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Stitch Toolbox

Pro tool · free preview

Lettering & monograms

Real satin lettering: columns across each stroke from the stroke's centre line, centre-run underlay, tie-ins and pull compensation, at the same 0.4 mm density a commercial file uses. Preview free, download with Pro.

Stitch style
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About this tool

How the satin is built

Each letter's outline is thinned to its centre line (a medial axis), and satin columns are laid across every stroke perpendicular to that line, so the columns turn with the letter instead of running at a fixed angle. Same-rail spacing is 0.40 mm, the value measured in commercial designs, with a centre-run underlay, 0.15 mm pull compensation and a two-stitch tie-in and tie-off at 0.7 mm. Strokes wider than 5.5 mm are too wide for a single column and switch to fill with a satin edge. Fill is tatami at 0.4 mm row spacing and 3.5 mm stitch length with a three-phase stagger and an edge-walk underlay; the satin edge is 1.6 mm wide.

Fonts

Seventeen open-licensed fonts (SIL OFL and Apache 2.0), chosen because their strokes are wide and even enough to satin at small sizes: rounded and heavy faces for names and monograms, two scripts for wedding and gift work. Commercial use of the output is allowed by the licences.

Sizes that stitch

Satin needs strokes of at least 1.2 mm, which a bold font reaches at about 5 mm cap height and a regular one at 8 to 10 mm. Fill with a satin edge needs strokes wider than about 3.2 mm, which means 20 mm letters and up. The tool warns at each threshold; the guide on font sizes has the per-font numbers.

Preview free, download with Pro

Everything you see is generated in your browser and free. Downloads are built on our servers and need Pro.

How to use it

  1. 1

    Type the text

    A name, a phrase or a monogram. Cap height in mm, letter spacing, arc and colour are all adjustable.

  2. 2

    Choose a font and style

    Satin for 6 to 25 mm letters, fill with a satin edge above that, satin outline, plain fill or a running stitch. The stats show the narrowest stroke and warn below 1.2 mm.

  3. 3

    Check the preview

    The stitches are drawn exactly as they will sew, with the sew-out order. Stitch count and size update as you type.

  4. 4

    Download

    Pro downloads the file in your machine's format with a colour sheet.

Questions

How small can satin letters go?

Down to about 5 mm cap height with a font that has strokes of 1.2 mm or more. Below that the columns are barely wider than the thread and the stitches shred. The tool warns when a stroke is too narrow.

What happens with wide letters?

Strokes wider than 8 mm cannot be a single satin column; the thread would snag and sink. Those letters are filled with tatami instead, and you can choose fill with a satin edge for the whole word for a consistent look.

Can I use my own font?

Not yet in the browser tool; the bundled fonts are chosen for stroke widths that stitch. Contact us with a font you have a licence for and we will check it.

Why merge overlapping letters?

Script fonts join letters by overlapping them. Without merging, each letter is stitched on its own and the overlaps get two layers of satin. Merging unions the whole word first so the join is stitched once.

Is the download identical to the preview?

Yes. The server rebuilds the file from the same settings with the same engine.

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