Tutorial: Short version

1. Using your favorite graphics software, create an empty image with the size 1120 x 176 pixel (for kids size scarf use 800 x 116 pixel)
2. Create your custom pattern: you can do circles, squares, freehand painting, symbols, logos. Use text or Word-Art, different font types, font sizes and formatting, cut and paste from other images, just everything that you like.
3. Decrease the color depth (colors used in the image) to two (black / white). With present graphics software, you usually have different options when converting the image. Try these options and choose the version that you like best.
4. Save the file as .png, .gif or jpg file, althought .jpg has the disadvantage that the file is being compressed and some pixel information might get lost. In case the image is larger than 120 KB, please check again the pixel size of the file and the file format. Custom scarf patterns usually have a filesize between 15 KB and 120 KB.
5. Email your pattern file to info (at) wildemasche.com
6. Click this link to order a scarf with your custom design.

More hints and tricks

Create all sorts of scarf patterns
Generally speaking, all kinds of scarf patterns can be knitted. The file for the pattern must be 1120 x 176 pixel (for kids size 800x116 pixel). One side of the custom scarf has 1120 x 176 knitted stitches. You can choose for each of these 197.120 knitted stitches, if it should be knitted in color one (background color) or color two (foreground color). The back side of the scarf is made up of 197.120 knitted stitches as well, but the colors for those knitted stitches cannot be chosen independently, they are the swapped colors from the front side.

Minimum size for motives, graphics, text
Depending on font type, the minimum size is about 20 points. For graphics or other motives, it can be said that the smaller the motive, the harder it is to knit a custom scarf where the actual motiv can still be recognised.
The best way to see how the pattern will look on a custom scarf is to fit your motive into a template file with 1120 x 176 pixels and then reduce the color depth (number of colors used in the image) to two (black / white). If this looks good, you'll love your custom scarf.

No border or blank space in pattern file necessary
Given the size of 1120 x 176 pixel for the scarf pattern file, it is being knitted exactly like this. This means the first pixel in the top left corner of your pattern is going to be the first knitted stitch on the top left of your custom scarf.

Reducing color depth (number of colors used in an image)
Depending on your graphics software, there are several ways to convert your scarf pattern to black / white.
In case your software is just a graphics viewer with no further options for editing and converting files, look for a button that reads "Decrease color depth". You'll be fine with that converting text or simple drawings. For the conversion of photos or sophisticated logos, this won't generate a good black / white scarf pattern
Then you should try it with a graphics suite or semi-professional program, where can choose from several options when converting the file to black / white (e.g. Nearest color, dithering, error diffusion). Please try these options, and take the version you like best.
Note: In order to get a preview of how the custom scarf may look like, please make sure to convert the pattern to "real" black / white and not just greyscale. In most graphics software, you'll find a button that reads "Count colors used". If your machine is telling you "2", you're alright.

File format for custom scarf patterns
The best thing you can do is start building your pattern as a highcolor or truecolor file (16 / 24 Million colors). Thus you can use all kinds of effects, brushes, picture tubes, fillings etc. When your done, convert it to a two color .GIF file and send this to us.

Frayed edges after conversion to black/white
When generating text, many software packages use "Antialiasing" to smooth the edges of characters. What it actually does is adding grey pixels to the edges, so the transition from black to white is smoother. When converting the whole image to black / white, the function has to render wether a grey pixel should become black or white, and this sometimes can go wrong. If you don't like the result, try to generate text with respectively without Antialiasing, and decide which looks better after the conversion to black / white. If your scarf pattern is a really tricky one, you might have to correct some pixels manually that went astray during conversion. Because Yes it's true, every single pixel in your scarf pattern becomes a knitted stitch in your custom scarf.

Picking the right colors for the scarf
Of course, this is for you to decide, because you are the designer:-) . Our experience tells us that all color combinations look good or excellent. Keep the following points in mind:
Which article of clothing should match with the scarf?
You want the scarf to be an eyecatcher, use bright colors like light red or yellow.
You want the scarf more discreet, pick combinations like black / dark grey or dark brown.
Note: Especially for scarves with custom design, make sure you choose your colors according to the colors in the pattern file. E.g. you created a pattern with a rather dark motive in front of a rather light background, you should choose the knitting colors accordingly. Otherwise the motive will look inverted on the scarf. This is especially true for contrast colors like black / white.