>> Tip of the Month

The following is a list of tips we share with our users. Enjoy.

March 2005
Quilt Design with your Fabric History
Do you save scraps from the various sewing projects? Why not create a memory quilt, using up the scraps from the various sewing projects you've completed over the years? Toss the excess fabric and sew the rest into your quilt. Stitch Painter is a great tool for planning your quilt.

February 2005
Organize your Clippings
Continuing with the effort of organizing, why not take an afternoon and tackle your paper clippings collection, organizning the images by theme (e.g. ethnic, trims, interesting sleeves, etc.). You can utilize manilla folders and a portable file organizer or similar devices to keep things together. Get rid of the excess paper by trimmiing the images. Watchng a great movie as you do this is always in order. If you are ready to make the leap to the electronic mode, check out our new software program: "My Inspiration Files".

January 2005
A New Year, and New Resolutions
Begin your new year with some creative resolutions. For example, why not set aside an evening a week as your creative time and let nothing else interfere with your time to sew, knit, bead.

December 2004
Holiday Sewing and Knitting... Gift Giving
This year, why not give a young person in your life a gift certificate for sewing or knitting lessons. Make it part of the 'pass it forward' plan, where you pass on your skills to someone else.

November 2004
Trim Binge
Are you cataloging all your trims? Try using our Trims Inventory cards. If you are feeling guilty about your trim stash, then why not go on a binge, and sew a pillow top with as many trims as you can fit into the space.

October 2004
Trim Binge
Are you cataloging all your trims? Try using our Trims Inventory cards. If you are feeling guilty about your trim stash, then why not go on a binge, and sew a pillow top with as many trims as you can fit into the space.

September 2004
Fringe, Fringe, Fringe
Tweeds and fringed edges are HOT!. So, when you design your Garment Designer pattern, why not plan a hem that utilizes fringe. Stitch a narrow zig zag stitchparallel to the edge of the fabric and then gently pull out the weft threads leaving a planned and fashionable fringe.

August 2004
Use the Deconstructed Look to Your Advantage!
Have you been watching fashion? The unfinished deconstructed look is still in. So, speed up your sewing and leave the hems of your knits unfinished. If you want, a simple stitching line around the edge can add a little finish, but fashion certainly doesn't feel it is necessary. Use selvages creatively, making them part of the design, instead of cutting them off!

July 2004
Summer Sewing
Let the summer be your time to create simple tops with Garment Designer. Plan and design a basic top that you can sew or knit in 6 different ways. Create variations on a theme and have fun.

June 2004
Organizing...
Summer is here, so it's time to organize and clean up the UFO's. Pick the top 3 'want to do' items, and tackle each one in turn.

May 2004
Mother's Day Surprise
It's time to make Mom a garment. Print out the PDF measurement chart (found in your Help Sheets folder in Garment Designer). Send it to 'mom' and have her take her measurements. Then, she can send it toyou and you can whip up a great original design for her!

April 2004
Stitch Painter Gift Cards
Love to design in Stitch Painter, but don't always have the time to make the item? Why not print out on quality paper and create gift cards for friends by mounting the cut-out on a blank card.

March 2004
Sewer... add some little parts
Sewers may use the generic shapes in Garment Designer to create godets, gussets and anything else you want. Have fun.

Feburary 2004
Knitters who like scarves...
Did you know you can use the new generic shapes in Garment Designer to design and plan knitted scarves which are all the rage right now.

January 2004
Organize... organize...
A little thought up front can save a lot of time down the road. Prior to sewing a pattern, whether commercial, or your own, examine the pattern and plan through the steps of construction mentally without looking at any instructions. This exercise will make you a better designer, alterer and seamstress.

December 2003
Garment Designer Cookie Cutters
Design garments in Designer, and print the patterns out in 1/8 scale. Then, take 'sashing' (available at Home Depot) and bend it around the pattern shape. Use masking tape to hold the piece together and make a handle. You can then cut out your pattern cookies. It's great fun!

November 2003
Virus Updates!
If you don't already, invest in a good virus program and regularly update the virus profiles. It has been a difficult year for virus attacks.

