Cross Stitch Artist Captures Likeness from Photograph

Amaze Your Friends, and Delight Your Family by Giving a Life-like Portrait in Cross Stitch

From photo ...

... to work of art!

SHOP BOUGHT patterns are great, but they will never mean as much to you as your own photo. Getting a prized photograph or drawing converted into a cross-stitch pattern that captures the subject's likeness, can be a challenge! Now it is easy for you.

Hello,

My name is Henrietta, and my aim is to bring beauty and colour into people's lives through cross-stitch and sewing. As part of this, my husband and I convert photos to cross-stitch patterns for cross-stitchers like yourself. This is not as easy as it might appear.

Let me tell you how this service came about and you will see what I mean.

How 10 minutes with an artist transformed a cross-stitch disaster into a treasured gift

It all started when I was making a gift for Sheila. It was her birthday and I wanted to do a cross-stitch portrait based on a lovely photo I had of her.

First I tried to make a design using graph paper and coloured pencils - and quickly rejected that! It took ages, and I could not get a good likeness. Even if I had managed to get Sheila looking right, the pattern would have been hand drawn and therefore hard to follow. Mistakes would be too easy to make.

Next my son investigated many PC packages and found most were very poor! Some would not remove backgrounds and some did not select colours from a manufacturer's range! Eventually he found a great package, I bought it and used it to convert the photo.

In my inexperience, I thought the chart looked fine.

Disaster strikes!

I was sewing the picture, hurrying to get it ready for Sheila's birthday. The different parts of her dress were taking shape nicely, but when Sheila's face started to appear, something was wrong! Her face was somehow flat and lifeless! The photo was fine. I checked my work for mistakes and found none, yet the cross-stitching did not look right at all.

What had gone wrong? Try as I might, I could not place what was wrong. I was near to throwing the piece away when Tom - my husband - asked what was upsetting me. I showed him.

"I see that you mean" he said. "I wonder...". Tom stood there lost in thought.

I could see now that mockup print from the computer also looked wrong, but I had not noticed it before. What next? A shop bought gift? A spoiled piece of work?

"Wait there!" Tom said suddenly, and left the room. In moments I heard the computer start up. I put down my work, and went to make a cup of tea for us both. I needed one.

When I went through 10 minutes later with Tom's cup, he looked up and grinned. "Look at this!" he said, and clicked the screen so I could see the whole of Sheila's face.

Well, I nearly dropped his tea! One eye was alive, looking at me. The other was still dull and lifeless. "Wow" I gasped. "What an improvement! What did you do?"

"Let me finish" he says, and turned back to the computer.

"Don't forget your tea!". I put it down and left him to it. We have been married long enough that I know not to look over his shoulder when Tom is working!

My Artist saves the day

A while later, I heard the printer spring into life. Tom comes through with a full size print of Sheila's face. What a difference! The eyes are alive, and the mouth looked ready to smile!

Tom gave me the updated pattern and showed me where he had made changes, and I quickly made the same changes to the portrait. It came to life in the same way!

The dull and lifeless work I had been about to throw away had been transformed under Tom's artistic expertise into the most amazingly life-like resemblance I had ever seen in a cross-stitch.

Husband for hire!

When the piece was finished, mounted and given, and we were chatting, I told Sheila how nearly the project had come to disaster. I was boasting about how lucky I was to be married to an artist. She pointed out that others would run into the same problems.

"Pity I can't hire him out!" I joked.

She turned to me, suddenly serious. "But you can! Listen. What if you offered a photo-to-stitch service on the internet? You could use that program to break the back of the conversion, and Tom could do his magic to make each picture superb. Its win-win-win all round: Tom gets to use the computer, you have your little business that you were looking for, and your customers get great cross-stitch patterns!"

She was right. It took a bit of organising, but now our service has been up and running for some months!

Fill your own home with incredible works of art.

Right from the beginning I was determined we would do more than just stick your photo through a PC package, print the result and send it out!

I know you will be spending time stitching the picture, so I believe our job has to be done right, which is why we carefully and individually process each picture.

Besides, it is my aim to spread colour and beauty into the world, so I want you to fill your home with incredible works of art. I can't think of a more fun way to do this that than cross-stitching.

How to judge a good service

So how do you know a good photo-to-stitch service when you find one? There are a number of important things you can look for:

• Are they a specialist doing only photo-to-stitch or is the service just an add-on to sell you lots of thread?
  We are a specialist service.
  
• Will you get personal attention from someone who understands cross-stitching?
  With us you get personal service from me. I have been sewing since my Granny showed me how to make a pin-cushion just before WW2 when I was just eight years old.
  
• Do they have a professional approach? A person taking a serious and professional approach is more likely to do a fine job, and may be better able (and more willing) to handle problems, should they occur. 
  I intend that we should be thoroughly professional in every way.
  
• Is help available if you have a problem? A photo based stitching project can be a daunting project so advice on overcoming any little problem can be very helpful and a tremendous time saver. 
  I offer a free email support service to my clients. More on this later.

To order click here.

9 critical errors an artist can fix and software can't.

Tom is fantastic at knowing when to change a few stitches to get the shape of something right. He will remove red-eye, and other blemishes. In fact he is a perfectionist over this and and he won't let a poor picture through! He tells me there are 9 main things he looks for in a pattern, before he will pass it as OK....

Artistic skill AND great software - your secret advantage

By using our service, you can tap into Tom's artistic skills and create a wonderful picture. There is no need to let on where you had the conversion done. I won't tell if you don't.

Our clients agree that Tom's expertise is what separates us from our competition.

