A Stitch In Time
PI Version: Written in 8, but should work in lower versions.
Experience Level:
Intermediate
Tools Used:
Lasso Selection tool, Texture Fill tool, Object Eraser, Web Button Designer, Texture Filter Effect
You can download a .zip file containing the .bmp stitch files and a .ufo of the image used in this example by clicking HERE. The iris is from a digital image posted by Bren on the Pixelitas' site.
This tutorial was inspired by a challenge posted by Rosie Hardman-Ixer on the PIRC Bulletin Board "Outside The Box" forum. The challenge was to create a cross stitch technique using PhotoImpact which met stated criteria, and then write a tutorial for the technique. The criteria were as follows:
  1. The cross stitch effect should be easily achieved with a few clicks of the mouse.
  2. Only the tools and effects in PhotoImpact could be used; no third party filters
  3. The stitch size had to be easily varied within the method, not simply by resizing the finished project.
  4. The stitched image had to be an object which could be moved and/or applied over any chosen background.
Rosie ultimately met all the criteria far better than I*, but there was sufficient difference in the end results and encouragement from our friends on the PIRC board for me to finish this tutorial and post it. I must say that this tutorial owes far more to Rosie than just issuing the challenge. Her previous examples in thinking "Outside The Box" in the use of the "Web Button Designer" feature in PhotoImpact enabled me to introduce the texture and depth I felt this technique needed without using third party filters.

*Click HERE to go to Rosie's tut. She's included some suggestions for combining our two methods to achieve exactly the result you're looking for.

  1. Extract (unzip) the files included in the xstitch.zip file into a folder on your hard drive where you can easily locate them. You should have iris.ufo, rtstitch.bmp and lftstitch.bmp.
  2. Open the iris.ufo or an image file of your choice. The .ufo file used in this example is 400x400 pixels, with a resolution of 300ppi. If using your own image, use the Lasso Selection tool to select the portion of your image you'll be using for your project, then click Selection>Convert to Object and drag the new object to another canvas. Close your original image.
  3. The iris.ufo file already contains a duplicate object. If you've made your own object for this project, press SHIFT+D to duplicate the object. You should now have one canvas with two object layers showing in your Layer Manager.
  1. Select the top object in your Layer Manager, and click on the Fill tool, Texture Fill.
  2. Change the Merge mode of the tool to "If Lighter" and the Resize option to "Keep aspect ratio".
  3. Click on the More button, and browse to the folder to which you unzipped the xstitch.zip files. Select lftstitch.bmp and click OK.
  1. With the top object layer selected, click anywhere on the object and drag out a box the width of your desired stitches while holding down the left mouse button. I used 8 pixels in this example. You can monitor the size of the stitch by watching the W reading on the status bar at the bottom of your PI window. The H reading is not important, since you've chosen to keep the aspect ratio of the fill texture, which is square. When the box is the desired size, release the left mouse button. This creates the first half of the stitch, as shown on the right below.

 
  1. Click on the lower object layer in the Layer Manager to select it. Immediately click on the "More" button, and select the rtstitch.bmp. Click "OK". This should apply the second half of the stitch to the selected object layer.
  2. Select the upper layer in the Layer Manager, then click on the Object Magic Eraser tool. Set the Similarity to "10". Press the "+" once or twice to zoom in, then click anywhere on the object where it is white.
  3. Select the other object in the Layer Manager and do the same.

 
  1. Click on "-" to zoom back out to normal view of your image.
  2. Select the top object in your Layer Manager.
  3. Click on Web>Button Designer>Any Shape.... Use the following settings:
    Basic Tab
    Light Angle "0", Light Elevation "60"
    Bevel Tab
    Bevel size "8", Bevel smoothness "0", Bevel type--second from left in the top row (quarter round)
    Light Tab
    Light value "61", Specular "63"
  4. Click "OK". Select the lower object in your Layer Manager, and apply the Button Designer effect without changing any settings.
  5. Click on Format>Contrast & Brightness, then click twice on the upper right hand button. Click on "OK".
  6. Select both object layers in your Layer Manager and "Merge as single object".

At this point, you've completed the stitch object portion of the project, and can move it to any other project, over any background that you choose. To increase the realism of the piece, I recommend the following additional steps. Actual cross stitch projects are made up of whole crosses and diagonal "half stitches". If you look at the border of your project, you may notice a "foggy" border and some partial stitches that aren't part of a real cross stitch project. Let's remove them!
  1. Zoom in on your project again, and click on the Object Paint Eraser tool, Shape = square, Soft Edge "0". Set the size to the same as your stitches. Remove all the partial X's along the outline of your piece that don't look realistic. You can change to the right or left diagonal brush shape, if half stitches are needed to make the design look right.
  2. If you feel that some of the partial stitches are necessary to the design of your project, click on the Standard Selection tool, Shape = square . Check the "Fixed Size" box and enter the size of your stitches in the first box. Click on the "+" and on "Select on Objects". Left click on a stitch the color of the one you need to replace, and center the selection over this stitch. Release the mouse button, and right click, then choose "Convert to Object". Click on the Pick Tool and move the stitch to the desired area in your design using the mouse or arrow keys. Merge this stitch with the cross stitch image by right clicking and choosing "Select All Objects", then right click and choose "Merge As Single Object". You can select a block of stitches, if needed, by clicking on neighboring stitches before using the "Convert To Object" command.
  3. Any easy linen type background is obtained by selecting your Background layer in the Layer Manager, and using Effect>Material Effect>Texture Filter. Select "Embossed" texture (middle of the top row) and click on the drop-down arrow next to the small greyscale swatch of the texture. Select "Add...", and browse to your PI "Materials" folder. Select fabric2.jpg, then click "OK". Use the following settings:
    Scaling
    100 (You may need to adjust this, depending on the stitch size you used.)
    Level
    10
    Transparency
    20
  4. Click on "OK", then "Apply Current Frame Effect to Image".
  5. Use the Pick Tool and the arrow keys to position the cross stitched object so that the stitches correspond with the thread pattern of the background.
 

Modified 1/24/04 by R. Hickman
Contents Copyright 2003-2004 by R. Hickman