Your picture made into a tapestry!

Step 1 - Preparation

It all began when Alan Rowntree was searching for cross-stitch patterns which had subjects of interest to men. The choice of subjects available was very limited, so he set about finding a solution.

After a while he found that suitable images could be found

On the web
Among family photographs
On Picture Post Cards
In magazines
On Jigsaw boxes

His search also found that there was an ever-increasing number of men who have the skill and interest to capture favourite images of cars, motorbikes, planes, ships, family, pets, themes ('Fools & Horses', 'Dr Who', 'F1', 'Moto GP', 'Premier League') on a cross-stitch picture.

Drawing on many years of experience in the design of computer programs and websites, he has produced this website to show what he discovered for the encouragement of others.

Whether you do cross-stich yourself, or you know of someone who does, we hope this website will be useful to you.

Step 2 - Choose your image

Choose a favourite image you like. The pattern can be sized to your exact requirements to fit your chosen frame. Points to consider:

Colours are distinctive
Picture Quality is clean
Avoid too much detail

(remember that there are only 18 pixels per inch in an 18pt cross-stitch pattern.)

Step 3 - Decide on size

Points to consider:

The size you want the final tapestry to be
The 'stitches-per-inch' you want to work to (14pt, 16pt or 18pt)
How many colours you want to use (25, 50 or 75)

Step 4 - Produce pattern

Scan (or download) your image
The detailed pattern from which you will work
A coloured printout draft of the final result
A list of all the colours used indicating the pattern symbol and the DMC colour code and the number of skeins of each.

Step 5 - Get the materials

You will then need the following..

A set of silk skeins to complete your cross-stitch
The appropriate fabric (14pt, 16pt or 18pt)
A round frame to work on (7in, 9in 12in or 15in)
A set of tapestry needles
A set of needle threaders
A foam base-board to mount your pattern
A box of 50 varied coloured-headed pins for picking out the colours on your pattern board

Step 6 - Make a start!

Cut your fabric to size - add 3 inches all round your finished result size
Tack with a single strand of silk across the middle of the fabric in both directions to pinpoint the centre point.
Wind your silks on to spools and label them
Take a look at the Useful Tips page
Get started - from the centre of the pattern