How we handle each order. With care

When I receive your order I first pass it over to Tom who will scan your photo into our computer or convert the file into the format he needs to work with. If you send in an image file he takes great care not to lose information in this conversion, so that your cross stitch will be as vibrant and lifelike as possible.

Then Tom carefully selects just that part of the image you tell us you want and discards the rest. Tom will use his skill and judgment when selecting, to ensure that your picture is "well framed".

He will remove the background if you wish. The software sometimes makes mistakes with this, so Tom will carefully ensure that the result is perfect.

Colour selection - vital for a great result

A cross-stitch with too many colours, has very few stitches of each colour. This makes such patterns confusing, expensive, and rather hard to sew. However, a cross-stitch with too few colours will look "blocky". The number of colours must be chosen carefully, and so must the actual colours themsleves, or the piece can look muuddy.

We will use our skill and judgment to choose a great selection of colours for you so your piece is easy to sew, inexpensive in silks AND it will look great. We can select from the Anchor or DMC ranges.

Tom will also check for - and correct - other problems at this point, such as the "lifeless eyes" I mentioned earlier. He can removed red-eye, and even make things disappear. See the Llanddrog Church on the testimonials page.

Easy to read chart

As his final job, Tom checks the symbols used for each colour to ensure they are clear and prints the charts. (For example, we do not use I, Z or S as colour symbols because they are too easily confused with 1, 2 and 5).

The charts print at 10 stitches per inch, ensuring they are easy for you to read. They have each 10th stitch marked in green so you can always find where you are and you won't make any mistakes.

You can see how this process works here.

Did you want a full kit?

After printing, the picture and pattern comes over to me, where I make up the full kit for customers who want it. We started by just providing the pattern, but so many people asked if we could make up a kit, we have decided to provide full kits if requested.

A full kit makes an ideal gift because they can start to sew without the fuss or delay of ordering thread. Imagine giving someone a cross stitch of their pet. Wonderful and personal.

My kits contain everything¹ you need to sew the picture: generous amounts of thread in each colour, the background material and a needle. The threads are pre-cut into 20 inch lengths ready to sew, and tied to a card, so they stay neat and tidy until you are ready to use them. Each thread is marked with its code and colour, so you can match them to the pattern easily.

I will select a background for you, in a colour that compliments your picture. You will receive a piece large enough for your picture including a generous 5 inch border for mounting. This will probably be Aida or Evenweave but if you want linen please ask.

Note 1 - Kits do not include a sewing hoop or frame

Then we get to the part I like best: assembling all the bits of your order, checking everything is complete and correct, making up the parcel and despatching it to you. I smile when I think of people opening my parcels, delighted with what they have received!

To order click here.

You will receive all this in your parcel:

• Your photograph - we return all photos.
• A colour mock-up of the stitches, with each stitch shown as a small square.
• The easy-to-read stitching guide. This is on A4 sheets to make it easy to handle, and rather larger than full size at 10 stitches per inch.
• A key showing which colours have been used and the symbols used for them in the stitching guide.
• An advice sheet on how best to make up the piece, individually edited by me.

• All the threads you will need, neatly tied onto a card.
• The base material in a suitable colour, and grade, with 5 inch border
• A needle suitable for the fineness of the stitching.

We take care and pay detailed attention so that you create a wonderful picture every time.

Just think what it would cost you to provide this service for yourself! Computer, scanner, colour printer, and software to be bought. Then you must spend time to learn how to use them or pay someone else. There is the time to crop, scale, remove the background and set up the conversion for your picture. Add in the cost of trying different numbers of colours and selecting the best, checking for defects, correcting them. Print, check, pack and dispatch. The list of tasks we do goes on and on.

What is all this worth to you, with or without the kit?

Before I reveal what I charge, let me tell you what some of our customers have said.

Here is how it works. Send us your photo, instructions, and your payment (see order form) and we will:

• Convert your picture to a cross-stitch design using our software.
• Our artist, Tom will ensure it is perfect and free from defects.
• If requested make up a kit for your design.
• Send you back your photo, the pattern, and your kit.
• Sign you up for email support - see below

Money back Guarantee!!!

All purchases from Henrietta's Heirlooms are covered by our "Satisfaction or Money Back" guarantee

There is one more thing I must tell you about - email support!

As an extra bonus, you may email me should you hit a problem or need advice with your piece, and I will do my best to help you. With my years of experience, there are few sewing problems I have not met already.

Photo-to-stitch projects make a great gift for a cross-stitcher who has done some stitching. (They are unsuitable for a first project). If you tell me the email address of the recipient when you order, I will be delighted to transfer the email support to them.

So, what do I charge for this superior photo-to-stitch service, including the artistic check and hand touchup by Tom, and on-going support by myself?

We charge only £19.00 for the pattern and email support, or you can have a full kit - pattern, threads, base fabric, needle and email support - for the combined price of £52.50.

If you choose to pay by PayPal and send your picture in by email, then we can process it quickly. You will need to use PayPal if you do not have a UK cheque account. For PayPal you will need this order form.

If you are in the UK and wish to use Royal Mail to send your photo or use a cheque for payment, (I prefer this) then please use this order form. Sorry - we can only accept cheques drawn on Sterling based accounts due to high bank charges.

Either way I look forward to hearing from you soon. Order today.

If you need more information please check out the FAQ (Frequently Answered Questions). If that does not answer your question, please

Yours sincerely

P.S.This will be your very own UNIQUE picture - an heirloom for your family to keep forever. Tom and I are committed to ensuring your project is a success, so you can order today in complete confidence.