Even the most basic of designs can be enhanced to create depth by selective use of color, texture, edge stitches, and layers.  All of these components help to give a design interest.

Recently, I was watching a program on TV and they were talking about mapping out how cells in the body look.  Cells have depth and edges to them to aid them in combining with other cells.  Scientists were requesting a 3-D image of cells to better help them create medicines to bind correctly with the outer edges of the cells.  The programmers took the idea of origami paper folding art to use a flat image (piece of paper) and create a 3-D image by adding intricates folds to make the shape have depth.  They then applied that technique to visualize the cells in the body.  Absolutely fascinating!!

I took this idea and tried to create origami looking embroidery designs in the embroidery hoop. I started with some clip art images on the internet and then used that to create my designs.  I had to use color, texture, edge stitches, and overlapping layers to create a look of a 3-D image even though it is stitched onto a flat background.

Here are a couple images of some stitch files I created using this idea.

Search the block library in EQ7 for some basic origami blocks to start with.  Apply stitches to the artwork and see what types of designs you can create with this 3-D technique.

Although our EQStitch program is a basic entry level digitizing program, you can create some pretty amazing designs with the basic tools in the program.  I would love to hear about what you have created using this idea of 3-D designing.