October 2003
Backing Up!
Given a hard drive crash recently, we have reaped the value of having installed a second hard-drive in our computer and using it to backup important files from the main drive. We were able to siimply take the 2nd drive out of the old computer and place it in the new computer. It was relatively painless.

September 2003
Joining Pattern Pieces from Garment Designer
This great tip comes from Gloria Crampton. When Gloria joins her Garment Designer pattern pieces together, she uses her glass patio door. By taping the first piece to the door, she can easily see through the papers as she matches her cross-hatches. Plus, the door makes a great table!

August 2003
Think about Holiday Gifts
It's time to start thinking about holiday gift-making. Begin now, even if you only make a list of items you want to make for the special people in your life.

July 2003
Update Virus Software
In the past few months, there have been more and more virus alerts and problems in email. Make sure that you not only subscribe to updates, but that you actually do the updating process.

June 2003
Test Fit Your Knits
If you are a knitter and want to test a pattern prior to knitting it, trycutting the pattern out using sweat shirt fleece. The hand and weight are the same as most knits so you will get an accurate sense of how the knit will drape, hang, etc.

May 2003
Recutting Garments
If you have a garment that is too big doesn't fit quite right, use Garment Designer to create a pattern that will show you how to recut the garment to allow you to wear it.

April 2003
Ruffle Embellishment Ideas
Have you noticed that ruffles are in! Look through the various fashion and mail-order magazines and clip pictures of the various ruffle types. There are lots of great ideas online as well. Store the ideas and spend a day trying to recreate the various looks. Invest in a 'ruffler' attachment for your sewing machine to make your life easy.

March 2003
CD Holders for valuable data files
Motivate yourself to backup your important graphic and data files by purchasing a fun CD carrier (generally used for music CD's). Burn CD's of the important things and store them in the holder.

February 2003
Vegetable Containers
We have found that the clear fruit and vegetable containers are excellent for storing odd balls of colorful yarn. We can see what the yarn looks like, and we can easily stack them in a cupboard. Granted, plastic is not good for long-term storage, but we presume you will be using the yarn quickly.

Januray 2003
Getting Rid of UFO
This is a great month to rid your conscience of a few UFO's. Think of something that is a particular treat (like an afternoon in a bookstore with coffee in hand), and promise yourself the treat when you reach a predetermined goal.. like the completion of 2 UFO's. OR.. make a bet with a friend to see who the first one to complete 2 UFO's will be and the winner gets treated to lunch by the other.

December 2002
Holiday Stockings
Garment Designer can be used to build stocking patterns for the holidays. Simply move the points around on a garment until you create the stocking shape of your choice. Add seam allowances, print and sew!

November 2002
Collecting Ideas
If you have a digital camera, spend an evening strolling the streets in a fashion area near you. You can take pictures of garments in the Window Displays to remind you of items you liked, color combinations, etc. The lighting in the window is often enough to provide a decent picture and you don't have to worry about 'glare'.

October 2002
Collecting Ideas for Coordinates
As you flip through catalogs and fashion magazines, clip pictures of 'ensembles'. These are easy to design in Garment Designer, and the pictures will serve as your kick-start. Keep a folder of these pictures for quick reference.

September 2002
Panning for Ideas
When you are looking for inspiration, try printing out the schematics from Garment Designer (use the full front and joined sleeve), and then cut out the insides of the shape. Pan these cutouts over art and photo images in non-fashion magazines. The layout of a new design will speak to you!

August, 2002
Color Organizing
When you stitch,knit or design a project that incorporates a lot of colors, keep your colors organized by punching holes in an index card, and threading strands of yarn/thread through the holes using an overhand knot.

July, 2002
Track Information
When you are printing patterns for sewing or knitting, consider printing not only the schematic but the Project Summary as well (see the Generate menu). Tape the schematic to a manilla envelope on the front, and tape the Project Summary to the back of the envelope.

June, 2002
Graduations
Why not make your own graduation party/announcements? Office Depot and various other office stores sell blank announcement forms (with various decorations) that you can run through your printer. Compose and write your own announcement for that special person.

May, 2002
Custom Mother's Day Cards
Make use of your scanner, and scan old photos of your mother (and yourself) to create a custom card to send. If you have the right software, (e.g. Photoshop Elements or Photoshop), you can ceate a collage of images for the front of the card. Print on card stock, or purchase computer-prepped blank invitation cards from an office supply store.

