Project settings — Hoop, units, grid and fabric

Where do I find project settings?

Inside the editor, tap the gear icon at the top-right of the top bar. This opens a popover distinct from the app-wide App settings in the Gallery — everything here is saved inside the project file and travels with it, including if you send the .hoop file to someone else. One exception: Rotate design too, next to the hoop rotation, is an app-wide preference — it remembers how you like to turn, not what this project does.

Where do I change the hoop size?

Right at the top of Project settings: five presets (50×70, 100×100, 130×180, 160×260, 200×300 mm) plus width/height fields and an Apply button for a custom size. The same preset list appears when you first create a project — this is where you change it afterwards.

How do I rotate the hoop?

The Rotate hoop 90° button, right below the hoop size — tap it repeatedly for successive quarter-turns. A “Rotate design too” toggle next to it decides whether your artwork rotates along with the hoop or stays fixed while just the hoop orientation changes around it.

Where do I switch between mm and inches?

The Display units segmented control (mm / inch) in Project settings. This is a per-project setting, not a global one — each project remembers its own preferred unit. Unlike tools where units are an app-wide preference, this one is per project: change it here, per project, not in the app settings sheet.

Where’s the grid?

A segmented picker: Off, 1 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm or 25 mm (¼ in, ½ in, 1 in in inches). It never touches the stitched result.

With the grid on, a dragged selection catches its lines. The reference is the selection box’s lower-left corner, and the catch reaches a quarter of the spacing — at most 0.5 mm — so a fine grid catches finely and leaves room to move freely between the lines. Dragging on always overrides the catch.

What does “Minimize color changes” do?

When it’s on, StitchPencil batches objects that share a color together in the machine stitch-out sequence wherever it’s safe to do so (i.e. without changing what’s visually on top of what) — fewer thread changes at the machine. It’s an optimization over your drawing order, not a replacement for it; see Layers & sequence for how the actual stitch-out order is shown and can be adjusted by hand.

What does “Cut thread when jumping” do?

A Rarely / Normal / Often segmented control right under “Minimize color changes”. It sets how far the thread is allowed to travel from one object to the next before the machine cuts instead of dragging a connecting thread across.

• Rarely — the fewest machine stops, but longer loose threads to snip by hand once the hoop comes off.
• Normal — the default, and the right answer for most designs.
• Often — the tidiest sew-out, at the cost of more stops and more thread ends to secure.

Whatever you pick, connectors that end up hidden under later stitching are never cut — there is nothing to snip, so there is no reason to stop the machine. If you find yourself trimming a lot of threads by hand, move the control toward Often; if the machine keeps stopping, move it toward Rarely.

What does “Hide travels” do?

The default for Join. Switched on, connections inside a joined group run over thread that is already sewn instead of being cut: hidden under stitching that comes later, or doubled along a line. Where that is impossible the thread is cut anyway — no connection ever runs across bare fabric.

Switched off, the machine ties off and cuts after every member of the group. Some prefer the extra stops to any doubled thread.

Changing the default here also applies to the joined groups already in the project. Each group can still decide for itself afterwards: the switch of the same name sits in the group inspector.

What does “Smart satin ends” do?

Applies push/pull compensation at the point where two satin columns join, so the seam doesn’t visibly gap or overlap once the thread has pulled the fabric in during stitching.

What is “Crossing underlay”?

Off by default. When enabled, StitchPencil adds an extra underlay bar specifically where two satin columns cross each other, giving the intersection more stability under the top layer of stitching.

What does “Overlap under covers” do?

A Tight / Normal / Generous control sitting under Target fabric, because it describes the cloth rather than any one shape.

It sets how much of a fill Remove overlaps leaves tucked underneath the object covering it. Trim flush and the two edges pull apart on fabric until a gap shows along the seam; leave too much and you sew bulk nobody sees. Softer and stretchier cloth wants more. Normal is the default; nothing changes unless you move it.

Unlike its neighbours here, this setting does not regenerate anything on its own — it is read at the moment you run Remove overlaps, and that operation edits the object’s shape. Changing it later cannot un-cut what was already cut.

What does “Target fabric” affect?

A Woven / Knit-Jersey / Fleece-Towel picker. It drives density, underlay choice, and pull compensation throughout the whole project — stretchier fabrics get more underlay and a bit more pull compensation automatically. The same field reappears inside the Export Center the moment a machine file is selected, so you can confirm or change it right before sending a file to your machine.

Concretely, on Knit/Jersey a fill’s row spacing tightens to the value that sews closed on a T-shirt, pull compensation goes up a little, and the fill’s underlay changes to suit stretchy cloth. Fleece tightens a little further and keeps a full lattice under the cover, because pile needs holding down. None of this is written into your objects — the compensation is applied while the stitches are generated, so switching fabric back restores the designed values exactly. The Fill inspector spells out the resulting row spacing underneath the density slider, so you can always see what the machine will really sew.