What do you do when you are computer geek and a crafter at the same time, and are looking for a unique pattern? You figure out a way to combine both. This is what I did this weekend.I have been collecting icons and then it hit me that they would be the ideal way to get unusual patterns. Most of them are already small and quite pixelated.
I found this Firefox icon on the left here and that gave me the idea. It still had too many colors, but by putting a grid over the design and then coloring in the grid in Photoshop I got a workable pattern.The result is the beaded Firefox on the right. It is worked in my version of the square stitch. I add 2 beads at a time, go back one bead, go back through the second of the beads I added and repeat. It looks ok, but something is not quite right. It was supposed to be square, but it is not.
So I measured the finished design. It is under 2 inches wide and it 3 inches tall and realized that the the width/length ratio was 1:1.39. Back to photoshop, I kept the original picture, but created a new grid with the proper dimensions. Next I reduced the original picture to about 12 colors, now I colored all the squares, each color in its own layer. Once I was happy with it, I merged the colored in layers and doubled it in size. It was easier to work with a small design, but I needed to print it out bigger so that I could count the beads more easily. That's the pattern I used on the right and below is the finished product. It is now around 2 inches square and I am satisfied.
If you are interested in my creations, I am happy to sell them. Just email me.Related Articles
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