April, 2002
Plastic Ziplock Bags
These are not only good for storing food, but they work well for organizing projects on the go. Invest in a few boxes of varying sizes of plastic zip lock bags and keep these in your sewing/craft room/studio so that you can keep things organized as life gets busy.

March, 2002
Stitch a Bookmark
It's time to relax a little and read. Prior to reading, why not design and stitch/knit/sew a bookmark. This is easily done in Stitch Painter or Garment Designer. You can apply any textile art design you want and have fun creating. When done, you can enjoy the bookmark as you read.

February, 2002
Set a Plan of Action
In carrying on with the theme of getting organized for the new year, why not pick 2 projects to finish. Assemble all parts of both projects and keep them visible. Determine a 'reward' for their completion so that the motivation to complete them will be heightened. If turning the project back to raw product (e.g. unravel that half-complete sweater) it your resolution for completing the project, so be it. At least the guilt is gone.

January, 2002
Take Inventory
With the new year comes new resolutions. It's time to run around the house with a camera or video camera and take images of your possessions, including all your creative goodies. Store the pictures/film in a location other than your house.

December, 2001
Gifts for Creative Friends
We have found that it is primarily the creative people who appreciate our hand-made gifts, so if you are making gifts for people, focus in on those who truly appreciate the time it takes. Buy gifts for the other folk.

November, 2001
Get your holiday season 'covered'!
The holiday season is just around the corner. It's time to think of quick creative ideas. Why not scan old photos of loved ones, and use heat transfer paper to move the image to fabric. Then you can make jar covers, wine bottle covers, covered buttons and all sorts of fun gift items. Transfer paper is available at your local computer store.

October, 2001
Maintaining your Equipment
When is the last time you oiled your equipment or took pieces in for general maintenance. We do regular checkups for our cars, our teeth and our bodies, so let's not forget our sewing machines, knitting machine, sergers, etc. Set up a file on your computer and log the maintenance you had performed on the date it was given. Then, you can refer to this over the years to ensure that your equipment is well maintained. Don't forget to back up the file!

September, 2001
Dress a Louise Doll for a child's gift
If you are thinking ahead to the holidays, you might want to consider designing a garment for and either sewing or knitting a little garment for a Louise Doll. Not only does your favorite child get the doll as a gift (so he/she can make clothing), he/she also gets the clothing you created as inspiration.

August, 2001
Stock up for Holiday Gifts!
Many of the stores, such as Pier 1 and similar are making room for Fall inventory. What a great time to stock up on clear plastic jars to use for gift giving for the holidays. You can give your creative friends 'button' yarns, lucky swatch yarns, etc. Decorate them by gluing buttons, mini pattern pieces, etc. on them.

July, 2001
Notate those Patterns!
If you create a pattern, and then, in fitting find that you want to 'tweak' it just a bit...do so, but make sure that you notate the changes on your pattern, so that you will remember, the next time you want to use the pattern.

June, 2001
Start Clipping!
How many of you get zillions of magazines and catalogues in the mail.? It's time to make use of them. Spend a Saturday morning with your stack and a cup of coffee and clip out pictures of garments you would like to make. Start a clippings file to save your pictures and then the next time you need a bit of inspiration, pull out the file and browse through it. You can organize the files based on various factors, e.g. colors, design details, trimmings, silhouette, etc.

May, 2001
Ready, Set, Go... assume the pose
If you are ready to design your own patterns, you need to assume the position. This is, sitting in front of the computer with a measuring tape around you neck. How deep should I make that neckline? hmmm 7 inches? Let me check. Yes, that is good. Is the wrist opening big enough? Let me check. You get the idea.

April, 2001
How Big is your Head?
Do you know the circumference of your head? This is a handy measurement to know, as it will determine whether you need to add an opening to a top (buttons, zipper, etc.). Most heads measure between 22 and 24 inches. You can use the Quick Measure feature in Garment Designer to measure the neck opening. Then, you quickly know if the top can be pulled over the head, or if you need alternate plans.

