Thankfully it was before I made a single stitch that I realized how much I hated my original color scheme. I matched my threads to the pattern, and what did I see? Beige, brown, tan, white. As I thought about how I want my project to look and what I like to wear, it became clear that I really needed to amp up the colors if it was going to match my aesthetic. The point is to remain flexible with your projects, especially when it is an original design.
I zoomed over to my computer, switched up the colors a bit, and now I have a Technicolor Lieutenant Commander. I realize he is very green. However, as you will see from my WIP photos I am not actually making Lt. Commander Kermit. Data's android face is more of a milky yellow, and I am using artistic license by making greens, blues and teals the shadow tones. Perhaps this is alluding to his time with the Borg? Who knows.
I zoomed over to my computer, switched up the colors a bit, and now I have a Technicolor Lieutenant Commander. I realize he is very green. However, as you will see from my WIP photos I am not actually making Lt. Commander Kermit. Data's android face is more of a milky yellow, and I am using artistic license by making greens, blues and teals the shadow tones. Perhaps this is alluding to his time with the Borg? Who knows.
After I stitched the brown shadow line in the center of his mouth I realized I really should have added a backing, also known as a stabilizer. I solved this problem by basting on a black backing fabric of cotton/polyester blend. It has no stretch and is pre-shrunk. Pushing and pulling the needle through these fabrics is shockingly difficult, which is where the pliers come in! Most of the time I am able to stitch along without a problem, holding the needle with my thumb and pointer finger of my right hand. However, strain this area, and you are messing with the muscles and tendons in your forearm which can be incredibly painful, and can lead to carpal tunnel. Using the pliers to pull the needle out does slow my work a bit, but really makes a difference in tough spots.
So at this point I wanted to add the J&P Coats to DMC colors conversion, for anyone who wanted to copy my color scheme... and learned the floss I have been using may be a knockoff! I added a few paragraphs to my Needlepoint Intro post going into it. Fact is, for me it makes little difference because I prefer to eyeball the colors until it "feels" right. And for anyone who wanted to copy this, I encourage them to do the same. If there is ever a demand for it, I will take my piece to the yarn shop I frequent and manually match up my colors to DMC, but until then, too bad.
Don't know how to stitch? My Needlepoint Intro may help!