Diagnostic codes

Every problem StitchCraft reports has a code. E codes are errors (nothing is written), W codes are warnings (the file is written), I codes are information. stitch explain <code> prints the same explanation in the terminal. Codes are never reused.

SC-E0004

Error — Budget exhausted

A budget limits how much work StitchCraft may spend on one element, and how many stitches one design may have, so that no input can make it run for hours or run out of memory — on the command line or inside VectorCraft’s live preview.

When planning, an element that needs more work than its budget was skipped and the rest of the design was planned: simplify the element (fewer nodes, wider spacing, a smaller area) or split it into several elements. A design that needs more stitches than its limit was not planned, and the message names the element where it ran out: widen the spacing of its largest elements, lower their repeats or bean stitch, or split the design into several files. When reading a file or drawing a preview, nothing was produced: simplify the drawing, or split it into several files.

SC-E0005

Error — Preview too large

Preview images have a size limit, so that drawing one never runs out of memory. At the scale asked for, this design’s preview would be larger, so no image was written.

Use a smaller scale: the message says the largest that fits. A design that runs more than 10 metres from the hoop centre cannot be previewed at any scale.

SC-E0009

Error — Internal check failed

StitchCraft checks every stitch plan against its own rules before writing a machine file. One of those checks failed, which means StitchCraft has a bug: the file was not written, so nothing wrong reaches your machine. stitch plan writes a bug-report bundle instead, next to the file it was asked for. An export in VectorCraft writes nothing, and stitch bug-report of the saved document writes the bundle.

Please attach the bundle to an issue; the message names the rule that failed. The bundle holds your design, so that the bug can be reproduced.

SC-E0010

Error — Nothing to stitch

The design has no stitches: it is empty, or every element was skipped (see the other messages). StitchCraft never writes an empty machine file, because some machines refuse or mishandle them.

Add an element with an embroidery stitch type, or fix the errors reported for the elements.

SC-W0011

Warning — Stitch type not sewn yet; element skipped

The element’s stitch type is one this version of StitchCraft does not sew yet, so the element was skipped; the rest of the design is planned. Running and manual stitches are sewn from milestone M3, satin columns from M4, tatami fills from M5, and zigzag strokes and the other satin methods from M7. The other stitch types follow (docs/src/plan/roadmap.md), but for Ink/Stitch’s legacy fill, which is sewn as a tatami fill (SC-W0314).

The message names the stitch type. Choose one StitchCraft sews, or sew the element with another tool for now.

SC-E0012

Error — Bug-report bundle could not be replayed

stitch bug-report --replay was given a file that is not a bug-report bundle it can replay: not JSON, not a bundle, a bundle format newer than this StitchCraft, or one that names a profile or a format this StitchCraft does not have. Nothing was replayed.

The message says what is wrong. A bundle written by a newer StitchCraft needs that version or a later one; a bundle changed by hand, or by an email program, needs the original file.

SC-E0101

Error — Parameter has the wrong type or an unknown choice

A parameter’s value could not be understood: a number where a word was expected, a choice that is not one of the parameter’s options, or a list with the wrong number of values. The element was not stitched: guessing could sew something you did not ask for.

The message names the parameter, the value and what the parameter accepts. The parameter reference lists every parameter with its accepted values.

SC-W0102

Warning — Parameter clamped to its allowed range

A parameter’s value is outside the range StitchCraft accepts, so the nearest allowed value was used, and the element was stitched with it. Values outside the range are impossible (a negative length) or beyond what machines sew reliably.

The message names the parameter, your value and the range. Change the value to remove the warning.

SC-W0105

Warning — Unknown parameter preserved but ignored

The design carries a parameter StitchCraft does not know: one from a newer version of StitchCraft or Ink/Stitch, or one for a stitch type StitchCraft does not support yet. It was kept, so saving the design does not lose it, but it does not change the stitches.

The Ink/Stitch compatibility page says when each Ink/Stitch parameter is supported.

SC-E0201

Error — Satin column has no rails

A satin column’s path has no subpath longer than a point, so it has no rails to sew between. The element was not stitched.

Draw the column as two rails, its edges, with rungs across both.

SC-W0202

Warning — Satin rails taken as the two longest subpaths

Where the subpaths of a satin column meet does not say which two are its rails, so the two longest were taken as the rails. The rule is Ink/Stitch’s: with one rung, the rails are the two subpaths that meet only one other, and with more rungs, the two that meet more than two others. With exactly two rungs across two rails, each of the four meets two others, as the strokes of a # do, and the rule cannot tell rails from rungs.

The message names the two subpaths taken, numbered from 1 in the order the path draws them. If they are not the rails, use three rungs or more, each crossing both rails once.

SC-W0203

Warning — Satin rung does not cross both rails

A rung of a satin column misses one of the rails, or both. It still says which points go together: where it misses a rail, the point of that rail nearest the rung is used, as in Ink/Stitch.

