Estimating time to stitch
Cris and Margaret Simpson
debating sleep over finishing stitching a pumpkin on a shirt for my
son. I wanted to have it done for a party at our playgroup today, in
case he refused to wear his "official" costume, and I thought it would
take a couple of hours, maximum. Boy was I wrong!
I realize that at 16 months old, he doesn't care about wearing costumes
or that he has a pumpkin on his shirt. I was doing it for myself and
for the delight of his grandmas who would see the cute pictures.
Anyway, I went to bed, leaving it unfinished. He can wear it Saturday.
Now we can get to the question:
How do y'all determine how much time you'll need to do a particular
design? I suppose I could time myself and see how many stitches I can
do in, say 15 minutes, and then add time for a more difficult design,
etc. That sounds too much like my old job. Is it just something that
comes with time and doing a lot of stitching? Or do you have a way of
gauging how long a design will take you? (I'm thinking of small things
like this, ornaments, other last-minute type stuff. Not necessarily a
big MLI angel which I already know will take me years.)
Email replies are nice because though I try to keep up, sometimes I
don't see messages before they expire.
Thanks!
Margaret
PS: he wore his costume, but not the hat, which of course was the best
part. Luckily I had an eye pencil so drew some whiskers on him. He made
a mighty cute beaver!
Monique Reed
to take into account getting sidetracked, being distracted by the TV,
starting four other projects, getting sick of it for a while and not
working on it, etc, etc.
Monique, She Who Cannot Be Scheduled...
Diane M
Goodness, with all these distractions around here, I can only get in about
50 full ones (guesstimating here). Is that not pitiful? :(
Diane
Doris Rhodes wrote in message <71b58q$n...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
>Hi
>I can only tell you that I've heard that the average stitcher can stitch
>approximately 100 stitches per hour. Where that came from I don't know
Laurie G.
Monique Reed wrote:
As a former home stitcher for Cross Stitch & Country Crafts I can say that the
average stitcher stitches about 100 per hour. I was able to determine that I was
stitching about 120 stitches per hour. We (home stitchers) were paid by the hour
so we had to keep track of the time we stitched. Of course, lots of color changes
& outlining in backstitch slowed us down a bit.
Choose a project that has mostly all full crosses, and perhaps 30 - 40 % (or
less) outlining. Then keep really good records of time stitched. Write down when
you start and when you stop, even if it only 15 minutes. When it is finished,
determine how many total stitches it has. Do this by multiplying the # of
vertical stitches by the # of horizontal stitches. Then divide that # by the # of
hours it took you to stitch it. This will give you a *stitches per hour* figure.
You can then use this number to estimate more accurately your stitching time
needed.
HTH, (and if you need further explanation because I totally confused you ((I
think I confused myself ;>D )) then let me know)!
--
Laurie - somewhere in the SF Bay Area
WIP: Fairy Grandmother by L&L ***Finally Done***
17th Cent. English Sampler by Sandy Orton, TIN
Generosity by the Drawn Thread
Karen Foss
sure that it depends on what I am stitching though. Patterns that are
pretty much solid color blocks, I most likely do stitch at the *average*
100 per hour. Constant color changes and blended needles definitely eat
away at that average though.
I have one sure measure of when I will have a project done though, it
will always be about a month after what ever deadline I was trying to
have it done by :)
KarenF
Doris Rhodes
I can only tell you that I've heard that the average stitcher can stitch
I've never tried it myself so I don't know that either. Guess I'm not
really being much help but thought I would thought I would mention it
anyway. I know I always try to give myself a good three or four months to
do a really complicated piece. Dori
Monique Reed wrote in message ...
Sonya Cirillo
*now* I know where to send those projects piling up with an
unrealistic deadline (as she starts another sweater to be done
by Christmas, along with 2 other sweaters, various ornaments, . . .)
Sonya (in Texas)
Seriously - I try *not* to estimate how long it might take me -
life keeps intruding if I really, really want something done by
a certain time - so I've adopted a much more laid back attitude:
It will be done - when I get it done :)
mag
> 100! Is that *full* cross stitches or half stitches or what? ;D
>
> Goodness, with all these distractions around here, I can only get
in about
> 50 full ones (guesstimating here). Is that not pitiful? :(
>
> Diane
Wow, that is indeed pitiful !!! Sad, disgusting, pathetic and, just
a few stitches faster than I stitch myself.
Hey, what's that I hear? Why, it's my own self esteem puffing
up just a bit. :)) Me thinks I'll go stitch a bit on Miss
Hathaway's
Garden. Maybe I will finish it someday.
Mag
Oregon
Debbie Wise
depends on what movie is on. If Gone With The Wind is on then there is no
hope of any stitching being done while Clark Gable is on screen. If DH is
watching one of his spoof movies like those silly ones with Leslie Nielson
then I stitch in record time. Deb Wise
Cris and Margaret Simpson wrote:
> OK, here is a silly question. It came to me at midnight as I was
> debating sleep over finishing stitching a pumpkin on a shirt for my
> son. I wanted to have it done for a party at our playgroup today, in
> case he refused to wear his "official" costume, and I thought it would
> take a couple of hours, maximum. Boy was I wrong!
