Stitchboard Admin message #2
Re: Stupid Q's ( I got a ton of 'um)
May 26, 2014 at 2:10:20 AM  (in response to gipsyqueen51 message #1)
 
Mary,

You're very, very welcome!  We love to hear that people are getting good use out of our program! 

Your questions are very, very good...not dumb at all!

I personally work square stitch side to side, meaning I work each colomn of beads from left to right or right to left.  Which is not to say someone couldn't work, say, top to bottom or bottom to top...it's simply a personal choice, though they'd have to switch their graph to loom for that, of course, as beads are wider than they are high.

If you're flipping your work, yes, you're going to have to change the orientation of the way you read your chart, as well.  Normally what you do with any type of chart is to read it the opposite way every other row.  For instance, when I work a crochet project, I work from one side to the other, and then odd and even rows will each work the opposite way, so I need to remember to read the chart the opposite way.  So, say you're working a square stitch chart and you start with the rightmost column...you'd then work your first column, and then if you decided to flip it thereafter, you'd read the chart the opposite way, reading it from bottom to top or top to bottom, depending on where you are.  I hope that's clearer than mud?    (Also, as you start to see your pattern develop, you'll have a better idea of which way you're going, though it may help to mark your pattern with arrows so at first you know which way is which for which row.)

You can change the number of stitches across to less than 80 by choosing this option in #6:
"I wish to enter my desired count - Number of stitches desired: __ stitches"
and entering your desired number in the box.  You may or may not find the results are what you want.  If not, I'd suggest is manipulating your image in a graphics program before sending it through the Free Pattern Wizard.  If you don't have a graphics program, there is a free one called Gimp, available here:
http://www.gimp.org/

Hope that helps! 

---

Stitchboard Admin message #4
Re: Stupid Q's ( I got a ton of 'um)
May 28, 2014 at 2:57:54 AM  (in response to gipsyqueen51 message #3)
 
Mary,

Hahahahahahahahaha!  You're hilarious!  You should do a stand up comedy act! 

Hee hee, I'm in the same daze in any craft store or craft area.  The entire store could be mass hysteria, people fighting over $1 DVDs, and I'd be completely oblivious, looking at whatever craft item and trying to figure out what I need! 

That's soooooooooo funny about handing your BF those items and giving him "the warning" about honking!  LOL!  I can just picture his expression...priceless! 

You're one up on me with Zara!  I've used Gimp and am kind of embarrassed to say that what I mostly use is an ancient version of Paint Shop Pro.  LOL, like from almost before there were computers! 

Oh, another thing I just thought of on reading patterns...how about trying something small?  Just some very small, simple chart, not a lot of stitches, to get accustomed to how you feel most comfortable working it/reading the rows?  (LOL, doing the same thing with a crochet prototype.  I can't figure out how to work it out logistically, so before I get too far in, I plan to make a very small version, LOL, maybe about 3" high!)

Anyway, please don't hesitate to ask any other questions that occur to you...and thanks for the laughs!    BTW, feel free to post pics of your work, not just things made with the Free Pattern Wizard, but anything crafty...we love to drool! 

---

Stitchboard Admin message #6
Re: Stupid Q's ( I got a ton of 'um)
May 29, 2014 at 1:17:51 AM  (in response to gipsyqueen51 message #5)
 
Mary,

It mainly depends on your tension.  You know what I would do?  I'd start a practice piece and try the two/three/four beads at a time.  You may find that four beads work okay with your tension...or not.  I understand what you're saying...sigh, square stitch is tedious!  I personally tried...maybe that was three beads at a time (could have been four - this was a long time ago!), and I didn't like the way it worked.  But to be fair...I was using Perler beads and string.  So it wasn't a good match to begin with.  And it was soooooo tedious, I couldn't take it!  That project never got finished.    Still sitting there, maybe a quarter of the way done, if that, and it will likely stay that way until the next ice age.    Of course, what I needed it for is going to be a moot point soon!

I've found the key to not having to tear things out is to try a practice piece.  Yes, it's a seemingly annoying waste of time...but you can never go wrong by trying something as practice the first time!    Trust me...it's saved a lot of trouble in the long run! 

---