March, 2001
Learn about your body proportions
If you want to be able to copy ready-to-wear garments easily, learn a little about the proportions of you body. Fore example, your hand can become a quick measuring tool. If you know how long it is, you can easily measure necklines, armholes, etc.

February, 2001
The Little Black Book
Keep track of the various ideas you see in a little book you carry with you at all times. Call it your 'ideas' book, or your inspiration book.

January, 2001
Great Book Sites on the Web
Looking for an out of print book? Check bibliofind.com or abebooks.com. We've found lots of wonderful out of print (as well as current) books at these sites. Looking for the best price on a book? Check out bestbookbuy.com

December, 2000
Creative Gift Tags
Why not use Stitch Painter to create unique gift tags for holiday gift-giving. Either paint a name on the grid, or import names (typed in a paint program) into Stitch Painter via the clipboard. Add color, a border and other interest, then print the name to use as a gift tag.

November, 2000
Right Mouse Button Click (Windows) or Control+Click (Mac)
Do you see lots of graphics on the Internet that you'd like to save? Move your cursor over the graphic and RMB (Windows) or Control + Click (Mac OS9). A window will open and one of the menu options will be to save the file. Easy.

October, 2000
Use your Closet
If you are creating your own patterns with Garment Styler (and soon to release Garment Designer), you can cut out a lot of the guesswork by simply measuring some of your favorite garments. Go to your closet, and perform a study of e.g. jackets armhole depth, skirt width, etc. Record this information in a notebook and keep it near your computer so that you can reference it the next time you create a pattern.

September, 2000
Lose a file?
Have you ever lost a file on your computer? Both Windows and Mac have a feature for locating files. On Windows, click on the Start button and slide up to the Find menu option. On the Mac, choose the Find submenu from the File menu on your desktop. Both platforms allow you to find a file by name, date, etc. Explore the options.

August, 2000
Understanding Your Fit
Patternmaking can be quite intimidating, but it doesn't need to be. Learn to use your existing wardrobe as a guide. Spend an hour or so browsing through your closet and measure off certain garments to determine your fit preferences. For example: how much ease is there in your favorite skirt, dress, etc. (remember fabric 'hand' will make a difference from piece to piece). How low do you like your necklines? How deep do you like your armholes, etc. Make a Fit Chart and refer to this when you draft your patterns.

July, 2000
Organize your Working Palette in Stitch Painter
Did you know that you can move colors around in the Working Palette of Stitch Painter? When you begin a project, drag the colors you want to use into one place in the palette. This keeps you organized, and prevents you from using the wrong 'pink' if there are more than one pinks in the palette.

June, 2000
Family Records of Measurements
If you use Garment Styler (and soon Designer), gather all the measurements of family members and other loved ones to enter into the Custom library of the program. Photocopy the measurement chart (which includes pictures showing you where to measure) that comes with the program, and mail it to the lucky receipients of future garments. Make sure you put a date on the measurement chart when you get it back, and if you want, when you name the custom sloper, include the date as part of the name. As a cross-check, ask everyone to let you know what standard size they are closest to, and if a measurement taken seems rather strange, cross-check it with the standard size. Your family and friends will love everything you make for them, and you will know that the garment should fit.

May, 2000
Naming Colors in Stitch Painter 2.0 Gold
If you have the Full Color Import module, you will find that you can name your colors in the palette.
1. Use the Dropper tool in the toolbox to ensure that you are naming a color that is used on the screen. Click on the Cropper tool, then, click on a color on the screen. That color will be highlighted in the palette.
2. Double-click on the color in the working palette. A window will open.
3. Type in the name of your color and click OK.
Now, when you ask for a key, or when you choose the text summary (if you have the Beading module), you will see your custom color names used.
TIP: Make sure you have the palette you want to use selected in the Plug-In's menu. If you do not want to rename DMC or Delica bead colors, make sure you have selected a different library prior to naming colors.