The message names the rung, numbered from 1 in the order the path draws it. Extend it across both rails, so that where it joins them is what you drew.

SC-W0205

Warning — Satin subpath is one point; left out

A subpath of a satin column is one point, a stray node, so it is neither a rail nor a rung. It was left out.

The message names the subpath, numbered from 1 in the order the path draws it. Delete the node, or if it was meant as a rung, draw the rung across both rails.

SC-W0206

Warning — Satin contour underlay too short for its insets; it keeps its length

A satin column’s contour underlay stops short of the column’s start and end by its inset, but a side of it is so short that this would leave less than half a CSS pixel (0.13 mm), so that side runs to the column’s ends, as in Ink/Stitch.

The message gives the insets at each end. Lower contour_underlay_inset_mm, or turn the contour underlay off for so short a column.

SC-W0207

Warning — Satin rung crosses a rail more than once; left out

A rung of a satin column crosses a rail more than once, so it does not say which point of one rail goes with which point of the other, and it was left out. The column is sewn without it.

The message names the subpath, numbered from 1 in the order the path draws it. Redraw the rung as a straight line across both rails.

SC-W0208

Warning — Satin stitches lean more than 45° from square to the column; add a rung here

The stitches of a satin column lean more than 45° from square to the column, to a tenth of a degree: they go further along it than across it. The column runs halfway between its 2 rails. Without rungs, or with too few, a column’s stitches follow its rails’ lengths alone, and where one rail runs on ahead of the other they lean. Every satin method says so, at the middle of each stretch of stitches that lean. Ink/Stitch does not.

The message gives how many stitches lean and the most any of them leans. Add a rung across the column at the place named, square to it, and the stitches follow it.

SC-W0209

Warning — Satin stitch longer than 12 mm; it may snag

A top stitch of a satin column is longer than 12 mm, as the column sews it. A stitch that long floats loose over the fabric, where it snags and sags. Every satin method says so once, at the middle of its longest top stitch, and its underlays and travel do not count. Ink/Stitch does not say so.

The message gives the stitch’s length. Set max_stitch_length_mm to split long stitches, make the column narrower, or sew the shape as a fill. Finalize splits a stitch longer than the machine’s longest stitch anyway (SC-I0703).

SC-W0210

Warning — Satin rails without rungs have different numbers of nodes

A satin column’s path draws no rungs, so its rails’ nodes pair up instead, as in Ink/Stitch: the 2nd node of one rail with the 2nd of the other, and on in order. Its rails have different numbers of nodes, so the rail with more has nodes that pair with none, and between them the stitches follow the rails’ lengths alone.

The message gives both counts. Add rungs across the column, or give both rails the same number of nodes.

SC-W0211

Warning — Satin push compensation too long for a rail; that rail keeps its length

A satin column’s push compensation, taken off a rail at the column’s start and end, would leave less than half a CSS pixel (0.13 mm) of it, so that rail keeps its length, as in Ink/Stitch. A negative value at the other end still lengthens it.

The message gives the push compensation at each end. Lower push_compensation_mm, or lengthen the column.

SC-W0212

Warning — Satin column drawn as one path too narrow; sewn as a stroke

A satin column is drawn as one path, its centre line, and its stroke is no wider than the design’s min_satin_stroke_width_mm (1 mm unless the design sets it). A column that narrow is sewn as a stroke, by the element’s stroke settings, as in Ink/Stitch: a running stitch unless they say otherwise.

The message gives the stroke’s width and the limit. Widen the stroke to sew a satin column, or draw the column with 2 rails.

SC-W0213

Warning — Parts of a satin column drawn as one path left out

A satin column drawn as one path, its centre line, is made into rails by offsetting the line by half the stroke’s width to each side. Where the line crosses itself or comes back near itself, the offsets split into several curves, and the line is cut in half, and the halves again, at most 20 times. Parts whose offsets still split are left out, and so are parts that turn so tightly that an offset vanishes. Ink/Stitch leaves out the same parts without a word. The rest of the column is sewn.

The message says how many parts were left out. Draw the column with 2 rails where its line crosses itself or turns more tightly than the column is wide, or make the stroke narrower.

SC-E0214

Error — Satin column drawn as one path could not be made into rails

A satin column drawn as one path, its centre line, could not be made into rails. Its offsets split however it is cut, an offset vanishes because the stroke is wider than the line’s turns allow, or the line is shorter than a CSS pixel. The column is not sewn.

Draw the column with 2 rails, or make the stroke narrower.

SC-W0215

Warning — Satin column too small for the shortest stitch; left out

A satin column is so small that every needle point of it lies within the shortest stitch of its first: a speck of a column, a few tenths of a millimetre across. Any stitch it could sew would be shorter than the machine sews well, would hammer one spot of the fabric and could break the thread, so it is left out, as a stroke that small is (SC-W0401). Ink/Stitch sews such a column. A zigzag satin 0.1 mm long or less is left out too, its underlays with it: its zigzag has one point and no stitch across. Ink/Stitch sews its underlays alone.

