Our Customs have always been a big part of our shop. When we were first starting out, when Cynthia was the only designer and all we had up were the Hamliton and Wicked patterns, we had people reach out to find out if we would be willing to do other musicals in the same style. I think our very first customs included shows like Hadestown, Dear Evan Hansen, and Six.
Through the whole time we have been running the shop the customs have not only helped us keep going, but they have also helped us know what shows and media people are looking for, just like requests do.
But we have gotten to the point where our custom listings can be a little confusing, so here is a guide to help answer some questions we get a lot and walk you through how our customs work.
Types of customs
This is our very first type of pattern that we did. We do them most for musicals, but have done them for books, musical artists, movies, games, and personal meaningful quotes.
For this one you provide quotes (the amount depending on the size you want) and any details about it we need to know (ie if you want a specific production's poster.)
For each we do a featured font and at least one graphic. The graphics might be taken from the poster, cover, or some other detail. If you have a specific request for a graphic be sure to let us know!
Larges of this style are 234w x 299h stitches or 16.71w x 21.36h inches on 14 count fabric. For these you'll want to have 10-14 lines picked out. This size is also what we recommend for the whole song style too.
Mediums are 134w x 202h stitches and 9.6w x 14.4h inches. These will only fit around 2-4 lines or a single refrain.
Finally smalls are only 70w x 88h stiches and 5w x 6.29h inches. These will normally fit a single line. We have a subset of this kind we call small tall (because we are creative like that) for longer lines that falls under the same category.
If you're unsure what size you should look at based off the quotes you want on it send us the list of quotes and we will advise you which one will fit them best.
Don't have all your lines? That's okay, we can find and add some in. We often have to if we end up with too much space. Just be sure to let us know if there is anything that you don't want on it.
After our poster style this is our most popular kind of custom. For this type we also offer a selection of sizes that can get a little confusing. So we'll walk through them.
Small: Like the example here the square of lyrics is almost always the same size. If you're doing a set and want it to match in rough size this is likely the one you are looking for. It can fit 1-2 people comfortably, but beyond that, or if someone has a large prop, it might need to be widened or raised a little. They can be fully body or a close up, but remember, the more you put in the less detail we can fit. If the costume is complicated like the one in the example, and you want a full body you might want to consider a medium instead.
Medium: This is the size that is most confusing for this style, because it is the size it needs to be. This kind is good for large groups, like our La Vie Boheme pattern or fine details like the outfits in our Here I Go Again pattern. This is not a size that I normally encourage people to pick on their own, but more one I advise based on the request.
Large: The large for this style is just that, LARGE. This is a wide pattern like below. It has all the characters your want on it is whatever size it needs to be to fit them. In some cases that means that they have to be on more then one line. Like our Jellicle Ball Pattern
Done in the same style as the graphics used on the Lyric Portraits these done of of person, a group, or a pet. These we publicize less because they are personal patterns that we don't share on our social medias. This example is Cynthia's grandparents.
These ones you chose the size on, though remember, as always if you want it small it will have less detail. When you order you can let us know how many people/animals you want in our pattern and we will work with that.
If it's for a memorial pattern please message us before you order. These we do for free, because of personal beliefs and not wanting to profit off of suffering. If you are uncomfortable not paying no issue. The money is then donated. You can specify the place or we can pick. Just let us know which you prefer. And yes we offer this for animals too.
This style is our newest to be offered for a custom. And it is by far our most expensive. Why is that?
Depending on the level of detail needed for the graphics I average 2-3 books in a full day of work. On average a bookshelf like the one pictured in the example will take me between a week to a week and a half to finish.
For this style I can do a series, a specific author, or just a collection of books you like. You let me know.
When you order I need to know what books, including if you want a specific edition for any of them, and a selection of graphics you would like around them. This is not just to make sure I'm getting the things you like on it, but so that I know what to do. I would love it if I had the time to read all of these books, but sadly I don't, and to be honest you do not want to wait for me to finish them.
If you want a long series that has to be on more then one shelf (I can fit about 8-10 books on one shelf) then you need to get a custom for each shelf.
Please remember these are ADVANCED patterns. They are not for beginners. They involve fractional stitches and detailed back stitching. To get the level of detail I need in them there is not much I can do about it.
Have a request that doesn't fit any of these categories? Message us and let us know. This is likely the custom we will suggest for you. Even if your idea doesn't strictly fit in the details we have on the listing, we're mostly always willing to work with folks. If you are requesting something HUGE we will ask you to buy two.
What happens when you order a custom?
For you this is very straight forward. We will pin down with you what you want, then we will create either one or several mock ups. We will send these to you for changes or approval. If you want changes we make them and send you new mock ups until you're happy. We've had this process take one day and we've had it take months. If you keep asking for changes just remember, you are not bothering us or being too picky. We want to make something you will like, so don't feel bad about asking us to redo things!
For us what happens next depends a lot on what you requested. If you knew the exact details of what you want that is what we do. But for a lot of people there is a degree of creative license on our part. And so at this point what we do is often research.
We listen to the musical, we read summaries of the books (I'm dyslexic, I can not read fast enough to keep up with all of y'all so you get summaries), we watch the movie, we look at fan art and fonts. I have never in my life seen or read Dune, but at this point that people assume I'm a fan, but nope, just did a bunch of research. I will be honest though, this research has gotten us into a lot of the things you folks request.
Then we put together the pattern. The exact steps very so wildly I'm not going to try to lay them out here. But we always try to work a little something extra into it, be it in the font or a little detail in the graphics. Most of our Shakespeare patterns have at least a little bit of a font based off his handwriting, musicals we always try to take a font similar to the poster and to capture the vibe of the show. There are so many times we've ended up working a lot longer then we should of because the phrase "It would be so cool though..."
I have only a vague idea what I want. Can you still help me with a custom?
We have had people come to us with a fully formed idea that they knew what font they wanted, the size, and how many lines. We have had people come to us with no more then "something off Pavlov." If your not sure just let us know up front. We will talk to you about what your idea, no matter how formed it is, and help you pin it down.
My idea is a little weird
We have seen weirder. I'm not going to post any here so that I don't call out anyone, but we have had some truly strange requests and honestly they are some of the most fun to do.
Can my request have swearing/nudity/graphic imagery?
Bring it on!
Why won't you do my request?
We have always been clear about not being willing to do some things. Here are some of the reasons:
Copyright. Some companies, like the mouse or BBC, are very protective and will go after us very fiercely. Have we made exceptions to this? Yes, mostly because Disney now owns so much that sometimes we just missed that a company was a subsidiary of them. Since they are less protective of their subsidiaries we will sometimes still take these customs, but it's on a our comfort level basis. Likewise we don't like to do things from small artists without permission.
Outside of our wheel house. This is most common for us to reject in terms of conversions. We have nothing against conversions and there are some folks who do an amazing job at them, but we do not. They are not a style we have any practice or skill at and thus not something we feel comfortable charging for when there are sites that can do it for folks at the same level we can for free.
Hateful. We will flat out not do anything hateful and try to reject anything that is harmful to others, like HP or Ender's Game. Hopefully this one is self explanatory.
Our computer can't take it. Honestly there have only been a few that we have ever had to turn down for this. These folks simply wanted patterns that were too big for the graphics of our equipment. Since these requests were made we have upgraded our computer so it should no longer be an issue.
But you have styles that aren't listed
We do! And while we are willing to do a custom of most of our styles for a lot of them there is just not enough demand to make a custom listing for that style. Just ask us, odds are we are more then willing to do it for you.
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