How to Design a Cross Stitch Pattern

Video Transcript

"Hi. I'm Vickie Pavone on behalf of Expert Village. In this series we'll be talking about the basics of cross stitching. In this segment we're going to talk about how to design your own pattern. Once you get far enough along and you want to start making your own pictures, it's good to know how. The basic simplest way is to use grid paper and a picture you want to cross stitch. You take your grid paper and you're just going to trace your picture. Usually you need a light source and we happen to have one right here. You're just going to trace that picture right onto your grid paper. If you don't happen to have a nice light like this, the best way to do it is to put it up on your window pane on a sunny day and just follow the pattern. Just draw it...once you have the basic drawing, you can take your picture out and then using those you're going to put your Xs in. This is where you are going to fill in with whatever colors your choose. Leave the outlines for your back stitch to outline it. You choose your colors, you fill it in, you can see where you would need half stitches or possibly quarter stitches and then you would have your picture. Once again, if you need a picture, anything you can print you can copy. Hold it up to your light. It'll come through then you just follow the pattern onto your grid paper. As you can see you can do any kind of pattern. Circles, straights, anything. Then you just put your X's in to show you what colors and where you want those colors. And that is the simplest way to design a pattern."