The message gives the shortest stitch, or says the column is too short for a stitch across. Draw the column larger, or delete it if it is a stray.

SC-E0216

Error — Satin column has no section to sew

A satin column’s rungs, or its push compensation, leave each of its sections with no length on one of its rails, so no stitch goes across it and the column is not sewn. A rung from the first rail’s start to the second rail’s end does this, and so does push compensation that takes off the parts of a short column’s rails where its rungs meet them. Ink/Stitch says such a column cannot be stitched.

Move the rungs so that each meets both rails away from their ends, or lower push_compensation_mm.

SC-W0303

Warning — Parts of a fill too small to sew left out

A fill is sewn in rows of stitches across each part of its area. A part of 0.21 mm² or less (3 square CSS pixels), a speck about half a millimetre across, is too small for a row, so it is left out, as Ink/Stitch leaves it out. Where every part is that small, the fill sews nothing. So does a fill that bounds no area at all: subpaths that are lines or points, or that its fill rule leaves empty, such as 2 copies of one square under the even-odd rule.

The message counts the parts left out and is placed at the first. Draw them larger, or sew them as a running stitch.

SC-W0304

Warning — Fill smaller than 1.4 mm²

This fill covers less than 1.4 mm² (20 square CSS pixels). Rows of stitches packed into so small an area pile up, and a running stitch round it or a satin column across it usually sews it better. Ink/Stitch gives the same advice. The fill is kept as drawn.

SC-W0305

Warning — Fill part too thin for rows; sewn round its outline

A fill is sewn in rows of stitches the row spacing apart, and a part of it so thin that no row crosses it gets none. Such a part is sewn as a running stitch round its outline instead, as Ink/Stitch sews it.

The message counts the parts. Make them wider, set a smaller row_spacing_mm, or sew them as a stroke or a satin column.

SC-I0306

Info — Nonzero fill rule fills a part inside that the even-odd rule leaves empty

A fill’s fill rule says which parts of it are filled where its subpaths lie inside each other or overlap. Under the rule nonzero, SVG’s default, a part that the subpaths wind round twice the same way is filled; the even-odd rule leaves it empty. StitchCraft fills it, as the drawing shows it. Ink/Stitch takes every subpath but the largest as a hole, whatever the fill rule. Where such a part lies inside the fill, away from its edge, the same file leaves it empty in Ink/Stitch.

To leave the part empty in both, set the fill rule to even-odd, or draw the inner subpath the other way round.

SC-W0307

Warning — Fill in parts that are apart; each sewn on its own

A fill whose area falls into separate parts, such as one drawn as several shapes side by side, or an outline that crosses itself, is sewn one part after another: each part’s rows on their own, with a jump to the next, which the plan may trim. Ink/Stitch warns about such fills too.

To choose the order the parts are sewn in, break the fill apart into one element for each part.

SC-I0308

Info — Fill underlay too thin for rows; sewn round the outline

A fill’s underlay is sewn in rows fill_underlay_row_spacing_mm apart, 3 times the row spacing unless set. On a part so thin across those rows that none crosses it, that layer of underlay is sewn as a running stitch round the part’s outline instead, as Ink/Stitch sews it, and the top rows are sewn over it as usual.

The message counts the layers, and each part has one for each underlay angle. To sew the underlay in rows, set a smaller fill_underlay_row_spacing_mm or another fill_underlay_angle. To sew no underlay, turn fill_underlay off.

SC-W0309

Warning — Fill’s expand shrinks a part away; sewn at its own size

A fill’s top rows are sewn on each part grown by expand_mm, or shrunk where it is negative. A part too thin for that much shrinking, which wears it away entirely, is sewn at its own size instead, as Ink/Stitch sews it, and Ink/Stitch warns of it too.

The message counts the parts. Make expand_mm nearer 0.

SC-W0310

Warning — Fill’s underlay inset shrinks a part away; underlay over all of it

A fill’s underlay is sewn on each part shrunk by fill_underlay_inset_mm. A part too thin for that much shrinking, which wears it away entirely, has its underlay sewn over all of it instead, as Ink/Stitch sews it, and Ink/Stitch warns of it too.

The message counts the parts. Set a smaller fill_underlay_inset_mm, or turn fill_underlay off.

SC-W0312

Warning — Fill’s pull compensation below 0; read as 0

A fill’s rows reach past its edge by its pull compensation, which makes up for the thread pulling the fabric in. Ink/Stitch reads a fill’s pull_compensation_mm or pull_compensation_percent below 0 as 0, so that the rows reach the edge and no less, and so does StitchCraft. A satin column reads the same settings below 0 as narrower.

The message names the settings. Set them to 0 or more; to keep the rows inside the edge, use a negative expand_mm.

