Posts Tagged ‘hanzi’

Cross-stitching a Chinese character (hanzi)

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013

How to cross stitch a hanzi from Zero to Completion:

1) Have a friend give you a cross stitch set for X-mas 2011
2) Get started on it
3) Persevere (or not)
4) Finish it in February 2013
5) Brag about it in your blog

 

The completed cross-stitching. The keyboard behind it should give you an idea about its dimension.

The completed cross-stitching. The keyboard behind it should give you an idea about its dimension.

This is very good picture because it shows how exquisite the handy work is without revealing the flawed spots

This is a very good picture because it shows how exquisite the handy work is without revealing the flawed spots

For more detailed instructions read on…

So maybe you started learning Chinese (or Japanese) and you joined a learning group or managed to get some Chinese friends. Then, for X-mas they give you this cross stitch set which will let you cross stitch a hanzi (or kanji) and there you are.
The package sits there, unopened, glaring at you and your consicence is nagging you. Finally you open the package and things don’t get better. Alas, it’s a complete set including needles, yarn, the fabric and a sheet with incomplete instructions, maybe even written in Chinese (or Japanese) which you can’t read.
Intertubes to the rescue! Google “how to cross stitch” and all the results seriously impede on your masculinity as technocrat. Middle-aged+ ladies explain how to hold the needles, where to start a pattern and what yarn to use. You can already see yourself ending up with a bent back, shaking fingers and bad eyesight after years and years of labour and being laughed at by your friends who meanwhile hack out c0de.

Well, it’s not all that bad. Life is about broaden your horizon and if you should be glad to get such an opportunity. It’ll be an experience! Admittedly, if you’re spending every single minute outside frolicking then you shouldn’t start this li’l project when the beach volleyball season starts. Maybe pick a time where you can spend more time in the house like winter… and consider this: once you’re done, literally everyone will a) unable to refrain him/herself from making a comment on your hanzi (kanji) cross stitch and b) you get the pleasure of seeing their jaws fall to the floor when you tell them you did it all by yourself!

Alright, let’s get on with this… the hardest thing is to get started. But how do you get started on something like this? The instructions I found on the intertubes told me to get started in the middle of pattern. So, find the middle on the pattern sheet and the middle on the fabric. On the fabric you can get the exact middle by folding the fabric diagonally. Then, look at the pattern sheet. How many units to the left of the middle do you have to start? In general, once you find the starting point, work yourself horizontally to the right and back until the line is done, then move on the line below. Until you have completed the whole pattern!

For some good infos on how to cross stitch for beginners, check out this page, which I found very helpful: http://yarntree.com/007begin.htm

In the beginning, I meticulously kept track of how much time I spent on this:

research prior to starting: 5 hours
1.1.: 1 hour
2.1.: 1 hour
3.1.: 1 hour

Quite a long way to go...

Quite a long way to go…

4.1.: 2.5 hours
5.1.: 1.6 hours

Still not there...

Still not there…

6.1.: 1.2 hours
7.1.: 2.2 hours
8.1.: 2.1 hours

I think I can already read this... or not?

I think I can already read this… or not?

9.1.: 0.7 hour
10.1.: 1 hour
11.1.: 0.7 hour
15.1.: 2.3 hours
16.1.: 1.3 hours
17.1.: 0.7 hour
18.1.: 1.8 hours
19.1.: 2.5 hours
21.1.: 4.8 hours
22.1.: 0.9 hours
23.1.: 0.5 hours
24.1.: 1.0 hour
25.1.: 0.9 hours
28.1.: 1.2 hours
30.1.: 2.6 hours
31.1.: 2.0 hours
1.2.: 1.0 hour
3.2.: 1.1 hours
4.2.: 1.8 hours
5.2.: 3.9 hours
6.2.: 1.0 hour

Maybe I gave up writing down the times after that. Also, other things became more important again and I didn’t seriously continue working on this until November 2012… and finally finishing it in February 2013.