Gloshei,

Welcome! What a wonderful and interesting name you have!

I'm sure your daughter will love such a beautiful and thoughtful gift!

In my opinion, I don't think one necessarily needs to be an expert beader to do a project like this. Though it definitely does require a LOT of patience, as it's a super long-term project!

A suggestion I have for starting something so large is if you'll be using even count peyote, to bead a number of waste rows before you start your project. The reason I suggest that is to stabilize the rows so that you'll be able to work from bottom to top very evenly. I actually do this for small projects, so it doesn't just work for large ones. Otherwise, I find the bottom rows of any project can look wonky and unattractive, as I'm just getting into the correct tension for the beadwork.

Best of luck and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Gloshei,

You could definitely work in beaded cross stitch if you choose. Keep in mind that beaded cross stitch will leave your beads on a diagonal slant, though if you're working large scale, that probably won't affect much, since the more beads you have in your project the more coverage you'll have and the less the slant will be obvious. Still, it may be something to consider. You might perhaps want to try something smaller to see if you're happy with the way the slant of the beads look before you tackle something larger. Also, with cross stitch you'll want to consider your fabric carefully, since the cross stitch fabric isn't exactly the same shape as your beads, so some of the fabric could show through. (Definitely use the same color of thread to apply your beads as the fabric, so there's less to show through the beadwork. Again, I'd suggest trying with a smaller scale image, perhaps a small cross stitch pattern made in beads, so you can see if this is what you'll ultimately like. )

I think it's wonderful that you're willing to think outside the box and consider options beyond traditional stitches!

Gloshei,

I'm not sure you'll be able to work as small as you need to for a pen wrap, unfortunately. The freePatternWizard is best used when you give it an image that is the same number of pixels as you'll need for number of beads (stitches).

In other words if you wanted a pattern that was, say, 20 beads across you'd give the freePatternWizard an image that was 20 pixels across, then give it 20 stitches across in option #6. (At this time the horizontal measurement is the only one you can give to the freePatternWizard. This will eventually change, but for now it's not possible to override the computer figuring the vertical measurement for you.)

It's best to work all patterns like that with the freePatternWizard. With text, the problem is that if you have an image that is larger and you're trying to make it smaller (or smaller and you're trying to make it larger), it will only distort and give you things like missing text. Text is especially difficult because unless you're going pixel to bead it usually has thin lines that will either be represented in the pattern by thick areas or they'll disappear altogether. The best solution for that is to give it an image that already has the dimensions you want, so if you wanted a pattern that was 50 beads by 50 rows, you'd give it an image that's 50x50. Again, the vertical on that can't be guaranteed, but for the horizontal, pixels to stitches will work best.

Gloshei,

You're so welcome!

Yes, you're correct, a pixel will be equal to a bead in a pattern.

Feel free to try making all of the patterns you'd like! Of course we want you to make a pattern that you'll like, not get stuck with something you don't, so experiment all you wish.

Gloshei,

Awesome...looking forward to seeing what you make!