SC-I0313

Info — Fill drawn twice along its edge; Ink/Stitch fills the part left empty

Two subpaths of a fill run along each other at its edge, around a part that its fill rule leaves empty. A notch drawn as a hole whose sides lie on the outline is one, and a shape drawn twice is another. StitchCraft leaves the part empty, as the drawing shows it. Ink/Stitch repairs such a shape by merging each stretch drawn twice into one, which fills the part, and the same file then sews it filled in Ink/Stitch.

To sew it alike in both, draw the outline round the empty part instead of a subpath along it.

SC-W0314

Warning — Legacy fill sewn as a tatami fill without underlay

Ink/Stitch’s legacy fill is its first fill method, which it keeps for its older files: it gives the method to a fill whose auto_fill is off. StitchCraft does not sew it, and sews such a fill as a tatami fill with the same settings and no underlay, as legacy fill sews none. Its rows and their needle points are a tatami fill’s, as in Ink/Stitch. Ink/Stitch sews a legacy fill’s rows in stretches that join, each on its own and back and forth; its flip starts the rows from the other side, and its reverse sews the fill backwards. A tatami fill routes its rows and joins them with travel stitches, and StitchCraft keeps flip and reverse without reading them (SC-W0105).

To sew the fill alike in both, set its fill method to tatami fill and turn fill_underlay off.

SC-W0401

Warning — Path too small for the shortest stitch; skipped

A part of a stroke is too small for the shortest stitch the machine sews well, so it was left out: one stitch that short would hammer one spot of the fabric and could break the thread. The part is a single point (a stray node), shorter than the shortest stitch, or longer but curled up so that all of it lies within the shortest stitch of its ends: a tiny closed loop, say.

The message gives the part’s length and the shortest stitch. Enlarge the part, join it to its neighbour, or delete it if it is a stray.

SC-W0402

Warning — Stitch length below twice the shortest stitch; raised

A running stitch’s length, a stroke’s or that of one of a satin column’s underlays, is shorter than twice the shortest stitch, so it was lengthened to twice the shortest stitch. Stitches are spread evenly between corners; at half the length or more, every stitch then stays at or above the shortest stitch, whatever the distance between corners.

The message names the parameter and gives both lengths. Use a longer stitch length, or a shorter minimum if your machine sews shorter stitches well.

SC-W0403

Warning — Hand-placed stitch shorter than the shortest stitch; point left out

Hand-placed stitches (manual stitch) shorter than the shortest stitch the machine sews well: the needle point that made each one too short was left out, so the stitch before it runs on to the next point. A part’s last point is always kept; the one before it goes instead.

The message gives how many and the shortest of them. Move the nodes apart, or delete the extra ones.

SC-W0404

Warning — Hand-placed stitch longer than max_stitch_length_mm; kept for the shortest stitch

Hand-placed stitches (manual stitch) sewn longer than max_stitch_length_mm. A stitch longer than that is split into equal parts no longer than it, but never into parts shorter than the shortest stitch the machine sews well, which here took fewer parts: a shorter stitch would hammer one spot and could break the thread. Ink/Stitch splits such a stitch into the fewest parts no longer than the setting, however short they are.

The message gives how many stitches are longer and the longest of them. Set max_stitch_length_mm to at least twice the shortest stitch: every split then leaves parts long enough.

SC-W0405

Warning — Zigzag stitch shorter than the shortest stitch; the zigzag sews narrower

A zigzag stroke’s stitches shorter than the shortest stitch the machine sews well, across a zigzag too narrow for its spacing. Finishing leaves out a needle point of each such stitch, as it leaves out any point that near the one before it (SC-I0504), so the zigzag sews narrower there. Where every stitch is that short, every other point goes, and the zigzag sews as a line along one side. Ink/Stitch’s shortest stitch is 0.1 mm by default, and it sews such a zigzag as it is.

The message gives how many stitches are that short and the shortest. On a straight path, a stitch across a zigzag w wide at a spacing s is √(w² + (s/2)²) long. Make the zigzag wider, the stroke or its pull compensation, or space it out, until that is at least the shortest stitch.

SC-W0502

Warning — Lock stitch shorter than 0.2 mm; lengthened

A lock stitch would have been shorter than 0.2 mm, the shortest stitch a lock may have. The needle would go back into the hole it just left, which can cut the thread and does not lock it. Each such step of a lock made of steps (back and forth, or a custom lock written as numbers) was lengthened to 0.2 mm, and a drawn lock was enlarged until its shortest stitch is 0.2 mm long. A lock of steps follows the stitching. Where a sharp turn would fold it onto itself, it was sewn straight along the first (or last) stitch.

The message says which lock, and by how much. Set a larger lock size (lock_start_scale_mm, lock_end_scale_mm) or scale (lock_start_scale_percent, lock_end_scale_percent), or write longer custom steps.

