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Draw a path with the Pen

Use the Pen when you want a precise line or outline that you place point by point: a stem, a border, a swirl, a shape traced over a reference image. You end with a vector path that stitches right away (an open line as a satin column, a closed loop as a tatami fill) and that you can reshape later.

  1. Select the Pen tool: click it in the tool rail or press P.
  2. Click on the canvas to drop an anchor. Each click adds a straight segment from the previous anchor.
  3. Right-click instead to place a curve point: Boldbobbin shapes the curve through it from the points around it, so you don't pull any handles. (On a Mac trackpad, a two-finger click.) Or click and drag to pull out bezier handles yourself.
  4. To finish the path, double-click, press Enter, or click ✓ on the bar under the canvas. Press Esc to cancel the path you're drawing. Backspace removes the last anchor you placed.

To close the path into a loop, click its first anchor; right-click it to close through a curve. If both ends of the path have curve handles when you close it, the closing join comes out smooth, not as a straight line across the last gap.

The finished path is a vector object, and it stays selected after you commit it, so you can adjust what you just made without reaching for Select first.

By default a path uses the Default fill, which reads what you drew: an open line becomes a satin column, a closed loop becomes a tatami fill. Override it on the bar at the top of the canvas, or set the Pen's default fill ahead of time. See Setting the default fill for new shapes.

Example: a curved stem under a flower
  1. Press P.
  2. Click where the stem starts.
  3. Right-click halfway up, a little to one side, to bend the stem through that point.
  4. Click where it ends, then press Enter.

The line is open, so the Default fill gives you a satin column. Pick Running stitch on the bar instead if you want a thin outline-style stem.

Corners and curves​

New in v1.3.3, the Pen follows the rhythm of embroidery digitizing software: click for a corner, right-click for a curve. Use it to trace a round outline quickly: put a curve point on each bend and a corner where the outline turns sharply. The last curve point bends toward the pointer until you place the next point, so you see the curve before you commit to it.

The bar under the canvas (✓, Delete last node, and Discard) also has a Curve points button while you draw. Turn it on and every plain click places a curve point, like a right-click; Shift-click still places a corner. It is there for an iPad or a pen, which have no right button, and works the same with a mouse. It stays on while you keep using the Pen or the Satin column tool, and turns off when you switch to another tool.

As of v1.3.3, panning with Space or the Hand tool no longer ends the path you are drawing: pan, then carry on placing points.

Freehand drawing​

Freehand is its own tool, next to the Pen in the rail (N in the default preset). Drag to draw by hand. It stays active after each stroke, so you can draw several paths in a row without reselecting it, and a drawing can be built from several strokes before you commit it. See Freehand drawing for the stroke welding, the snap-to-close, and the draft bar.

Freehand shares its fill type with the Pen: changing it for one changes it for the other.

Edit a path later​

Double-click a finished path with the Select tool, or select it and press the Edit shape key (A in the default preset), to enter node-edit mode: move anchors and handles, change a node between Corner, Smooth, and Symmetric, insert or delete anchors, close or open the curve, and fill holes. As of v1.3.2 you can select several nodes at once, slide a node along its lines with Ctrl/Cmd-drag, and move, rotate, or scale the selection with G, R, and S. Commit with Enter, cancel with Esc. See Edit nodes.

The Cutter (K) splits an open path wherever the knife crosses it.