Render modes
Switch render modes to check a design before you sew it: Vector to edit the shapes, Stitch to inspect what the machine will do, and Realistic to see roughly how it will look in thread. The switch sits in the top-right of the canvas, above the stitch overlays; cycle through the modes with Shift+S. (Before v1.2.2 it was in the header.)
- Vector: paths as editable outlines. This is the geometry you edit.
- Stitch: the generated stitches, the way the machine will sew them.
- Realistic: the thread with lighting and depth, for a true-to-life preview. As of v1.3.2 each thread is drawn at the width of its weight, so a 60 wt reads finer than a 40 wt.
Connecting stitches in Realistic mode
Realistic mode shows how nearby shapes of the same color are joined, so the preview matches what the machine will actually sew. Where two such shapes sit close enough to be connected rather than jumped or trimmed, Boldbobbin sews across the gap with running stitches (see Settings → Connection), and Realistic mode draws them like any other thread. The stitch animation walks across them a stitch at a time instead of skipping the gap.
Realistic mode needs WebGPU
Realistic mode requires WebGPU. If your browser or device doesn't support it, the Realistic button is disabled; Vector and Stitch still work. See Realistic mode is unavailable.
Stitch overlays
Three overlays sit under the render-mode switch. All three are Stitch mode only: vector mode has no machine stitches to inspect, and realistic mode does not draw jumps or trims at all.
- Jumps (Shift+J): the needle's travel moves between shapes. The button wears a frog, which reads as "jump" at a glance.
- Trims (Shift+T): where the machine cuts the connecting thread.
- Points (Shift+P): a ring at every point the needle comes down. The rings stay visible on a thread of any color and on a light or dark canvas.
Jumps and trims show inside a word too, so you can see the travel between and within its letters. And clicking any object reveals its own jumps and trims without turning an overlay on first.
For example, before you export a name for a cap, switch to Stitch and press Shift+J. Each jump line is thread the machine carries across uncut, which you will trim by hand after sewing; press Shift+T to see where the machine cuts for you instead.
Stitch mode also shows each object's entry and exit markers and the connectors that travel between objects, so you can see where stitching starts, ends, and jumps. See Vectors vs. stitches for stitch vertex types.
They had toggles here until v1.2.2. Snapping is now reached with Shift+Y or from Settings, and a guide is hidden like any other object, from the Layers panel.
Animating the stitch-out
Animate, on the bottom bar, plays your design stitching out from start to finish in a drawer above the bar. It is a per-color timeline: one lane per color block, laid out in the order the machine sews, with jumps and trims marked on it and an optional needle cursor showing where the machine is. You can switch between Stitch and Realistic views mid-playback and set the playback speed; Vector mode can't animate. You can also export the animation as a video. See Export a video.
New in v1.3.3, machine stops are marked on the timeline too, and playback pauses at each one with what to do there. For example, at the first stop of an appliqué set to Trim in place, the drawer reads "Machine stop. Lay the fabric over the guide run. Then press play." An appliqué's fabric shows under its stitches in all three modes, and the Vector mode draws its cover as a band at its width.