SC-W0503

Warning — Custom lock cannot be sewn as written

The lock is set to custom, but its shape cannot be sewn as written. A custom lock is numbers separated by spaces, the steps the needle takes along the stitching in sizes of lock_*_scale_mm, or an SVG path that draws it. StitchCraft sews the numbers. It does not sew a drawn custom lock yet, and sews the half stitch in its place. Parts that are not numbers, and steps longer than 10 m, are left out. If no step is left, the half stitch is sewn instead.

The message says what was wrong. Write the lock as numbers, such as 1 -1 1 -1, or choose another lock shape.

SC-I0504

Info — Stitches shorter than the shortest stitch merged

Needle points less than the shortest stitch from a needle point next to them were left out, so the stitch before each runs on to the next and none is shorter than the machine sews well. This happens where one element’s stitching runs straight on into the next and they nearly touch: the stitch between them is whatever is left of the gap. A point that stays, such as a lock point or the last point before a jump, trim or stop, leaves out the points before it that it is too near, and a stitch into or out of a lock point may be as short as 0.2 mm. Where small elements are sewn over each other, a point that stays can go too, when it comes within the shortest stitch of another that stays. Nothing visible changes, but across a zigzag too narrow for the shortest stitch, which SC-W0405 names.

The message gives how many points were left out and the shortest stitches that applied to them. Nothing needs doing. If the count is large, check for elements drawn on top of each other.

SC-W0505

Warning — Trim or stop after an element that sews nothing; left out

The element is set to trim or stop after it (trim_after, stop_after, or Ink/Stitch’s trim and stop commands), but it sews no stitch, so there is no place for the trim or the stop: it is left out, as Ink/Stitch leaves it out. Another message says why the element sews nothing.

Make the element sew, or set the trim or stop on the element before it.

SC-E0601

Error — Too many colour changes for the file format

The file format can record only a limited number of colour changes and stops (PES: 255). This design has more, so the file was not written.

Merge elements that use the same thread so they sew in one block, or remove stops.

SC-E0602

Error — Design too large for the file format

The design’s coordinates or stitch data do not fit the fields of this file format, so the file was not written. Within a real hoop this does not happen; it points at a design that is far larger than any hoop, or at stray objects far from the rest of the design.

Check the design’s size and remove stray objects.

SC-E0603

Error — Machine file could not be read

The machine file could not be read: it is not in the format its name or first bytes suggest, it ends early, or a record in it makes no sense. StitchCraft reads every file as if it could be damaged or hostile, so a bad file is reported, never half-read in silence.

The message says where reading stopped. If the machine sews the file, it may be a format variant StitchCraft does not know yet: please report it with the file.

SC-W0604

Warning — Thread colours unknown

The file stores no thread colours (DST files never do: they only say where the machine pauses for the next thread), so every thread has a black placeholder colour in previews. A PES file converted from this one names each thread by the Brother colour nearest black that is still free (Black, Dark Gray, Dark Brown and so on), which says nothing of the threads the design needs.

The stitches are not affected. Load the threads the design needs, in the order the design’s author gives; StitchCraft cannot know them.

SC-I0605

Info — Long jumps cut in DST

DST has no trim command: machines cut the thread when they meet three or more jump records in a row (a machine setting; three is the common one), and a jump longer than 24.2 mm takes three or more records. So the thread will be cut before such a jump, although the plan does not trim there. With a tie-off before the jump the cut is usually welcome: there is no jump thread to clip by hand.

Nothing to do. Where an element’s ties are off, turn them on so its stitching holds when it is cut, or sew a PES file, where only trims cut. A machine set to another number of jump records cuts before other jumps: see its DST setting.

SC-W0606

Warning — Threads share a Brother colour

A PES file names each thread by a colour of the Brother palette, which has 61 thread colours. StitchCraft gives each different thread a colour of its own, the nearest one still free, so the machine asks for each thread change. A design with more different threads than that has some share a colour, and the machine shows that colour for each of them: at a change between 2 of them it shows the thread already in the machine, as for a stop.

Load the threads in the order the report lists them, rather than by the colours the machine shows. Or use fewer different threads: merge those of nearly the same colour.

SC-E0701

Error — Design does not fit the hoop

The design is wider or taller than the machine’s hoop, so the machine cannot sew it in one hooping (most machines refuse the file). A design that fits the hoop can still reach past its edge where it is placed: its origin, which goes to the hoop’s centre, can lie far from its middle, and its stop position, where the frame goes before each stop, can lie outside the hoop.

If the message says the design fits when turned 90 degrees, rotate it. Otherwise scale it down, or split it into parts that are sewn in separate hoopings. Where it reaches past the edge from where it is placed, move its origin nearer its middle, or its stop position nearer the design.

SC-W0702

Warning — Design is larger than the comfort zone

The design fits the hoop but is larger than the profile’s comfort zone: the area where this machine and hoop sew most accurately. Near the hoop’s edge fabric is held less firmly, so large designs pucker and shift more.

The file was written. Rotate the design if the message says that brings it inside the comfort zone, use a firmer stabilizer, or scale the design down.

