Skip to content

Gestures & hidden shortcuts — What's easy to miss?

StitchPencil borrows a handful of gestures from Procreate-style apps, plus a few of its own. None of these are announced anywhere in the UI — this page is the closest thing to a discoverability net for them.

How do I undo and redo without the toolbar buttons?

Section titled “How do I undo and redo without the toolbar buttons?”

Two-finger tap anywhere on the canvas undoes; three-finger tap redoes. Finger-only — it deliberately does nothing with the Apple Pencil, and it won’t fire if your fingers move before lifting (so it doesn’t fight with panning or pinch-zoom).

What does double-tapping with the Pencil do?

Section titled “What does double-tapping with the Pencil do?”

Toggles between Draw and Select mode. It follows whatever you’ve set as the system-wide Apple Pencil double-tap action in iPadOS settings, and it’s automatically disabled while you’re in the middle of node-editing or cutting a hole, so it can’t interrupt a precision edit.

How do I switch the tool rail to the other side?

Section titled “How do I switch the tool rail to the other side?”

Two ways: the Tool bar side picker in App settings, or a small chip at the very bottom of the tool rail itself — tap it and the whole rail, plus every panel that docks beside it, mirrors to the other edge instantly. Handy for right-/left-handed use without leaving the editor.

Why won’t the canvas pan when I use the Apple Pencil?

Section titled “Why won’t the canvas pan when I use the Apple Pencil?”

By design — pinch-to-zoom and two-finger panning only respond to finger touches. The Pencil is reserved entirely for drawing and precision editing, so it can never accidentally scroll the canvas mid-stroke.

What does hovering the Pencil near the screen do?

Section titled “What does hovering the Pencil near the screen do?”

On hardware that supports Pencil hover, StitchPencil shows a live rubber-band preview while you’re in the Points tool — you can see where a node will land before you actually tap it down.

How do I favorite a Stitch preset for the floating HUD?

Section titled “How do I favorite a Stitch preset for the floating HUD?”

Long-press (or swipe) an entry in the Stitch Library popover and choose Add to HUD. Once you’ve favorited at least one preset, a small floating “puck” appears on the canvas; tap it to fan out up to 8 favorites in a ring. You can drag the puck itself anywhere on screen — its position is remembered. See Stitch presets & the HUD.

How do I pin a color to this project without adding it to a whole palette?

Section titled “How do I pin a color to this project without adding it to a whole palette?”

Long-press a swatch in any catalog to Pin to Project Colors; long-press an already-pinned chip in the Project Colors strip to remove it again. See Color & thread.

Long-press a row in the Layers panel and drag — there’s no separate “edit mode” to enter first. See Layers & sequence.

Is there a gesture for reshaping a gradient blend?

Section titled “Is there a gesture for reshaping a gradient blend?”

Yes — drag a divider on the BlendGradientBar to redistribute how much of the gradient each color zone gets; tap a divider (rather than dragging it) to open a softness slider for that specific transition. See Blends.