What is a Stitch? — Objects, presets and parameters

What does StitchPencil mean by a “Stitch”?

A Stitch is StitchPencil’s basic unit of embroidery: one drawn object plus the recipe that turns it into actual machine stitches. Every Stitch has a kind — Run, Satin, or Fill (Tatami) — and a set of parameters specific to that kind (length, width, density, angle…). The kind determines which parameters exist; the parameters determine exactly how the needle moves.

Two related but distinct things share the name “Stitch” in the app, and it’s worth keeping them apart:

• A preset is a named, reusable Stitch — “Running Stitch,” “Satin 2 mm,” “Tatami 45°” — stored in your Stitch Library. Presets are what the tool rail’s quick-access tiles remember.
• An object is one specific Stitch you’ve actually drawn on the canvas. It starts from a preset’s parameters at the moment you draw it, but from then on it’s independent — editing the object later never changes the preset it came from, and editing the preset later never reaches back to touch objects you already drew with it.

How do I create a Stitch object?

Pick a tool on the rail — Run, Satin, or Fill — and draw: a stroke for Run or Satin, a closed shape for Fill (or use Shapes / Text to place a ready-made one). StitchPencil’s engine generates the actual stitch plan live as you draw, using whichever preset is currently active on that tool’s rail tile. Points is a fourth way in — precision node-by-node placement instead of a freehand stroke, for the same three kinds.

How do I change a Stitch’s settings after it’s already drawn?

Switch to Select, tap the object, and its inspector opens with every parameter live-editable — drag a slider and the stitches on canvas regenerate immediately, so you’re always looking at the real result, not a preview. This is the same inspector regardless of whether the object came from a built-in preset, one of your own, or was drawn from scratch.

What do the common parameters actually mean, kind by kind?

The three kinds don’t share one parameter set — each solves the “how densely do I cover this with thread” question differently:

Kind	Core parameters	What they control
Run	Stitch length, Passes	How far apart needle penetrations sit along the line; how many times the line is re-stitched (3+ passes = bean stitch)
Satin	Width, Density (auto), Pull compensation	How thick the zigzag column is; how tightly packed the zigzags are (follows width automatically); how much the digitizing widens to counter fabric pull
Fill / Tatami	Angle, Density, Stitch length, Pattern	The compass direction of the scanline rows; the spacing between rows; the spacing within each row; the row-offset pattern (Diagonal/Brick/Scatter/Wave/Chevron/Contour)
Sashiko	Motif, Scale, Angle, Stitch length	Which lattice pattern covers the shape; the lattice cell size; its rotation; the running-stitch spacing along the lattice lines

The throughline across all of them: too dense wastes thread, slows the machine, and can stiffen or even tear lightweight fabric; too sparse looks thin and may leave gaps in coverage. Every default preset is tuned to a sane middle ground — the built-in presets are a safe starting point precisely so you don’t have to find that balance from zero.

Does opacity or color count as a “Stitch” setting?

Color and Layer opacity exist on every object regardless of kind, but they’re not part of the generation recipe — color is which thread it sews in, and opacity is a canvas-preview-only dimmer (the exported file always sews full, solid thread). See Color & thread and Layers & sequence.

Below is a Fill object’s inspector — note how the Sashiko section, Satin edge toggle, color and opacity all sit together in the same panel described above: