Stitchboard Support message #2
Re: Need some adivce on pixels
May 28, 2023 at 3:07:07 AM  (in response to radolini63 message #1)
 
Hi, Veronica.

Sorry about the delay in answering you.  There are so many variables, let me ask you a question.

Are you trying to stitch the entire photo or just the section you show in the hoop?

I just used the image you posted above and created a 500-stitch across pattern since the photo is 500 pixels across.  It created a 60-page pattern, 500 stitches across but this winds up to be 187,500 stitches.  The detail is great but I'm guessing you don't want one that large.

Keep in mind that the larger the photo and the smaller the stitches across, the more pixelated the pattern will be.  So if you start with a photo that's 1000 pixels across (or in my case even 500 across) and you want the final pattern to be 100 or even 200 stitches across, you will lose detail and it will be more pixelated.

Also, the more colors you use, the less pixelation but it's a lot more work to stitch.

In answer to your question about the premium options, it depends on the size of your photo and number of stitches across that you want to stitch.  There's nothing magical about subscribing to premium options that will make patterns look better.  In your case, the only two options that might help would be either 300 or 500 stitches across but this depends again on how many stitches across you want in your pattern.

Even with the 150 stitch limit in the free version, you could split your photo into sections and create several patterns of parts of the image.  Keep in mind, though, that doing this might create patterns with slight color shifts that might cause the sections to not match properly.

So let me know a bit more about the size of your image and number of stitches across you want and I'll try to give more information.

Thanks for using the program!

Terry

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Stitchboard Support message #4
Re: Need some adivce on pixels
May 29, 2023 at 12:51:27 AM  (in response to radolini63 message #3)
 
Veronica,

As I always tell people, try to use a photo with the same number of pixels across as you want stitches across.  By doing this, the program will not make any changes by dropping pixels so basically, "what you see is what you get" — meaning your pattern should come out looking the same as your photo.

I also had another thought that sometimes improves the quality of your pattern and "averages" out the pixels a bit and maybe would help with your pixelation.  You may want to try checking the "Antialias on" box in section 8.  This smooths out some areas.  It's hard to explain but you may just want to try it to see if your pattern looks better.

Let me know if I can help further!

Terry

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Stitchboard Support message #6
Need some adivce on pixels
May 29, 2023 at 7:40:51 PM  (in response to radolini63 message #5)
 
Veronica,

I keep thinking of suggestions:

I'm not sure if I ever discussed image size, resolution, and finished stitched item but it's all basically mathematics.

Let's say you want a finished stitched item to be 8 inches wide using 18-count aida.

You would take 8x18 and the result would be 144 stitches across.

So the best image to give the program would be 144 pixels across.

Now let's say your image is 2,000 pixels across.  Using a photo editor program you could resize it to 144 pixels across.

Depending on the contents of your image, this reduction could easily become unrecognizable since you're basically dumping 83% of the pixels.

If the contents were less detailed (maybe something scenic), it very well could look fine.

 

So I would suggest doing things in reverse.

1. Decide on the final size of your stitched item

2. Decide on your aida stitch count

3. Multiply the number of inches in #1 by the count in #2

4. The result gives the number of pixels across your image should be

5. Using a photo editor program, reduce your image to the count from #4

6. Use this reduced image to create your pattern

 

If the resulting image in step #5 looks good, your pattern and stitched item should come out good.

If the resulting image in step #5 looks bad (i.e. You've lost too much detail), either increase the width in #1 and begin again, increase the aida count and begin again, or change the original image, or any combination of these, and begin again.

Even though the PatternWizard will do the photo reduction in place of a photo editor, I usually suggest you do it with en editor so you know right away how it will look.  It's a big time saver that helps choose the right image or forces you to start cropping and better selecting the contents.

Just some ideas...

Terry

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