Tutorials

Create a Felt AppliquÈ in Photoshop

3/18/2003

Just because you don't have needle and thread doesn't mean you can't stitch on an appliqué. All you need is Photoshop. In this exercise we'll create a nifty effect: a felt nametag stitched onto fabric. Remember, it's the technique we're looking at, not the end product. You can apply this technique to other situations.

First we set up Photoshop.

1. Create a new Photoshop file with whatever dimensions you wish.

2. Choose the Paintbrush tool and paint a small black arc similar to a condensed letter C.

3. Select the arc by surrounding it with the Rectangular Marquee tool.

4. Choose Edit>Define Brush.

5. With the Paintbrush tool still selected go to the Window menu and choose Brushes.

6. On the left side of the Brushes palette click the words Shape Dynamics. This will select the function and give you the options for the shape dynamics.

7. Set the Size Jitter to about 25 percent. Set the Control to the Off position.

8. Set the Angle Jitter to about 5 percent with the Control set to Direction.

9. On the left side of the Brushes palette click the words Color Dynamics.

10. Set the Foreground to Background Jitter to 100 percent. The Control should be set to Off.

Now we can create our image.

1. Choose background and foreground colors that are the same hue but different brightness.

2. Lay a gradient across the background with the Gradient Tool, which should be set to Reflected Gradient in the Options bar.

3. Choose Filter>Texture>Texturizer in Canvas mode to create the effect of fabric on the background gradient.

4. Choose the Horizontal Type Mask Tool and type whatever you wish. Increase the letter spacing to add room between the letters (Character window).

5. Make the text that comes in as a selection into an Alpha channel (Select>Save Selection).

6. Deselect.

7. Blur the Alpha channel enough to make the word soft.

8. Using the Levels command (Image>Adjustments>Levels), push the white and black sliders inward to sharpen the word and make it rounded.

9. Go back to the RGB channels. Make a new layer in the Layer palette.

10. Load the Alpha channel into a selection by Command-clicking it in the Channel's palette (Control-click in Windows).

11. Fill the selection with red.

12. Apply the Add Noise filter in Monochromatic mode to add a little texture to simulate felt.

13. Since the text is still selected, the "Make work path from selection" button is active at the bottom of the Path's palette. Click it to turn the selected letters into a path.

14. Create a new layer. Set the Foreground and Background colors to similar shades of yellow, one darker than the other.

15. Choose Stroke Path in the drop-down menu at the upper right of the Path's palette. In the dialog box that pops up, choose the Paintbrush tool. The stitching will appear.

16. If the stitching is too big, undo the stroke, change the size of the brush tip, and redo the stroke.