SC-I0703

Info — Stitches longer than the machine’s longest stitch; split

Stitches longer than the machine’s longest stitch were split into equal parts, each no longer than it: a long stitch placed by hand, say, or a custom lock’s long step. A long loose stitch snags and sags; the machine may refuse it.

To choose where the needle goes down instead, add nodes (manual stitch) or set max_stitch_length_mm.

SC-E0801

Error — SVG could not be read

The SVG file could not be read: it is not well-formed XML, its root is not an <svg> element, its size or viewBox does not read or makes no sense, or it is larger than StitchCraft reads, its style sheets included. Nothing was stitched.

The message says what is wrong and, for XML errors, where. Open the file in a vector editor and save it again as plain SVG.

SC-W0802

Warning — SVG feature ignored

Part of the SVG uses a feature that StitchCraft does not stitch, so that part is left out or simplified: text that is not converted to paths, raster images, clones (<use>), nested <svg> elements, style sheet rules with selectors StitchCraft does not read, or a gradient or pattern used as a colour. Values that do not read are named too. A colour that does not read is ignored, as a viewer ignores it, and one of Ink/Stitch’s design settings keeps its default. A line that --auto sews across its width, as a satin column or a fill, is as wide as its transforms stretch it on average, so a transform that stretches it more one way than the other, and draws it wider one way, is named too.

The message names the element and what was done. Convert text and clones to paths in the editor (in Inkscape: Path › Object to Path, Edit › Clone › Unlink Clone), and give shapes plain colours.

SC-I0805

Info — Object left out, as the file asks

An object or a layer is left out because the file asks for it: an Ink/Stitch “ignore object” or “ignore layer” command, or the object’s Ink/Stitch setting ignore_object. Designs keep templates, placement lines and notes this way, in the drawing but out of the sew-out, and Ink/Stitch leaves them out too.

The message names what was left out and why. To stitch it, delete the command’s symbol, or turn the setting off in Ink/Stitch’s parameters.

SC-W0804

Warning — Element geometry invalid or out of range

An element’s geometry cannot be used: its path data or its list of points has an error (the path is stitched up to the error, as SVG viewers draw it), its transform is not valid (it is skipped with everything inside it), it draws nothing, or it lies more than 10 metres from the document’s origin, beyond what machine files can record (it is skipped). A stroke width, join or miter limit that does not read is named as well, and ignored as a viewer ignores it, and so is an empty width, height or viewBox of the drawing, or an aspect ratio that does not read. A stroke too wide to measure is skipped.

The message names the element. Check its path data, points and transform, or remove stray objects far from the design.

SC-W0803

Warning — VectorCraft file from a newer format version; read best-effort

The .vectorcraft file comes from a newer VectorCraft: its format version is newer than the newest StitchCraft reads. StitchCraft reads it as that version, usually all of a design’s paths and paints, where older versions of VectorCraft refuse the file.

The message gives the file’s format version and the newest StitchCraft reads. Compare the stitches with the drawing, or save a copy in that format from the newer VectorCraft: File › Save a Copy, then the Version in VectorCraft Options.

SC-E0806

Error — VectorCraft file could not be read

The .vectorcraft file could not be read: it is not a VectorCraft document (its JSON does not read, it names another format, or it holds no document), the data VectorCraft keeps after its JSON is damaged, or it unpacks to more JSON than StitchCraft reads. Nothing was stitched.

A StitchCraft live effect or filter gives this message when what VectorCraft passes it does not read as VectorCraft’s plug-in ABI v1 says, which a VectorCraft with another plug-in ABI would do. The effect leaves the object as it is, and the filter changes nothing.

The message says what is wrong and, for JSON errors, where. Open the file in VectorCraft and save it again. For a plug-in, install the StitchCraft plug-ins made for that version of VectorCraft.

SC-W0807

Warning — VectorCraft object or feature not stitched

Part of the VectorCraft document is not stitched: text, images, symbols, objects VectorCraft computes as it draws them (blends, envelopes, meshes, repeats, placed documents and Intertwine objects), a kind of object StitchCraft does not read, clipping and opacity masks, VectorCraft’s own effects, a brush’s art, a StitchCraft effect it cannot use, or a group’s or a layer’s own fills and strokes. A gradient is sewn in its first colour, and a pattern, or a colour that does not read, in black. An object that StitchCraft effects reach from more than one level, its own and a group’s around it, or 2 groups’, sews as the nearest say: VectorCraft runs each on the stitches the one before drew, which no machine sews. A start or end marker, an object named stitch:start or stitch:end, is never stitched, and StitchCraft does not yet start or end a shape where one says. A name that begins with stitch: and names no marker StitchCraft reads is said too, as is a group or a layer named as a marker, which only a shape can be: the name is ignored. A satin column, a zigzag or a fill made of a stroke is as wide as the stroke all along and centred on its path, so a stroke aligned inside or outside a closed path is said, as is a width profile, and round or square caps where the stitches end at the path’s end.

