature is available.

If you're using Windows, I can give you links to two very powerful - free! - graphics programs.  I wouldn't be able to tell you how to use either one, though, as I use an ancient version Paint Shop Pro from, gulp, 1998! 

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