Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

After reading all about HAED patterns here, I'd like to give one a go. Zen Garden looks like a nice one for me. However, I have a couple of questions before diving in:

1. Zen Garden is available as both a regular and mini pattern. How big a difference in detail and fidelity to the original artwork between the regular and mini patterns? The size of the mini appeals to me, but I don't want to give up a ton of detail.

2. What fabric size ranges work well for the HAED designs? I know they recommend 25 count, but I've never worked on anything that small. I'm most comfortable with 16ct Aida and my eyes definitely aren't what they used to be.

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you can provide!

I think its great your going to start an HAED chart. But then I am an HAED addict and we always welcome new potential addicts to the group. Zen Garden is so pretty. What a lovely choice. I have stitched and am currently stitching both regular size pieces and mini's. I have completed one mini which was a gift for my sister. Page 15 of my thread on stitching mini Amethyst
will give you some idea of how much detail can be achieved. Minis are charted seperately from the regular sizes so there is still a lot of detail. I'm sure that some is left out as they are smaller, but the ones I'm stitching now sure have a lot of confetti. It really is an individual decision, but I like minis because they have a chance at getting finished.

Your second question is one that pops up here regularly. HAEDs can be stitched on any count and on any fabric. My favorite is to tent stitch on 28 ct evenweave 2 over 1. I have stitched 1 over 1 on 25 ct and on 22ct. I tried 2 over 1 on 25 ct as HAED recommends, but hated it. Hard to stitch and bulky. For me. We have some members who love it and have no problem. I've also seen it stitched on 18 ct aida as well as 16 and 14 ct.

The best thing to do is to get some samples of different size counts and fabrics and make samples of what you think you would like to do. I would stitch at least a few 10 x 10 squares to get a good feel and to also not just stitch one color block but see how it works if you are changing colors in a confetti heavy section. I wish I had done this when I started my first HAED. After struggling through 6+pages and over a year's worth of stitching, I tossed it and started over. So no one suggests doing the test stitching more than I do.

If you belong to the HAED BB (and if you decide to stitch a lot of HAEDs or even just a few, it is a great resource) there is a section devoted to Stitched fabric samples.

Lots of us stitch these so ask and someone will know the answer or know where to find the answer. I can't wait to see your updates on this one. I've only stitched part of one Marchetti. He is a lovely designer.

Carole

And.. if you do stitch on 16 ct.. it will be bigger than if it were on 25.
16 stitches to the inch vs. 25 stitches to the inch.
So not only will dimensions will be different, but thread usage will be a bit higher as well.

To get the finish size of this piece, divide stitch count by fabric count.

the minis are still rich in detail, I highly recomend starting with a mini especially if you are using a smaller fabric thread count

stitched on 16ct the mini would be aprox 15" wide by 20" high, the full size would be 22" by 30"
I personally like the higher counts and stick with 25-32ct but I have seen HAEDs done on 16 and 18ct and they look beautiful. HAEDs use only full cross stitches which means it works fine on any count of fabric.

i'm working on 18 count at the moment it's the count i tend to like most how ever when i worked out the size of my next one we would have to move to hang it so i've tried different counts to see what would work and i'm going to try 25 ,the finished piece would have been almost 3 feet by 5 feet ,so something to consider