The message names the object and what was done. In VectorCraft, Type › Create Outlines makes paths of text, and Object › Expand of blends, envelopes, repeats and placed documents. Break Link to Symbol makes paths of a symbol, and Object › Expand Appearance of what effects and brushes draw.

SC-W0808

Warning — VectorCraft geometry unusable

An object’s geometry cannot be used, and the object, or the stroke, is left out: a coordinate or a stroke’s width is not a number, the object draws nothing, or it lies more than 10 metres from the document’s origin, beyond what machine files can record. A StitchCraft stroke or satin effect takes a width that is not a number as 0. A StitchCraft live effect leaves such an object as it is, with this message as the plug-in’s last error.

The message names the object. Check its anchors, or remove stray objects far from the design.

SC-I0809

Info — VectorCraft layer or guide left out, as it does not print

A layer or a guide is left out because VectorCraft does not print it: a template layer, a layer whose Print option is off, or a guide. VectorCraft shows them, dimmed or as guides, and keeps them out of what it prints and exports; StitchCraft keeps them out of the sew-out.

The message names the layer or the guide. To stitch a layer, turn its Template option off, or its Print option on, in VectorCraft’s Layer Options.

SC-I0810

Info — VectorCraft live effect leaves the object as it is

A StitchCraft live effect draws the object it is applied to as its stitches, or as much of them as its preview level shows. It leaves the object as it is when it cannot show them, and VectorCraft shows this message as the plug-in’s last error. The object sews no stitch, or its preview level needs more work than VectorCraft lets a live effect do. Or it is as wide as its stroke, a satin column drawn as one path or a zigzag stroke, and VectorCraft gives the effect no stroke: before 0.14, for an object without one, or where the stroke is a group’s. Or the effect sits on one of the object’s fills or strokes, which stitch export doesn’t use. When another message says why an object sews no stitch, the effect shows that message instead.

The message says which. A satin column drawn as one path, and a zigzag stroke, sew as wide as the stroke that paints them when exported with stitch export. To see their stitches in VectorCraft, give the object a stroke as wide as they are, or draw a satin column’s 2 rails and join them with Object › Compound Path › Make. Apply StitchCraft’s effects to the object itself, not to one of its fills or strokes. For a preview that needs more work, the hint names a cheaper level to set the effect’s preview_level to.

SC-I0811

Info — VectorCraft object left out, as its name asks

An object or a layer is left out because its name asks for it: the name is stitch:ignore, alone or followed by white space and a note, in any mix of upper and lower case. Designs keep placement lines, templates and notes this way, in the drawing but out of the sew-out, as Ink/Stitch’s ignore commands keep them. Everything in a group or a layer so named is left out with it.

The message names what was left out. To stitch it, rename it in VectorCraft’s Layers panel.

SC-W0812

Warning — VectorCraft design setting ignored

A design setting that StitchCraft’s Design Settings filter keeps with a VectorCraft document does not read: a length that is not a number of 0 or more, or a machine this StitchCraft doesn’t have, as a document from a newer one may name. The setting keeps its default, and the design is planned for the machine --profile or the export names, or else for the reference machine, the Brother PE800’s 5 × 7 in hoop.

The message names the setting and what it holds. To set it again, choose Object › Plug-ins › StitchCraft Design Settings in VectorCraft, which keeps every setting anew.

SC-E0813

Error — VectorCraft too old for the filter

A StitchCraft filter needs what the VectorCraft that ran it doesn’t give a filter, so it declined to run, and nothing changed. StitchCraft Design Settings keeps a document’s design settings and machine as data VectorCraft keeps with a document for a filter, from 0.16. Stroke to Satin and Test Sheet give the objects they make StitchCraft’s effects, as effect records VectorCraft keeps from 0.15. Test Sheet tells such a VectorCraft by what it gives every filter from 0.16, since a 0.15 with nothing selected looks as 0.14 does.

The message names the version the filter needs. Update VectorCraft to it or later. Until then, the export’s Machine option and stitch export --profile name the machine, the design settings keep their defaults, a satin column is drawn with its 2 rails and joined with Make Compound Path, and stitch testsheet makes the test sheets.

SC-E0814

Error — VectorCraft line not made into a satin column

StitchCraft’s Stroke to Satin filter makes each selected line into a satin column drawn with rails and rungs, which sews as the line does with the satin effect. It changed nothing, because nothing was selected, or one of the lines can’t be made so: its path has no stroke to take the column’s width from, or can’t be used, its rails can’t be made or would leave parts of it out, as SC-E0214 and SC-W0213 say of a satin column drawn as one path, or the column would be read back with other rails or rungs, as one whose rails cross each other is.

The message names the object. Select the lines, give the path a stroke as wide as the column, draw that column with its 2 rails, or leave the object out of the selection.

