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Fill an area

Use a tatami fill to cover a closed shape with rows of stitches: a patch background, the solid parts of a logo, any area too wide for a satin. You end with a filled shape whose direction, density and underlay you can tune.

To fill a closed shape with stitches:

  1. Select the shape with the Select tool (V).

  2. Pick Tatami from the stitch-type picker, either on the essentials bar or in the Properties panel. The picker shows the stitch rather than the word.

  3. Adjust the fill. Angle and Spacing sit right on the essentials bar; the rest is in the Properties panel or the bar's popovers:

    • Angle (°): the direction of the fill rows (default 15°). Turn it to change the sheen, or so two fills that touch read as separate areas. You can draw it instead of typing it.
    • Row spacing (mm): how close the rows sit (default 0.25 mm). Smaller = denser and heavier; larger = lighter and faster. Raise it if a fill feels stiff on thin fabric.
    • Stitch length (mm): length of each stitch along a row (default 4.0 mm). Shorten it for a finer texture on a small shape.
    • Staggers: how the stitch ends are offset row to row (default 4), so they don't line up into a visible ridge.

    These are the settings of the default Fill: Tatami. The Fill choice next to the stitch type swaps the rows for a stipple, spiral, offset, maze, or radial fill (new in v1.3.2), or for a Motif fill, small motifs repeated in rows (new in v1.3.3), each with its own settings. See Stitch styles and decorative fills. Fill: Appliqué makes the shape a patch of fabric instead: see Create an appliqué.

An open shape is closed first and then filled, rather than producing nothing.

Switch the render mode to Stitch to see the result.

Example: a 70 mm round patch background on cotton twill
  1. Draw a 70 mm circle with the Ellipse tool (L, hold Shift for a circle). New shapes from it start as a Tatami fill.
  2. Set Angle to 45° so the rows run on the diagonal.
  3. Keep Row spacing at 0.25 mm (the Cotton preset's value) for solid coverage, and leave Tatami underlay on.
  4. For a finished edge, add a satin border around it: see Create a satin column.

Draw the angle​

Next to the Angle field is a picker button. Click it, drag a line across the canvas, and the rows run the way you drew it. Hold Shift for 15° steps, Esc to back out.

Add a pattern​

A tatami fill can carry a tiled motif, so the shape reads as a raised pattern in the stitching. See Add a pattern to a fill.

Add a gradient​

A tatami fill can also fade across the shape, into a second thread or out to the fabric, by opening up its rows. New in v1.3.1. See Add a gradient to a fill.

Underlay​

To keep a large fill flat and stop it pulling the fabric in, use underlay. Leave Tatami underlay on (the default) to lay open rows across the fill direction before it, holding the fabric flat; set Passes to Double (crossed) for soft or stretchy fabric. Edge run adds a running stitch around the outline first, which pins the edge so the fill pulls it in less; the fabric preset decides whether it starts on. Their spacing, stitch length, and inset have their own fields. See Stitch parameters.

(Before v1.3.2 the Tatami underlay checkbox was called Edge-walk underlay.)

If the fill is too large​

A very large or very dense fill can produce an enormous number of stitches. Boldbobbin stops and warns: "This fill is too large (~N stitches). Make the shape smaller or increase its row spacing." Increase Row spacing or shrink the shape. See Design larger than the hoop.

Other fills​

  • For outlines and lines, use Running stitch (with Triple run or Bean passes for a heavier line, Passes to run the whole line again, or a hand-sewn look from Backstitch and Stemstitch: see Stitch styles).
  • For borders and lettering, use a Satin column: see Create a satin column. A closed shape can also be filled with real satin columns rather than outlined with one: see Inner satin.

The Default fill​

Pick the Pen or Freehand tool with nothing selected and its fill type offers Default, which is the factory setting. Default reads what you drew: an open line becomes a satin column, a closed loop becomes a tatami fill. So you stop picking the same thing every time. Choose one of the three named fills to override it. See Stitch types.