>
> I realize that at 16 months old, he doesn't care about wearing costumes
> or that he has a pumpkin on his shirt. I was doing it for myself and
> for the delight of his grandmas who would see the cute pictures.
> Anyway, I went to bed, leaving it unfinished. He can wear it Saturday.
> Now we can get to the question:
>
> How do y'all determine how much time you'll need to do a particular
Joi Ramey
wrote:
>Hi
>I can only tell you that I've heard that the average stitcher can stitch
>approximately 100 stitches per hour. Where that came from I don't know and
>I've never tried it myself so I don't know that either. Guess I'm not
>really being much help but thought I would thought I would mention it
>anyway. I know I always try to give myself a good three or four months to
>do a really complicated piece. Dori
Hmm..that's an interesting question. I stitch quickly, depending on
what I'm doing. Having poor eyesight, I often have to double and
triple check my pattern if it's a complicated pattern with lots of
thread changes. If it's a relatively simple pattern, such as a
sampler, I can finish in a week or so, depending on how big it is.
Last year I made my husband's aunt a sampler that was enormous.
Fortunately <ha> I got the flu and so had plenty of time to sit and
work on it.
Doris Rhodes
Just thought I would put a little note here - when I say I usually give
myself about three months to finish a complicated project you guys have to
know that I am not working right now so I can stitch quite a bit during the
day. Sometimes - if I'm really in a hurry, I will stitch for 6 or 7 hours
in one day. If I had to go to a job and then try to stitch afterwards it
probably would take me forever to finish anything - at least 6 or 7 months.
I don't want anyone to think I'm a speed demon here. Have fun. Dori
Sonya Cirillo wrote in message
<36F5F9F7CA7452CE.7DC38AD0...@library-proxy.airnews.ne
t>...
Regina
> How do y'all determine how much time you'll need to do a particular
> design?
It usually takes me three times the estimate on the package. For
example, I have a book of patterns called "Two Hour Cross Stitch". Most
of the patterns take me six hours to finish, including backstitching. A
kit called a "Weekender" will take me about a full week of a couple
hours a day. Obviously, patterns with a lot of shading/color changes
take longer than those with solid blocks of color. I'm getting better at
evaluating patterns on that basis. The more you do, the better you'll
get at estimating.
--Regina
EPV
will take 12-18 months! I undertake small "doables" in between to provide
me a sense of accomplishment. Last month I just finished a Barbara Baatz
angel I stared in 1996! But have done a few sweat shirts, ornaments and
stuff like that to keep me going. I did do the Prayer of St. Francis for my
dad and the Pledge of Allegiance for my DH this year.
I am 10% done on PV's Through a Mother's Eyes. I want to give it to my mom
on my 2nd anniversary Jan 31, 2000. Maybe it can get done by mother's day
2000? I'm just going to have to get to the 100 stitches per hour level.
On your mark, get threaded, sew!
Edna
Suzanne Root
>
> OK, now I'm sitting here green with envy. A complicated piece like a PV
> will take 12-18 months!
Oh, me, too. It takes me *forever* to complete a project. I seem to be
the slowest stitcher in the world. I have about 7-12 things in rotation
(yes, that's right, I do not know the exact count, and hey, I don't
*want* to know!) and I get back to a project several times a year (one
would hope). Well, at least I'll die happy, they can bury me in a
coffin lined with UFO's!
LOL!
Suzy
John & Liz Hampton
EPV wrote:
> snip
>
> I am 10% done on PV's Through a Mother's Eyes. I want to give it to my mom
> on my 2nd anniversary Jan 31, 2000. Maybe it can get done by mother's day
> 2000? I'm just going to have to get to the 100 stitches per hour level.
>
> On your mark, get threaded, sew!
>
> Edna
I guess I should find this chart and get started on it. The woman I work
for/with at the library has a 16 year old daughter & I would love to give this
to "them" when Rebecca gets married. If I start it now, maybe it will be done
by the time she finishes school, finds a really nice guy and decides to get
married. With any luck, she'll take her time & I'll have about 10 years to
work on it. :-)))
Liz from Humbug
Badcat24
In article <3638DD84...@netcom.com>, Cris and Margaret Simpson
<cr...@netcom.com> writes:
>How do y'all determine how much time you'll need to do a particular
>design?
I heard that the stitches per hour can actually get up to about 200 stitches
per hour (on a previous RCTN thread from about a year ago) on an area that is
mostly fill in. I have timed myself (because I am a model stitcher) and have
found that I do about 120-200 depending on if I am filing in or do color
changes. I use scroll bars and a floor stand which helps speed things up a
lot.
But of course it isn't the speed that counts...it is how much you enjoy it.
