Design File Preparation FAQ
Design File Preparation FAQ
A knit blanket is built stitch by stitch, so your artwork file works a little differently from a file prepared for print. These answers explain what to expect when you prepare and review your design file.
Reviewing Your Design File
Why does my PNG or TIF file look stretched or squashed?
That's normal: screen pixels are square, knit stitches are not
On a screen, every pixel is a perfect square. A knit stitch isn't. Each stitch is slightly taller than it is wide, at a ratio of about 9 to 10.
Your file is mapped one pixel to one stitch, so the image on screen will look a little out of proportion compared with the finished blanket. Once your design is knit, each pixel becomes an elongated stitch and the artwork comes back into its correct proportions at full blanket size.
Please don't stretch or reshape the file to "correct" how it looks on screen. We've already accounted for the stitch shape in the pixel dimensions we give you.
My TIF file looks tiny. Will my blanket come out too small?
No. Pixel count sets the size, not inches or DPI
No. The print size or resolution saved in the file (inches, DPI, or pixels per inch) doesn't matter for knitting. What matters is the pixel count, because every pixel in your file becomes one stitch in the fabric.
A file with the right pixel dimensions will knit to the correct finished size, even if it opens as a small image on your screen.
- Check the file's width and height in pixels, not inches.
- Don't upscale, downscale, or resample the image to make it look bigger.
Why does a 6-color design need a different ratio in pixel count than a 4-color design?
More colors change the fabric's density, and with it the width-to-height pixel ratio
The number of colors or yarns packed into each stitch directly affects the density of the fabric, which also affects the shrinkage of the blanket during wash and dry. So the stitch count needed to reach the same finished size is different.
It isn't only the total number of pixels that changes. A 6-color build has a different ratio in pixel count between width and height than a 4-color build, even when both make the same 50 × 60″ blanket. Two files for the same blanket size can look quite different on screen, and both will still knit to the correct finished size.
| 50 × 60″ Recycled Cotton | File size (width × height) |
|---|---|
| 4-color build | 502 × 530 px |
| 6-color build | 542 × 406 px |
There's no simple formula for these numbers. We arrived at each stitch count through physical knitting tests and finishing trials for every fiber, size, and color build. That's why we confirm the exact pixel dimensions for your project before you finalize your artwork.
