I'm on DS's computer right now, so no Photoshop. I can't tell you my specific settings. I can only tell you that I keep my shadow very small and very light. I like to give it just enough "lift" that it seems that if you touch the page, you'd feel the little bumps. It also depends on the thickness of the thread used for the stitching too. If it's very narrow, like typical sewing machine thread, I barely use any shadow at all, since that type of thread isn't really raised much at all. When you get into string (which is what most of the stitched elements that we buy are) my settings are something like: Distance 3, Size 1, Spread 2. I usually use black for the shadow color, set the blend to multiply and keep the opacity at around 50 for darker backgrounds and adjust lower for lighter backgrounds. All of that being said, I play with these settings A LOT. I could probably pull out 5 different layouts with stitiches, look at the settings, and find 5 different settings. But that might give you somewhere to start.