April, 2000
Using the Stencil with Stitch Painter!!
For those of you who lay imagery into garment shapes in Stitch Painter Gold, we'd like to make sure you know about the Stencil function. The stencil allows you to protect chosen colors on your image so you can't draw on them. This is very handy as it allows you to lock or protect the neckline and armhole areas of a garment shape. To set up a Stencil:
1. Using the dropper tool, click on the white 'void' area of the neckline or armhole. The selected color will become the current color in the palette.
2. Choose the Locked submenu in the Palette menu. This will create a check by the submenu and place a lock on the color in the palette.
3. Choose the Make Stencil submenu from the palette and this will turn the stencil on. Now the neckline and armhole areas are locked.
Read more about this in your manual, as there are lots of other uses for the Stencil.

March, 2000
Laying Tile with Stitch Painter!!
Upon moving into a new house, recently, we planned a tile floor design using Stitch Painter. The goal was to incorporate different colored diamonds, randomly, into the layoutof the floor. Using Stitch Painter and its repeat function, we were able to layout the floor, letting multiple squares represent each 18" x 18" tile. Then, we placed the diamonds where we wanted them (not at every joint). The last step was to turn off repeat, and color the diamonds in what appeared like a random pattern. The printout was given to the tile layer, and the floor was laid. How fun! Give it a try.

Feburary, 2000
Understand the Style Names!!
We figure most people don't read their manuals.. which is unfortunate, as there is a wealth of information in your manuals. For example, if you read your Garment Styler manual, you would realize that the style names we gave garments simply denote the amount of 'ease' you can expect to find in that garment. A cardigan style will have deeper armholes and be wider than a pullover style. However, this does not mean that you can't make an oversized pullover or vest with the cardigan style. Simply don't use a front opening to create a pullover, and omit the sleeves to make a vest. We wanted to give style names some 'meaning' and felt that Style1, Style2, etc., just wouldn't do that. So we gave style names according to the typical fit. Learn to use your peripheral vision, and learn to read the manual to get the most out of your software!

January, 2000
Complete those Projects!!
A friend recently shared with us a technique for finishing up those UFO's (unfinished objects). Go through the list and identify the top five projects you would like to complete. Rank them. Then, allot a given amount of time to each project. Start with project one, and give its alloted time. If it is not complete, it moves down to the #5 position. Move on to project #2 and do the same. Surprisingly, this approach works well, and people get through their list with renewed motivation.

December, 1999
Time to Back Up!!
Since folk are exercising extra precautions at the turn of the Millenium, why not back up the various Stitch Painter and Garment Styler data files that you have customized. These files have nothing to do with Y2K issues, but should be backed up on a regular basis if you do not want to risk losing your time and energy. In Stitch Painter, you should back up the Color.dat, Symbols.dat and Textures.dat files as well as the Preferences file. If you added custom colors, symbols and textures and/or set up the program to your liking and 'Set Defaults', these are the files you updated. In Garment Styler, you may want to back up the Custom Sloper file since this file includes all the measurements in you Custom Sloper list.

November, 1999
Read those Manuals!!
If you want to become a power user of our software (or anyone else's for that matter), you must read the manual. Yes, we can hear you sigh. However, there is an approach we recommend that will allow you to learn and learn and learn. As you read the manual use a color hi lighter pen. Underline the things you feel will be helpful and review these a few times as you work with the software. THEN... a few months later, reread the manual and use a different colored hi lighter pen. You will be amazed at how much you missed the last reading. But realize, you mind wasn't ready for the information at that point in time. Continue in this manner, and you will become a power user!

October, 1999
Making Quick Designer Brooches
Why not take a Stitch Painter design and print it out to become approximately 2" x 2" . Then, take a piece of prepared wood (found in the wood section of your favorite crafts store such as Michaels) and paint it with a matching solid color. Using decoupage glue, adhere the printout to the wood, and seal with additional coats. Mount a brooch clip to the back of the wood.

September, 1999
Making Clothes for your Pets with Garment Styler
If you stop to think about your pets, they are not that different than humans... as far as the body is concerned. Pets have 'legs', 'arms', 'chests', etc. So, if you want to sew or knit for then, try taking their body measurements and enter them in Garment Styler. It can easily be done. The same goes for Stuffed Animals.. and Dolls.... give it a try.

