black and white symbol pattern
This pattern id extremely difficult to follow.There are few areas of one continuous color and many areas where only a single stitch of a particular color is required. To make matters worse, the colors, particularly the blues are so similar that is often hard to distinguish them on the fabric.This makes for a very messy back. Any suggestions? I am about to throw in the towel.
Posted by: samuela17 on 02/28/17
Artecy patterns can be very tricky due to the delicate shading, but are incredibly beautiful when finished, hang in there!

My suggestion is to mark off your completed stitches with a highlighter once you've done them. It really helps you keep track of where you are. Also, when doing an Artecy pattern with many similar colours, I find that it helps if I do as much as possible of each colour before moving on, so I don't have to question what I've done and what I haven't. I did Sunset in Yosemite recently which is mostly all browns and oranges that are very similar in hue, with often only one stitch of a colour here and there so I feel your pain!
by: craftydivakat on 02/28/17
I'd walk away from it for awhile. Wait until you get the urge to come back to it; you'll finish it a bit at a time, baby-steps I call it- and it will be beautiful!!
by: Bermuda on 02/28/17
Thank you so much for the good advice
by: samuela17 on 02/28/17
My sympathies Sam. I just finished a similar dilemma few days ago only mine was green. My solution was to outline each 10x10 graph on the paper as I came to it, with the rule to myself that I was never to go over the lines however tempted. I was half way done and half crazy when I got the idea and it worked for me. You know where you are and it's easier to find your way.
I love the fish and the colours. I'd hang it in my bathroom to match my towels etc. Good luck.
by: MaryJoDenmark on 02/28/17
Hi Samuela,

Great advice from everyone. Sorry to hear you are having a frustrating time with our design.

When stitching these designs we suggest to make it a little less daunting for you to just concentrate on 1 page at a time and each 10 x 10 square at a time. Stitch all the stitches of the same colour in that 10 x 10 square or nearby before changing to the next colour. As the pattern is totally filled you will not see your cotton travelling behind the fabric a small distance. If you are stitching one stitch at a time of each colour this would be very annoying. Note if you stitch in blocks or sections like this you can sometimes see the lines between each section, especially if you leave a project for awhile, so it is recommended to stitch a few colours to the left, right up and below, just so you do not have straight square blocks of stitches.

Many customers make a working photocopy of the design, which we are fine with, and stitch these in a cross country style so they stitch as many stitches as they can of the one colour in the same area, before changing colours. Some use highlighters on the pattern to mark stitches done if you have trouble following the stitches you have completed. I personally use a yellow highlighter on the pattern to mark the stitches of one colour I am going to stitch on a page and then after I complete those stitches I uses a blue highlighter to go over the yellow ones stitched and then I know I have completed them. Then I move onto the next symbol and colour. Just using highlighters seems to help break up all the symbols and make them easier to see.

Hopefully this information will help.

If you have any further queries please let me know.

Thanks and Best Wishes
Tereena Clarke
Artecy Cross Stitch
by: artecy on 03/01/17
I really like the Artecy underlining technique and I hope I can remember it the next time I need it.
by: MaryJoDenmark on 03/02/17
Apart from ECS, Artecy would be the most customer satisfaction orientated business I have ever seen in this area. Always they have our best interests at heart and try to help us to complete our projects to our satisfaction and offer hints to make the job easier. I have a couple of Artecy patterns in my stash and I will make a note of these tips to help me when I eventually get started on them (after all the others I have to finish of course).
by: deirdre on 03/02/17
I tried out the overlining that Artecy recommended in a rather tricky Easter wreath that was giving me grief and it worked a treat.
by: MaryJoDenmark on 03/02/17