Hobbyware Pattern Maker Software For Windows, Version 4 - 72593

The cheaper, "casual crafter" version is a pain the rear. When you're creating your own patterns it's fine, but if you're importing a picture it takes forever to tinker with it til it looks decent. If you find a free pattern online and want to add it to a pattern you're creating (for a border, or a particular element) the grid lines never match up with their tool and it ends up looking funky, I tried for about an hour before giving up and recreating the stitches one-by-one by hand. Changing thread colors is ridiculously difficult, there's no option to say, change all the black stitches to red, or change the blue stitches to a lighter/darker blue. You have to change them one at a time (it's like paint, the fill option only fills what's touching, so if you have a diagonal line you have to do it all individually). Furthermore I like to pull up the patterns on my tablet while I'm stitching instead of printing out a bunch of pages, and it's almost impossible with this software. It doesn't let you save it as anything but a pattern file or .xms, I literally had to screenshot the whole thing, paste it back together in Paint, and convert that to a PDF to get it on my tablet. It was a pain. It's okay for pattern creation but the user interface is clunky and old-fashioned. None of the commands and options are intuitive, you have to read the directions thoroughly multiple times to get the hang of it. I do like the options to mirror and copy/paste portions of it, though, which is helpful for creating borders. The fonts are nice and there are lots of options depending on whether you want to backstitch, cross stitch, or even use beads.

This software is on a DVD but you could also download it from their website if you computer doesn't have a DVD reader. Personally I like the idea of having my own DVD at home as a backup. The software works fine on my Windows 7 laptop. I plan to give it a try on my Windows 10 computer too. The program works well for any graphed project design not just counted cross stitch. Although you can design with actual looking stitches, you can also design with plain colored squares too. The software has hundreds of colors available and you can print your charted designs on your printer in several ways, color, black and white, as solid blocks, as symbols or as stitches. The website has made updates, upgrades, and a user manual available to download. I wish the manual had been included but all you get is the installation booklet. If they'd included a paper users manual in the box, I'd have given them 5 stars.

I could not believe that after all the work of making a pattern, I could not export it as a jpg or ANY OTHER FORMAT (pdf, etc.) with the standard version, even though the directions are in the help menu. I wrote to the company to see if I was missing something. This is what I received:"Hello,Thank you for sending your question.The Pro level of the program includes an image exporting feature that can export into JPEG format. It sounds as though you probably have the Standard level. You can confirm by looking at the CD and/or by selection 'About' under 'Help.To create a PDF, you can print to the built-in PDF printer of Windows 10."So, if you don't have Windows 10, you are screwed. You can print, but you absolutely cannot export to any format. You can only save as the pattern maker file format. Crazy that Export is not in the file menu of this software. You should not have to pay three to four times more just to export!

I am a heavy cross stitcher. I am into all crafts really, but there are pictures of patterns that I want and I can use this to recreate them, or use my own photos to create works of art. The software is standard but even for me this is more than enough. The program does take some getting used to and many button errors and just playing around until you get the hang of it. I can use this to copy patterns from my mom and then we both have them or make my own on any size as well as any size for fabric. Definitley a must have for any cross stitcher!!!

Exactly the sort of program I was looking for. The only downside I could find is that when using the photo converter it's hard to make good looking patterns out of bold, hard edged artwork unless you line it up exactly on the grid or edit the picture in photoshop beforehand (therefore making the entire conversion process a lot longer than it should be). Other than that it has some really cool features and doing freehand patterns is a simple matter. It also has built in fonts so you can easily add text to your pattern! It was well worth the price.And for those of you that may be wondering, yes, it works on windows 7!

I had this software (or something very similar) years ago and I loved it. Cross stitch kits are OK, but I like more realistic patterns and with this you can turn any picture into a pattern. I'm using Windows 10 and have only come across one problem...I can't open up a saved file through the file menu in the program. No big deal though, I just go to the file first and it opens the program. It's simple to edit the patterns and add text. I'm making a picture of our new home to hang in the foyer with our name and established date.

It did not take long to learn the basic steps, and it ultimately worked as well as hoped for. Of course, the quality of the final product depends on the original photo/pic. Don't try to get too complex, and remember that cross stitch will not look as sharp as a high resolution photo. Overall, a good product that's fun to work and play with!

This program is amazing! So many intricate details you can add and adjust! Perfect for anyone serious about stitching or hobbyists. It comes with preloaded patterns too. It takes a while to adjust to if you've never used a prism like it but it's very professional.