Study the stitch preview. The dialog provides various methods to adjust the thread list, starting with image colors. The goal is the same for any photo – to employ the fewest colors/threads for a good result. There will be a point a diminishing returns where more colors do not necessarily result in greater design clarity or stitchability.
1Use Flatten to condense the photo to solid color blocks. Depending on image quality – e.g. low-resolution or pixelated images – this may affect resulting detail.
2Make adjustments to image lightness and contrast via Adjust. This opens the Adjust Bitmap dialog. Start by clicking Auto Adjust. This works well for some photos.
3Optionally, in the Effect panel, choose between image variations:
|
Option |
Function |
|
Sepia |
In photographic terms, ‘sepia’ refers to the dark-brown color of old-fashioned prints. Originally the process involved adding a pigment made from cuttlefish ink during development. |
|
Gray |
Grayscale images are ones composed exclusively of shades of gray, varying from black at the weakest intensity to white at the strongest. |
4Use the Reset button to return to default values. Use the Undo and Redo buttons to back-step through previous adjustments.
5Click OK to close the dialog. The thread color list is updated accordingly. Again click Preview to visualize the output.