When you
tell an object that it is to be a certain stitch type, the stitches will
automatically generate. Also, when you adjust or edit the object, the stitches
will generate for you. But what if you want to do a complex series of edits on
the object? It might be desirable to turn the automatic generation off for a
while. You can do this with the ‘Delayed Generation’ button. As long as the
button is pressed, and you are in ‘Create’ mode, your stitches will not
generate.
When you want to generate
stitches on an object or set of selected objects, click the ‘Generate now’
button. If nothing is selected, the program will look for any objects needing to
be generated and will generate them accordingly. This button is useful when
Delayed Generation is turned on – you control what gets generated and
when.
The usual mode of drawing with
points is to draw with curved points and use the Ctrl key to draw a line. This
may be undesirable for some art. You can use this button to switch the way that
operates – pressing it will cause drawing to default to a line, and the Ctrl key
will cause points to be a curve. Note that using the Shift key to make a line
constrained to 15-degree angles will work either way – you can constrain the
line angle as long as you are not making a curve.
When drawing, the edges of the main
view have an area that act as an auto-scroll area – if you move your mouse in
that area while drawing your page will scroll automatically which gives you more
room to continue drawing. Sometimes this is undesirable, and the action can be
toggled on and off using this button. Note you can also use the arrow keys while
drawing to scroll 1cm per key click. And holding the spacebar will let you pan
the screen by dragging it with the mouse.
When an object is selected, you can select all other objects using the same style or stitch type by adding the Control key to a right-click. Ctrl-Rt-Click > Select by…
Areas filled with stitches such as
Satin Columns and Fills can be given additional texture using Carving Lines.
Carving lines are additional shapes that can be added to objects in a very
similar manner to adding holes. Use the ‘Add Carving Line’ button on the Tool
Pane to begin a carving line, and select the input method (usually Point Input)
to begin drawing. Draw a path over the object.
The carving line generates needle penetrations where the normally-generated stitches intersect the carving line.
The only real caveat to carving lines is that in high-density areas, your fabric may lash up as the needle is penetrating closely together. For this and other reasons, some designers create two areas of fill, overlaid on one another, each at half density. This adds texture, can reduce fabric pull, and carved lines will add minimal impact.
Styles allow for repeated use of properties on a given type of object. There is a style button on the top, right of each object property page. When an object has been assigned a style, that style will be highlighted in the style list, shown on the Style properties for the object. If an object was assigned a QuickStyle, but has been modified, it will be given an asterisk at the end of the style name.
The Styles Property Window
Once you change the property of an object you just made, the program takes the properties of that object and uses them for the next object you make of the same type. This is the “Current Style.” For example, if you create a run and set it to a Bean stitch, the next run you create will start out as a Bean also. Although it may not be a named style, the current properties are important, as they are used when creating an object.
Updating the ‘Current’ Style
The ‘Set’ button will use all of the properties as shown to set the ‘Current’ style for new object creation; when you create a new object of that same type (run, column, etc.) it will be created with the same settings as the first object now selected.
Alternately, if you have an object whose style is “None” and you click ‘Update’ it will likewise set the ‘Current’ digitizer settings to match that object.
Normal Style
When you begin creating objects having just run the program, the default styles are being used, called “Normal.” These have been tested to be reasonable for all-around conditions, but naturally properties exist for a myriad of reasons.
To remove the QuickStyle from an object, click “None.” This will have no effect on the properties of the object; it just removes the style setting.
When you have an object that has its properties set a certain way, you can save those properties as a QuickStyle. Using QuickStyles allows you to remember a set of property settings that sewed perfectly for a project, or simply to match prior objects you’ve created.
Adding a QuickStyle
When you create a style based on a selected object, you can name it. This is called a QuickStyle, and the style itself resides with the design page being used, and on your computer for future use. To do this, click the ‘Add’ button.
If you load a document with a style that is not on your system, it will be referred to as a “Page Style”. If you would like to add this style to your collection for use later, you can click the ‘Add’ button.
