Add a shape
Use a shape when your design needs a clean geometric element: a border, a badge outline, a heart, a star, a background block. You get an object that already stitches, and whose size and proportions you can keep changing without redrawing it.
There are two ways to add one: draw it directly, or pick it from the shape library.
Draw a shape
The Editor group of the tool rail has drawing tools. Keys shown are the default Illustrator preset; see Customizing shortcuts.
- Rectangle (M): drag to draw; hold Shift for a square.
- Ellipse (L): drag to draw; hold Shift for a circle.
- Polygon (Y): drag to draw a regular polygon. Set the number of sides in the Properties panel.
- Star: drag to draw a star. Set the points and inner radius in the Properties panel.
Ellipse, Polygon, and Star are variants on the Rectangle slot: right-click or long-press it to reach them.
New shapes start as a Tatami fill by default. See Setting the default fill for new shapes to change it.
Add from the shape library
Click Add shape in the tool rail to open the Add shape dialog. Shapes are shown as a thumbnail grid, not listed by name:
| Shape | Its own settings |
|---|---|
| Rectangle | Corner radius |
| Ellipse | |
| Polygon | Sides |
| Star | Points, spoke ratio |
| Heart | |
| Cross | Arm ratio |
| Arrow | Head ratio, shaft ratio |
| Diamond | Aspect (W/H) |
| Triangle | |
| Teardrop | |
| Crescent | |
| Leaf | |
| Flower | Petals |
Set the Size (mm) and the shape-specific options, then click Create. The new shape is placed centered on the current view.
The preview is the real thing
The preview shows the actual stitches from the settings you picked, so what you see is what Create gives you. Dragging a slider updates the stitches live.
A View type switch flips the preview between Vector, Stitch, and Realistic (Realistic needs WebGPU).
Stitch settings in the dialog
You pick the stitch type and its settings before creating the shape, rather than fixing them afterwards:
- Running: stitch length, bean passes.
- Satin: width, placement (Contour or Inner), spacing, and the corner method.
- Tatami: angle, row spacing.
You also set the color here.
On a small shape, the satin Width is capped to what the shape can hold, so the band can't fold over itself. Two shapes start with their own satin defaults: the crescent at a 1 mm band, since its horns taper to a point, and the heart with Overlap corners, which sew its two sharp points more cleanly.
- Click Add shape and pick the star thumbnail.
- Set Size (mm) to 50.
- Set Stitch type to satin, leave Placement on Contour (a band along the outline), and set Width (mm) to 3.
- Pick the thread Color, check the preview, and click Create.
Adjust a shape
Select a shape and every one of its knobs reaches the essentials bar, under Shape: corner radius, spoke ratio, arm ratio, arrow ratios, diamond aspect, and so on. The Properties panel has the same fields.
To change how it's stitched, pick a stitch type on the bar: see Fill an area. To move, resize or rotate it, see Move, resize, and rotate.