Frayed fabric in PSP

[DMurray407]

In a current issue of a paper scrapping magazine (is it OK to say which one?) I saw a great background that looked like pieces of frayed fabric stitched together (like a crazy quilt). It looked really neat-but of course, it really WAS pieces of frayed fabric stitched together and I want to do it in PSP9. Anyway, I've been working on a few tutorials I've found for making fabric, but I can't quite get it right. My frayed edges are coming out a little coarse and stiff looking. My best results came from using the effects/distortion/wave tool-maybe I just need to fiddle with the settings. I was wondering if anyone had done anything like this or had any ideas.
Thanks!

[Emma]

can you post the links if they're not to commercial sites? If they are, PM me. Let us know which you like best, and show us an image of what you've come up with

[Pam]

I have made frayed edges on "fabric" in PSP using the weave texture effects, then using copy & paste and the clone brush to remove the last few rows and turn them into fringe. I have used the warp tool to fray the edges, also by selecting a few strands and experimenting. I've also tried extending some with the freehand drawing tools.

[DMurray407]

The very best tutorial I've found so far came from Bannerwoman's site (she has some great stuff there!). The link to the fabric tutorial is:

http://www.bannerwoman.com/tutorials/bwfabric.htm

If you haven't looked around her site (which is currently having some difficulties) she has some great tutorials and freebies.

I only saved my first attempt and have been deleting all the rest as I go, so I don't have much to show. The only thing I've changed from her tutorial is that I put everything on it's own layer so I can change things here and there as I go.

I'll have to try the weave effect-and I was wondering if the warp tool would work to twist the fibers a little. A few freehand threads would look nice, too. Great suggestions-thanks!

Unfortunately, I think I'm sheetrocking this afternoon and won't have much time to play during this upcoming week. Oh well!

[DMurray407]

Here is my current attempt :

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=28852&cat=500&page=1

I used Bannerwoman's tutorial as a starting point, made a few changes and this is what I've come up with. Actually, I'm pretty happy with it. I used the mesh warp tool to add texture. I did write down what I did, and could post it somewhere if anyone wants to give it a try, but Bannerwoman deserves most of the credit.

As always, comments and suggestions are appreciated!

[Lauren]

I have a tutorial here at DSP which is for fine mesh fabric - Its not exactly what you are looking for but you might find it interesting. You could fray the edges by making a
brush that looks like the inverse of a frayed edge and using it as an eraser as well
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/university/tutorials/ps_meshweave.shtml is the link to the tutorial

[Emma]

Lauren, I think the idea of using the Fine Mesh is a great way to add fraying to edges. I saw a black dotted swiss ribbon of yours printed in Amanda's book and I totally thought it was a scan. The little shaggies on the ends made it look so real!

I have photographed fabric (or scanned it), to help me see what something 2D will look like in 2D, and that helps me recreate it more easily. My weapon of choice is the pencil tool, or a very shaggy brush. If I'm using a patterned fabric, I have to preserve those colors on the shaggies, so be aware of that. Each thread will be a different color, or if it's a printed fabric you'll have spot of color on each thread.

Pull out some scraps and pull some threads out and study them closely. Will help a lot to use careful observation when creating photo realistic art.