August, 1999
Learning about your Body Proportions
One of the best tricks I have found to analyze ready-to-wear, is to measure and memorize some key parts of my own body. For example, I know that my hand measures 6-1/2 inches from the bottom of my palm to my finger tips. I measure 30 inches from my high shoulder to my finger tips (with arms down). My waist length is 15 inches and my arms measure 21 inches. I also know that I like my armholes around 8-9 inches deep in a non-fitted garment. Using various parts of my body to 'measure off' a garment in a dressing room gives me a quick way to record garment proportions. I use my hand to measure neck width, garment width, etc. My hands and arms tell me how long a garment is. Etc. Etc. Take the time to learn a little about your proportions and favorite widths/lengths. It will pay off.

July, 1999
Stitch Painter Crossword Puzzles
Do you have kids home for the summer? You can use Stitch Painter to create crossword puzzles. The simple way is to color in the squares which would be used for words and then print this out to build the puzzle on the paper copy. To challenge your Stitch Painter skills, build symbols to represent alphabet letters, and then build your puzzle in Stitch Painter. Once you have it worked out, substitute the letters for solid color squares. You can build the numbers and set these on white squares adjacent to the 'lettered' squares. This should keep the kids busy.

June, 1999
Knitting in Quarter Scale
If you are a Garment Styler owner and a knitter, and you want to test a sweater idea in quarter scale, you can achieve this by entering your sloper measurements in quarter scale. Name this sloper as a 1/4 scale (e.g. Susan1/4) and use this to chart the shaping instructions for your sweater. This works better than dividing the gauge by 4, as the length measurements will be accurate.

May, 1999
Creating Custom Palettes in my Plug-In's Menu
If you have one of the Stitch Painter Plug-In's which supports a custom palette (Stitchery, Beading, Full Color Import), you can create further custom palettes to use within this menu. Simply duplicate the User palette that comes on the Plug-In's disk (not the DMC palette) and rename it. Mac folk can rename the palette to any name of their choice. Windows folk must follow the directions in their Plug-In's manual.

April, 1999
Supporting Garment Styler Patterns
If you have a favorite pattern, and you want to reinforce the paper pattern, try using Reynolds Freezer Paper. This is a plastic coated paper that comes in rolls at certain grocery stores. One roll is 18 inches wide and 33.33 yards long. Lay the plastic side of the wrapping paper against the wrong side of your pattern and iron it on. (Test first).

March, 1999
Printing Schematics in Garment Styler
It's always helpful to print a schematic of your Garment Styler design. This serves as a great reference of style and dimensions. The best appraoch to printing this schematic is to print it in 'landscape' mode. Do this in the Page Setup or Print Setup part function (found in the File menu). Then, make sure that you choose the Display/Scale to fit Print Page menu item. Printing in landscape mode will give you a larger image of the garment. Remember to turn on Linear Units prior to printing the schematic!! Then, paste the schematic on the front of a large manilla envelope in which to keep you swatches, pattern, etc., or place the printout in a plastic sleeve with fabric/knit swatches etc. and put this in a notebook.

February, 1999
Setting Defaults in Stitch Painter
In Stitch Painter, if you typically start with a particular palette, document size, grid size, etc., you can set up the program to your way of working, and then set defaults (found in the File menu). You won't see anything happen, but the next time you open the program, or when you open a new document, you will see your custom setup. The following items can be set in 'defaults'.

• grid size
• document size
• palette (colors, symbols, textures, or any combination thereof)
• current working color and background color
• origin point
• repeat size
• working area for repeat

Note: do be careful, as it is possible to accidentally choose the menu and unknowingly set a different set of defaults.

January, 1999
Backing Up Custom Palettes
In starting a new year, it is always a good idea to make resolutions to be more organized <grin>. In Stitch Painter, if you have spent a lot of time creating a custom Color , Symbol or Textures palette, (those accessed from the menus), it would be a good idea to back them up somewhere. On Windows, copy the Color.dat, Symbols.dat and Textures.dat to a floppy and store it in a safe place. On the Mac, back-up the Stitch Painter Colors, Stitch Painter Symbols and Stitch Painter Textures files. Then, if you accidentally loose the custom palette, you have a back-up that saves all the energy you took to create it.

