dray965

Getting out my scanner to scan my fabrics is something that I avoid, if I can. Here is what I do instead.

I'm sure that someone has already posted this, but just in case this tip hasn't been mentioned I thought I'd post.

It is cumbersome to scan my fabrics. I have to get out my scanner and then do all the procedure to scan, add, etc.


Instead, I simply take photos of what I intend to use, put into my computer, add to My Library and I'm good to go. Here are the step by steps. It may seem a lot but it takes very little time once you know how. And it takes me a lot less time than dragging out and setting up my scanner. A bonus is that I can pictures at my local quilt shop and go home to try them out before I buy.



1) lay out the fabrics I want to use, smoothing them as much as possible.
2) take a photo of them from a height of about 12 inches and upload to my online photo site.
3) download into my computer using this path: Documents/My EQ7/Images
[NOTE: If you've put the EQ7 Image folder elsewhere, I can't help you.You'll have to find it.]
4) In EQ7, go to Library/Fabric Library/Import Results
5) The Import Results window will be blank, but look to it's bottom left and notice the IMPORT button. Press.
6) Select Image Files
7) Navigate to the path described in step #3.
8) Click on your fabric and press the OPEN button. It will immediately appear in the IMPORT window of EQ7.
[NOTE: you may select as many as you want by holding down the CTRL key as yo select.]
9) Click on the fabric and press CTRL+C to copy.
10) Click the MY LIBRARY button. Navigate to the location you wish to save the image.
11) press CTRL+V to paste into your location.
12) If using immediately, just put it in the sketchbook from here.


Of course, those having a bluetooth compatible phone AND a bluetooth compatible computer can just skip step #3.


I also save fabric company swatch-images to my computer this same way. (I download the fabric from those companies offering the EQ7 downloads, of course.) Then I just import them into MY LIBRARY so I can try them out before I buy.


I hope this helps someone.


Regards

QuiltnNan

thank you for taking the time to share

Tiggersmom

Thanks for posting this. Question: when you put these into your computer how true to life are the colors???? Thanks.

carol45

Thanks! This will be very useful!

dray965

I have an iPhone and the colors are very true when they make it into my computer. I've found that taking the pic at approximately 12-14 inches makes the pattern the correct size in my quilt. However, I must say this is a guess. I didn't actually have someone measure the height I'm holding my camera.

I've also noticed that with certain colors it wasn't satisfactory. I was trying to photo a light yellow and all I got was a muddled yellowing grey. It could have been my lighting though, because it was a dreary day and I was taking it using natural lighting in my quilt room. What I did there was go to the site where the yellow was and copied a pic of it into EQ7. That worked fine for what I was doing.

ManiacQuilter2

I use my scanner if the fabric is outdated but otherwise, I usually can find current fabrics on the fabric manufacturer's website. You just saved it into a folder (I call mine EQ Fabrics), then import into you sketchbook. I haven't put anything in my library. You know you can copy from another project's sketchbook.

dray965

Like most quilters, I have a LOT of scraps. I find the photo method allows me quickly get them into My Library so I have a lot to draw from when I'm designing what I'm quilting next.

On the NOTECARD, I can put how big the scrap is and where the scrap came from (or any other info I might need later, possibly how much it cost?).

Also when I bring my fabric home from the store, a quick picture allows me to get it recorded and into the program for use later. After my quilt is made I can go back and record what scraps are left and their sizes and then delete whatever is used up and gone.

Barb in Louisiana

Thanks for posting your way to adding to the fabric library. I have had limited success adding fabrics. I am going try this tomorrow.

waltonalice

I'm delighted to have this information. Even if the colors don't "look" the same on the computer screen, they will be more than close enough for you to understand what your quilt will look like.

dray965

My thought exactly waltonalice.

I'm trying an experiment to see whether that my computer screen colors match with an online store's fabric images in realality.

I'll take my quilt design with color that come from my stash. Then I'll go to the online quilt store and pull up their swatches, find what I want and input to my computer.

After that I'll import it to sketchbook and magnify my design to the point that I can drag it over to that store's color in the fabric palette to see if it matches.

I've already done this with a yellow from the Connecting Thread site and a few of their other fabrics that I already had. It was true to what I expected. However, I don't know about all their fabrics nor about other online store fabrice. But seems to me it should be consistent with what I've already seen.

Again, it may just be my computer's display settings and my camera.

But as you stated, even if not, it will give a good idea of what the design will be with those fabrics. The consistency in what you're seeing on your screen WILL be consistent to that extent.

I also need to add that the SHAPE of the photo I took was SQUARE. I didn't use the regular photo setting on my phone's camera (iPhone). I found that the regular shape, while still useful, had a clip that my EQ7 tiled to a square with a narrow rectangle-edge up the right side. It was not bothersome, but the square setting was better.