How to Create Your Own Unique Stained Glass Patterns

Use a photo to create your own unique stained glass pattern.

Buying stained glass patterns can be expensive and the pattern may not be exactly what you envisioned. Creating your own unique stained glass pattern provides a way to have the pattern you really want. To use this technique you need to be familiar with cutting stained glass and stained glass construction techniques. Use these steps, and your creativity, to create the pattern you want for your stained glass project.

Things You'll Need

• Photographs or images
• Scanner
• Photo editing software
• Printer
• Paper
• Pencil
• Tape

Instructions

Images

1. Look for photographs that have contrasting colors so you can see the edges. The dog in this article is a good example. The edge of the head, eyes, ears and body can be seen clearly.

2. Find images that can be broken down into individual pieces of stained glass, thus forming the stained glass pattern. Browse the Internet for "free xxx images,"replacing the "xxx" with the name of the image you are looking for.

3. Find free clipart on the Internet. Browse "free xxx clipart" replacing the "xxx" with the name of the image you are trying to locate. Clip art is easy to use since the edges of the shapes are distinct.

Upload and Save Images

1. Create a new folder for your images. Decide where you want to save the images; in a certain program, in your pictures, or on your desktop. Right click in that directory and go to "new" and then click on "folder." Name the folder with the name of your project.

2. Save images found on the Internet. Right click on the image and select "Save Image As...," navigate and open the new folder created for this stained glass pattern, click on the "Save as Type" drop-down box and choose "JPEG Image," type in the "File name," and click on "Save."

3. Use a scanner to get the photograph loaded onto your computer. Scan the photograph and save the uploaded image into a folder you have created for your stained glass pattern.

Drawing the Images

1. Print the image. Double click on the image to open it into a photo editing program. Make the image fill up an 8-by-11 inch sheet of paper. Choose the printer properties, select the "color" tab and choose either "black cartridge only" or "gray scale." This will help the edges of the image show up better.

2. Tape the printed image onto a window with light coming through it. Tape a blank sheet of copy paper over the image. Begin tracing the edges of the shapes with a pencil. As you are tracing the lines remember that you are designing each piece to be cut out of stained glass. You may need to add additional lines to make the piece feasible to cut or select the most obvious lines first to ensure you can cut the size and shape of each piece.

3. Take the traced image off the window and look at it as individual stained glass pieces. Creativity can be used by adding lines to make new shapes, such as more spots in the dog photo shown in this article.

Make the Pattern

1. Scan the pencil drawing into your folder. Use your photo editing software to make it the size you want it to be in your stained glass pattern. Do this for all the images you want to include in your stained glass pattern.

2. Print out the images. With a scissors cut around the outside of each image and place them onto a piece of paper larger than the size of your finished project. Connect the images together with lines making sure that each connecting line makes a piece that can be cut into a stained glass pattern piece.

3. Draw an outline box depicting the exact size of your finished stained glass project. Draw lines to connect the images to the box lines. Be creative so not all connecting lines are straight.

4. Number each piece of the stained glass pattern. Determine the basic color of each piece and use a color code, such as "blk" for black, "blu" for blue, "w" for white.

5. Make slash marks, such as the quote symbol, for directional lines to show which way the grain will go for each piece. This will be a critical step when using stained glass with streaks or patterns to ensure all of the cut pieces follow the correct line direction. According to Freepatternsforstainedglass.com, there are parts in a stained glass pattern, such as a flower, that will not look correct with some of the lines going across and others going up and down.

Tips & Warnings

• Make two copies of the finished stained glass pattern. One will be taped onto your working surface to build the stained glass project and the other copy will be used to cut into individual pieces to trace onto your stained glass.

References

• Free Patterns for Stained Glass; Pattern Pieces

Resources

• Stained Glass Patterns.org; Basic Principles of Stained Glass Design Part I
• Chantal Stained Glass; Stained Glass Design Tutorial