BTW I posted a message a little over a week ago about doing TW's Lilly Maiden
in two week time period. It is now about 1 1/2 weeks into the two weeks
finishing time (I have to send it out Monday) and I am happy to say it is about
3/4 done. I am just about done with the center and then I have to do the
background (which is mostly fill in stitching) and then the backstitching. I
figure if I stitch a lot this weekend I shouldn't have any problem getting it
done. This has definately been one of TW's easier peices and I have enjoyed
working on it. Since this is a model I am looking forward to doing another one
for me in the future:-). I recomend this peice to anybody that has wanted to
do a TW but is afraid of the bigger/harder ones. Plus it is an angel/fairy and
is totally darling (I just love angels!).
Beth Q.
Badc...@aol.com
Cottage Grove, OR
Hrswoman
make adjustments based on your own speed. Once you do you can figure fairly
accurately how long something will take to do. I hope this helps.
Know, how long it will take to stitch a design,
before you start stitching it!
I found this method a few years ago. I have tested it many times and found it
to be fairly precise. The estimates I have gotten have been a little on the
high side, but, not by too much. The times that I have checked it, by actually
timing it, it was almost dead on.
What you need to do is, multiply your design stitch count together. If your
design is 107 stitches high X 88 stitches wide that means there are 9,416
stitches in your design. Divide 9,416 by 200. (Two hundred is the number of
stitches the average stitcher can complete in an hour.) The answer, or time
needed to do the project, is 47.08, or about 47 hours. If you estimate you can
stitch 10 hours a week that means it will take about 5 weeks to finish this
project.
Knowing how long it will take you to finish a pattern is really helpful. No
more guessing about how long it takes to finish those last minute baby
samplers, shower gifts, wedding presents, birthday gifts, etc. If you're like
me, you always underestimate how long it takes to finish something. I can't
tell you how often this method has saved me from nights of frantic last minute
stitching. Thank goodness, trying desperately to finish a project "just
before" that special occasion is now a thing of the past for me.
Knowing just how long a project will take, can also help with your framing.
How many of us have a stack of finished pieces in a drawer that are waiting to
be framed. When you start a project, why not go to your framer. Show them the
count and color of the fabric and the finished size. You can get an idea what
mats and frame are going to be appropriate with that piece. The framer should
be familiar enough with needlework to estimate how much it will cost to frame
the finished piece. (See my other handout, How to Choose A Framer for Your
Needleart. This could save you time, money, and headaches!)
Lets go back to the example, we know it will take about 5 weeks to finish. If
you know before you stitch, the framing is going to cost $60.00, it should be
fairly easy to save $12.00 a week. When you are done stitching you will have
already put aside enough money to frame your needlework. No more piles of
finished projects waiting to be framed. Now you can enjoy the finished
project!
There is so much bad in the best of us,
and so much good in the worst of us,
it ill behooves any of us,
to talk about the rest of us.
Beth Katz
looking at the chart. There is a lot of repetition and pattern. If I am
doing a piece where I need to look at the chart frequently, I stitch much
slower than if I can just stitch.
So I have a hint ... If you have blocks of color, outline them paying
careful attention to where the edges are. Then fill in the area. For
example, on the wings I'm doing for my Dad, there are lines of highlighting.
I'm stitching those first. Then I'll be able to fill in the rest with
the "base" color without referring to the chart all the time. Those areas
are good for traveling too because you don't have to juggle the chart.
I tend to be a slow stitcher. I doubt I managed 100 stitches in 90 minutes
of stitching last night because I had numerous color changes, thread to
"iron" because it had been wound on floss cards, and was discussing how
to find faculty members with DH. (If anyone knows someone getting a PhD
in Computer Science who wants to teach, have them send me email.)
Beth Katz
ka...@cs.millersv.edu
http://cs.millersv.edu/~katz
wol...@pacbell.net
<snp>
>thread to
>"iron" because it had been wound on floss cards
??? What kind of thread? Do you really iron it?
Nan Evelyn
Beth Katz
> Nan Evelyn
I put "iron" in quotes because I don't really use the heavy hot iron.
That device is used primarily for pressing completed stitching.
I believe I got this idea from Martha Beth or someone else on RCTN.
I separate my strands of floss, run individual strands over a damp
sponge (stored in a film canister), and drape the strands over the
arm of the chair or sofa. They dry fairly quickly and don't have
any kinks. I find that I need to turn my sponge over each time I open
the canister, but it just sits on my stitching table.
I only "iron" floss that is kinked. In the note snipped above, I was
using DMC flower thread which tends to tangle. I have most of mine
wrapped on floss cards. So when I take some off to stitch, it has
kinks. Ironing helps immensely. If I need to use multiple strands,
I still separate them out, iron, dry, and then recombine.
Be sure that the thread is dry before stitching. If I am changing
colors, I iron the color I need and then iron the next one while
waiting for the first to dry.
Credit to someone else (Martha Beth???) because I'm replaying what
I read as I type this.