Instant Stitch

Rating:
Summary: Cross Stitch/Knitting/Sewing ALL IN ONE
Review: I found this 4 set software a "survey" of all four, successful at none. I am computer software savvy, but I found it difficult to use. Comes in a nice sized box with only the 4 CDs inside. I rather expected a book, pamphlet, or SOMETHING. I was particularly interested in the cross stitch CD, which I found completely insufficient for doing any sophisticated work. I didn't think HELP was particularly useful. I wanted to create a new alphabet to design something. This software just won't do it. Or I just couldn't figure it out. I was unable to "cut and paste" my designs. I am sure there was a way to do it, but it wasn't intuitive, or work like any other product I have used.

I didn't attempt to use their "organization" CD as I found everything else so very useless. BEWARE OF BUYING 4 HIGHLY SPECIALIZED crafts consolidated into one oversized box containing only 4 CDs. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Cross Stitch/Knitting/Sewing ALL IN ONE
Review: I found this 4 set software a "survey" of all four, successful at none. I am computer software savvy, but I found it difficult to use. Comes in a nice sized box with only the 4 CDs inside. I rather expected a book, pamphlet, or SOMETHING. I was particularly interested in the cross stitch CD, which I found completely insufficient for doing any sophisticated work. I didn't think HELP was particularly useful. I wanted to create a new alphabet to design something. This software just won't do it. Or I just couldn't figure it out. I was unable to "cut and paste" my designs. I am sure there was a way to do it, but it wasn't intuitive, or work like any other product I have used.

I didn't attempt to use their "organization" CD as I found everything else so very useless. BEWARE OF BUYING 4 HIGHLY SPECIALIZED crafts consolidated into one oversized box containing only 4 CDs. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Very Useful....but...
Review: I received my Instant Stitch a few weeks ago and have used it almost everyday. It is very easy to use. I am a crocheter and wanted to make sweater patterns. Hence my two complaints: (1). There are no written conversions for crochet stitches...If you put the knitting needle size in metric and enter your gauge, the rows and width come out even. The written patterns do not accomodate crocheters and (2) My Childrens size pattern maker did not work at all. I think it was faulty.
Even with these problems, this product is worth the [$$$]...lots of info in it.

Rating:
Summary: Very Useful....but...
Review: I received my Instant Stitch a few weeks ago and have used it almost everyday. It is very easy to use. I am a crocheter and wanted to make sweater patterns. Hence my two complaints: (1). There are no written conversions for crochet stitches...If you put the knitting needle size in metric and enter your gauge, the rows and width come out even. The written patterns do not accomodate crocheters and (2) My Childrens size pattern maker did not work at all. I think it was faulty.
Even with these problems, this product is worth the [$$$]...lots of info in it.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but a bit out of date
Review: Instant Stitch comes with 4 CDs: Sweater Design, Organized Expressions (the inventory), a cross stitch pattern creator, and "personal patterns for children." The kiddie stuff didn't load properly, and strangely, seems to be for sewers, not knitters/crocheters.

The inventory is exactly the program I have been looking for and, I hope, will finally allow me to catalog my stash. My one complaint is that since the software was written, many many new yarns have appeared (and others have disappeared) So I find myself calling some yarns by the wrong names, just to get them in the inventory -- alas, the upgrade from the manufacturer costs another $20!

My final word? The two relevant knitting CDs seem to be an excellent value. I have no idea why the other programs are included. Does anyone want my cross stitch program?

Rating:
Summary: Cool stuff inside
Review: This package comes with 4 CDs, and each one has something to offer.

1. PM Stitch Creator takes a picture/photo in jpeg format and converts it to a pattern. You can specify how many colors you want the pattern to contain, and this is important because sometimes you want the picture simplified to only a few colors, and sometimes perhaps you'd want to work with more. You can change the ratio of row height to column width, thus making this software applicable to cross-stitch, knitting, and crochet. You can also start with a blank canvas, pick some colors, specify ratio of columns:rows, and draw your own design. For cross-stitch you can also pick individual stitch types to use, but for a knitter like me, I just opted to see everything as color blocks rather than textured stitches. Software had lots of options and was pretty easy to use.

2. Sweater design. I like this one! Warning: this software is for knitters only, although it works for both hand and machine knitting. Basically, you can design any sweater. You can select many size presets for babies, men, and women, and also you can customize all the sizes if you want. There are many tools for organization, such as inputs for knitting dates and yarn information. There are tons of options - cardigans, pullovers, v-necks, crewnecks, raglans, with and without hoods, different shoulder shapings, body shapings, sleeve lengths, tightness of garment (ease), etc., etc., etc. Once you input your gauge and select all the relevant options, the computer spits out a pattern! There is also a gauge calculator to standardize your gauge and an increase/decrease evenly calculator.

3. Personal patterns for children. Just like the other reviewers, I had trouble installing this one. The CD launched an auto-install menu, but that didn't work. Instead, I just opened the CD and specifically selected the .exe file which would launch the application. It's a sort of weird application, gives sewing patterns! It has lots of different garments, though. I think it would be useful if, let's say, I wanted to knit a pair of overalls for a 3 year-old boy and needed some dimensions without measuring the child. This program didn't have as many options as the other ones.

4. Organized Expressions. This is great to keep track of your projects, your yarn stash, your needles, your patterns, etc. It's also convenient to look up yarn gauge and content if you lost the label, or for making substitutions. As another reviewer mentioned, some of the yarns aren't manufactured any more, and of course it's impossible to make a comprehensive yarn library. But you can certainly enter your own yarns and comments, you don't have to stick with their template. I would use this program if I had an out-of-control yarn and pattern stash (but I don't) or if I had really bad memory (which I also don't).

Overall, if you need some help organizing your knitting, this package is worth it. I think the sweater designer is nifty, although most knitters would be able to adjust a pattern without needing software. The Stitch Creator is cool, and I think that's the software I'll be using the most. The other two CDs aren't for me right now, but could be useful in the future.