Renaming a QuickStyle
If you wish, you can rename the style with the ‘Rename’ button. Any object that uses this style will show the new name in use when the style page is shown.
Updating a QuickStyle
When you have modified a QuickStyle-stylized object, and you want to update the QuickStyle to match the current object properties, use the ‘Update’ button. This means that other objects with the same style set will not match. Since the main reason for styles is to have all the objects working the same, there is an option presented to update all the other objects that use the same QuickStyle to have their properties match the current one.
Removing a QuickStyle
Using the ‘Remove’ button, with the trash can icon on it, you will remove the QuickStyle from the page, and from your system. Realize in doing so that other objects on the page, or indeed other files you have created, may have used that QuickStyle.
As QuickStyles are stored with the page as well, the style will become a “Page Style” for other documents when you load them, if they had that QuickStyle applied.
When you remove a QuickStyle, it erases it completely without affecting the properties themselves. Objects that have had their QuickStyle removed will not lose their property settings, but will naturally have a style setting of “None.”
Stylesheets are design collections that have objects that have properties set to perform digitizing a certain way.
For example, suppose you want to collect a set of object types that you use to create freestanding lace. You can make a design with those objects in it. Their shape does not matter, but their properties are what are important. The objects will have the properties needed to make your lace. You can then use that Stylesheet at any time to set all the object properties on the sheet.
Stylesheets allow you to add styles to your Styles lists quickly and easily. They can also be exported in a .BX installer for use on multiple computers, or even shared with others.
Stylesheets can be loaded into the ‘current’ digitizer settings, usually at the onset of creating a new design, but not always – they can be set as the current properties at any time.
Creating a Stylesheet
Start with a new design page. Now begin by digitizing one object, and set the properties of that object to your style. You can use a QuickStyle that you have on hand already to set the properties. You can add as many objects to the design as you like. Once you have the design how you want it, use the menu ‘Create->Publish->Stylesheet’:
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You now have two options for Publishing: Publishing to your collection of Stylesheets, or publishing as a .BX installer. The .BX option will also publish to your stylesheet list, but it additionally saves a .BX file to a location of your choosing.
Here is an example:
In this screenshot, you can see we have two Run objects, labeled ‘Stem’ and ‘Bean’. We also have a Fill object, labeled, ‘Light fill’.
IMPORTANT: Save your working (.be) file so you can adjust this Stylesheet at a later date if you need to.
When we publish this Stylesheet, we have these available as QuickStyles:
Notice there are now two entries on the Run (left) and one on the Fill (right).
Setting a Style as Current
The menu ‘Create->Styles…’ calls up the Stylesheet manager:
This window is divided into two sections. On the top is a list of the Stylesheets available to be used to set the ‘current’ properties. The lower list allows you to highlight any and all Stylesheets you want to have available for use while creating a design.
Thus, you are not limited to a single Stylesheet, nor are you restricted to using it only at the start of a design page. You can set the properties to a style at any time by selecting it in the drop list. And you can highlight as many stylesheets to be available as you like.
You will notice there are some Stylesheets that exist for you; Normal (which is the default properties for the program) and ‘Line Wand’ which is handy to use when generating objects with the ‘Magic Wand Lines’ tool. You’ll notice that in the image above, there are two Stylesheets selected, “Line Wand’ and ‘My Style’, so here is what we see in the Run properties:
Notice that there are ‘My Style’ and ‘Line Wand’ available. Also, we had chosen ‘Normal’ as the Stylesheet to use as a current property set, so the Normal is there as well.
Note that QuickStyles are always available to you; they are not a particular Stylesheet, but rather a simple set of properties for one object type.
Removing a Stylesheet
When you select a Stylesheet that you have created, the trashcan button next to the drop list will be active, allowing you to remove that Stylesheet from your system completely. (Remember, we told you to save the .BE file in case you want it later!)
Path operations are advanced graphical tools that help you quickly get a result shape based on currently selected ones.