SC-I0901

Info — Shapes digitized automatically

--auto digitized the design’s shapes that have no settings: StitchCraft chose each one’s stitches by its width, measured to the micrometre. An area is a tatami fill, and a part of it narrower than the design’s narrowest satin stroke (min_satin_stroke_width_mm, 1 mm unless the design sets it) everywhere is a running stitch along its centre line. A line no wider than that is a running stitch, a line up to 7 mm wide a satin column as wide as the line, and a wider line a tatami fill of the area it paints. A running stitch is tripled from 0.5 mm wide. A line whose every part a satin column cannot follow is filled too (SC-I0902), and counted as a fill. An area whose every part runs is counted as a running stitch, and any other as a fill.

The message counts the shapes by the stitches they sew as. To sew a shape another way, give it settings: in VectorCraft, apply a StitchCraft effect to it. A shape with settings is not digitized automatically.

SC-I0902

Info — Line a satin column cannot follow; filled

--auto sews a line up to 7 mm wide as a satin column along its path, but a satin column cannot follow this part of the line: it turns more tightly than the line is wide, so the column’s edges would fold over themselves, or it is shorter than a CSS pixel, or it is a dot that the line’s round or square cap draws. The area it paints is filled instead, as a line wider than 7 mm is.

The message says which. To sew it as a satin column, draw the line with gentler turns or narrower, or draw the column with 2 rails and give it settings.

SC-W0903

Warning — Line too wide to fill; left out

--auto fills the area a line paints when the line is wider than 7 mm, or when a satin column cannot follow it, and the area this line paints would reach more than 10 metres from the design’s origin, beyond what machine files can record. It is left out. A stroke that wide is usually a mistake in the file.

The message gives the line’s width. Check the line’s stroke width.

SC-I0904

Info — Areas reach under the shapes sewn after them

--auto makes each automatic area reach 0.4 mm under the shapes sewn after it, from where it touches them. The thread pulls stitches in from the edges of their shape, and without the overlap fabric shows between shapes that only meet. Where an area sewn after it covers part of it, as in a trace that stacks its colours, the covered part is cut away, 0.4 mm inside the covering area’s edge, and sewn once. A satin column or a line sewn after an area goes over it, and the area is sewn whole under it. The running stitch along a narrow part of an area covers that part: the areas sewn before it reach under it, and when the areas sewn after it cover the part whole it sews nothing.

The message counts the areas that reach under others and those cut away. An area that the areas sewn after it cover whole sews nothing, and the message names it, as it does a narrow part’s line. It also names an area whose neighbours need more work to find than the budget allows it, which neither reaches under them nor is cut away, and a satin column whose area needs more, which the areas before it don’t reach under, and which keeps its place in paint order beside the shapes near it. To sew a shape as it is drawn, give it settings: in VectorCraft, apply a StitchCraft effect to it.

SC-I0905

Info — Speck merged into a neighbour

--auto takes an automatic area smaller than 1 mm², or a part of one that small, for a speck the trace left. It is too small to sew, and would sew a knot. It is merged into the automatic area it shares the longest edge with, which may be the rest of its own area, and no hole shows where it was. A speck that shares no edge with an automatic area is left out.

The message gives the speck’s area and says where it went: into a neighbour, back to the rest of its area, or nowhere, as when finding its neighbours needs more work than the budget allows it. To sew it as it is, give it settings: in VectorCraft, apply a StitchCraft effect to it. A larger Noise in VectorCraft’s Image Trace leaves such specks out of the trace.

SC-W0906

Warning — Background left out

--auto takes the lowest shape of the design for the picture’s background when it is an automatic area, other shapes are drawn on it, and it covers the whole design, its holes aside, to within 0.5 mm of each side. It is left out. A background is usually the fabric’s own colour, and sewing it doubles the stitches and stiffens the design. A background that needs more work to find than the budget allows is sewn, and the message says so.

To sew it, give it settings: in VectorCraft, apply a StitchCraft effect to it. Ignore White in VectorCraft’s Image Trace leaves a white background out of the trace.

SC-I0907

Info — Elements sewn in an order of their own

--auto sews the automatic elements in an order of its own, and --sort-colours every element. Shapes that overlap as drawn keep their paint order, the lower one first, and a satin column or a line that borders a fill sews after it, over its edge. Within those rules each thread sews as long as an element of it is free to sew, and the next element is the nearest. Elements with settings keep their order among themselves unless --sort-colours is given, and nothing moves across a stop.

The message says how many thread changes the order has, and how many paint order has. It also names an element whose neighbours need more work to find than the budget allows, which keeps its place in paint order as an element with a stop after it does, and a line whose paint can’t be found, which keeps its place beside the shapes near it. SC-I0904 names a satin column whose paint can’t be found. And it names the elements left in paint order when choosing the order needs more work than the budget allows. To keep shapes in their paint order among themselves, give them settings and leave --sort-colours off: in VectorCraft, apply a StitchCraft effect to each.