Import — SVG artwork and reference images
Can I open a project file from another app?
Section titled “Can I open a project file from another app?”.hoop and Boldbobbin .vemb projects open from the Gallery, and a machine file (PES, DST, EXP) opens there too as editable stitches — see Opening files from other apps. This page is about artwork: vector files and photos you bring onto the canvas of a project you already have open.
Where is the import button?
Section titled “Where is the import button?”In the Layers panel. Tap Layers in the top bar, then the image-with-a-plus icon in the panel’s header. It only asks for the source — Photo Library or Files — and the content of the file decides the rest.
It is the way in for every kind of artwork: vector files and photos share the one button.
How do I import an SVG?
Section titled “How do I import an SVG?”Through the button above, or quicker: drag the SVG file straight onto the canvas from another app. Either way opens the SVG import assistant with a live preview against your hoop.
What choices does the import assistant give me?
Section titled “What choices does the import assistant give me?”- Import as — Stitch objects (each element becomes an editable Run/Satin/Fill object) or a Tracing template (a locked reference image you draw over by hand)
- Scale — a percentage field, with Fit-hoop and 100% shortcuts
- Per-element mapping — each stroke maps to Auto / Run 1× / Run 2× / Bean 3× / Satin / Skip (with preset pickers alongside), and each fill maps to Tatami or Skip
- Per-color thread mapping — assign a real thread color to each color found in the file
What happens if I just drop in a photo instead of an SVG?
Section titled “What happens if I just drop in a photo instead of an SVG?”It becomes a reference/tracing image, not stitch objects — with an opacity slider, on-canvas move/scale/rotate, and a Straighten control for a photo that was shot slightly rotated. It’s meant to be drawn over with the regular Stitch tools, not converted automatically.
Is there a fully automatic “photo to stitches” feature?
Section titled “Is there a fully automatic “photo to stitches” feature?”Not for photos. StitchPencil’s path is tracing over a reference image by hand, or importing structured vector artwork (SVG) with the mapping controls above. For flat artwork — stickers, logos, line art — there is Stitch Draft, an opt-in Labs tool that makes a rough first draft you then refine by hand. See Stitch Draft.