December, 1998
Working in 256 Color Mode for Garment Styler
In certain situations, users find that they must switch to 256 color mode in order to get proper graphics for knitting within Garment Styler. If, when you request a graphic, you see a solid rectangle instead of the shape of a garment, you know you need to move to 256 color mode. What is happening, is that your video driver is drawing the outer shape of the garment in such a way that there is a 'hole' where two lines meet. Thus, when Garment Styler goes to internally 'fill' the garment, the fill leaks creating a solid rectangle. The knitting instructions you request will be 'weird' to say the least. Changing to 256 color mode solves all problems.

November, 1998
Global Symbol Swaps in Stitch Painter
Various craft charts use symbols to represent colors. We prefer to design in color and then swap symbols in. Generally, we like to swap them in one by one, so that we can ensure that symbols that sit beside each other in large color clumps look different to each other (i.e. we don't like several rectangular symbols to be beside each other). However, there are times when you may want to do a quick global swap, symbols for colors. If this is the case, follow the simple instructions on our FAQ/Tip page.

October, 1998
Making Pattern Packets!!
If you are using Garment Styler to create paper patterns (for sewing for for blocking your knits), it is a good idea to create a 'pattern packet' for each style. Our recommendations for creating a packet are as follows:

• Make sure you 'save' the file prior to printing, so that the file name appears on all printouts.
• Print a schematic of the Pattern only, with linear units and no grid. Do this in landscape mode in order to allow the pattern size to fill as much of the page as possible.
• Glue the schematic to the front of a manilla envelope.
• Print the paper pattern (with or without the sloper), using a grid, no linear units, and Actual Size.
• Place the taped-together pattern inside the envelope and file the pattern away.

September, 1998
Log those Serial Numbers!!
When you install software, why not make a habit of recording the serial number of the program in one master log? (either computer, but preferably a hard copy). This way, when you change computers or upgrade your programs, you can quickly find the serial number. In addition, record the date on which programs are installed on your computer. Thus if your computer begins to act 'strange' (really? a computer do strange things??) Keeping a log can save you hours of frustrations in the event you can't find a disk, or you begin to encounter computer problems which appear to be related to software installation problems.

August, 1998
Closing Windows Quickly
If you tend to have multiple windows open at once, and then need to close them, try using this shortcut:
Macintosh: Press and hold the Option key while you click on a Close Gadget. All the open windows will close.
Windows: Press the Alt + F4 key to close the open window. If you continue to press this combination, all the open windows and programs will close.

July, 1998
Printing Paper Patterns with Garment Styler
Did you know that you can use legal size paper when you print patterns from Garment Styler? This means less 'taping or glueing' pages together. You will need to choose 'Legal' as the paper source in your Print Setup prior to printing.

Also... do you know about the Dry Liner adhesive tool? Go to your favorite office supply store and look in the glue and tape section. The Dry Liner tool is a red hand-held tool that contains two way sticky adhesive tape. You simply roll it onto your patterns, and then place one paper on another. It is great! No more sticky fingers or yellowed adhesive tape.

June, 1998
How To Screen Capture an Image
Many folk want to screen capture something they see on their computer screen. For example, some folk would like to capture the schematic they create in Garment Styler. To create screen captures do the following:

On Windows:
Once you have the image displayed as you want it, press the PrtSc key on your keyboard. This will copy whatever you have on the screen (including menus, etc.) to the Windows clipboard. Then, open Windows Paint, or some other paint program and 'paste' the image into it. You can then crop away the things you do not want and save the file.

On the Mac:
Once you have the image displayed as you want it, press the Shift + Command + 3 keys on your computer. You will hear a little 'click' like a camera taking a picture. The image will actually now be saved on your hard drive as Picture 1 and additional screen captures will become Picture 2, Picture 3, etc. These are PICT files, and you may load theminto any paint program that accepts the PICT file format. You can then crop away the things you do not want and resave the file with a name that makes sense to you.

May, 1998
When working in the Stitch Painter program:
If you encounter 'color shifting' when moving between open applications, or moving between documents, press the '0' (zero) key on your keyboard. The first time you press '0', you will refresh the screen, and the second time you press '0', you will refresh the palette (if it didn't refresh already).

Color Shifts occur with some video cards/drivers. The colors in your document would appear differently than designed. They are a 'visual' thing only, as the information you would save when you saved the file would be correct, and if you closed the file and re-opened it, your image would be just fine.