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Satin parameters

Satin column: a band of stitches between two rails.

Applies to Satin column, E-stitch, S-stitch, Zigzag satin.

Satin column

satin_column

Satin column. Sew the path as a satin column. Two of its subpaths are the rails, the column’s edges, and the others are rungs across both, which say which point of one rail goes with which of the other. Without rungs, the rails’ nodes pair up instead. A path of 1 subpath is the column’s centre line: the column is as wide as the stroke, and turns its corners as the stroke’s join does. Off, the path is sewn as a stroke, by its stroke_method.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: false
  • Applies to: Running stitch, Manual stitch, Zigzag stitch, Ripple stitch, Satin column, E-stitch, S-stitch, Zigzag satin
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

satin_method

Method. How the column is sewn. A satin column sews stitches straight across it, from one rail to the other and back. An E-stitch sews a spike across the column at each pair and a spine along its first rail between them, an edge for appliqué. An S-stitch sews one stitch across at each pair, every other one the other way, with a step along a rail between them: split by a longest stitch, they cover the column in rows, as a fill does. A zigzag satin sews a zigzag between the rails, every stitch slanting half the spacing along.

  • Accepts: one of satin_column (Satin column), e_stitch (E-stitch), s_stitch (S-stitch), zigzag (Zigzag satin)
  • Default: satin_column
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

zigzag_spacing_mm

Zigzag spacing. The distance from one pair of needle points across the column to the next. A satin column goes across and back in one spacing, an E-stitch sews a spike every spacing, and an S-stitch a stitch across, each the other way from the one before. In a zigzag satin the needle goes across and back in one spacing too, its points on the 2 rails half a spacing apart. It is measured across the column at its outside edge. On a curve the stitches lie closer together at the inside edge.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.01 to 10 mm
  • Default: 0.4
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Rails

reverse_rails

Reverse rails. Which rails are sewn against the way they are drawn, so that both run the same way. Automatic reverses the second rail when it runs against the first.

  • Accepts: one of automatic (Automatic), none (Neither), first (The first), second (The second), both (Both)
  • Default: automatic
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

swap_satin_rails

Swap rails. Make the second rail the first. The column starts on its first rail, and each stitch across it goes from the first rail to the second.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: false
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Start and end

start_at_nearest_point

Start at nearest point. Start near where the elements before left the needle: on the line between the rails, or on the column’s edge when only that is close, then along the line under the column to its start. It saves a jump and a trim.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: true
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

end_at_nearest_point

End at nearest point. End near where the next element starts: the column is sewn up to the end point, along the line under it to its end, and back, and ends on its edge nearest the next element.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: true
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

running_stitch_position

Running stitch position. Where the line the needle follows to the start and to the end runs, in percent of the way from the first rail to the second: 50 is the middle.

  • Accepts: a percentage from 0 to 100
  • Default: 50
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Compensation

push_compensation_mm

Push compensation. How much shorter the column is made at its start and its end. Satin stitches push the fabric out along the column, so it comes out longer than drawn, and this makes up for it. Negative values lengthen the column. 2 values set the start, then the end.

  • Accepts: a length from -10 to 10 mm, or 2 separated by a space
  • Default: 0
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Random variation

random_width_decrease_percent

Random width decrease. How much narrower than the compensated column a stitch may come out on each side, chosen at random for each stitch, in percent of the column’s width there. A ragged edge looks like fur or grass. 2 values set the first rail’s side, then the second’s.

  • Accepts: a percentage from 0 to 100, or 2 separated by a space
  • Default: 0
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

random_width_increase_percent

Random width increase. How much wider than the compensated column a stitch may come out on each side, chosen at random for each stitch, in percent of the column’s width there. 2 values set the first rail’s side, then the second’s.

  • Accepts: a percentage from 0 to 100, or 2 separated by a space
  • Default: 0
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

random_zigzag_spacing_percent

Random zigzag spacing. How much the distance to each stitch may differ from the zigzag spacing, chosen at random, in percent of the spacing, longer or shorter.

  • Accepts: a percentage from 0 to 100
  • Default: 0
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Short stitches

short_stitch_inset

Short stitch inset. How far a crowded needle point is moved in along its stitch, in percent of the stitch’s width. On the inside of a tight curve the needle points of a rail crowd together, and the thread piles up there. Moving some of them in spreads them out. Points that crowd one after another take turns with several values separated by spaces.

  • Accepts: 1 to 16 percentages from 0 to 50, separated by spaces
  • Default: 15
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

short_stitch_distance_mm

Short stitch distance. How close a needle point may come to the last one left in place on its rail before it is moved in. 0 moves none.

  • Accepts: a length from 0 to 5 mm
  • Default: 0.25
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Split stitches

split_method

Split method. How stitches longer than the longest stitch (max_stitch_length_mm) are split. Default splits each into the fewest equal parts no longer than it. Simple splits at whole multiples of it from the stitch’s start. Staggered moves those splits along from one stitch to the next, so the needle holes of neighbouring stitches do not line up in a row.

  • Accepts: one of default (Default), simple (Simple), staggered (Staggered)
  • Default: default
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

random_split_jitter_percent

Split jitter. How far each split may move at random, in percent of a part, either way. With a random split phase, how much each part’s length may vary instead.

  • Accepts: a percentage from 0 to 100
  • Default: 0
  • Shown when split_method is default
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

random_split_phase

Random split phase. Start each stitch’s splits at a random distance from its start, and space them by the longest stitch, instead of dividing the stitch evenly. The needle holes of neighbouring stitches then fall apart, at the cost of a few more stitches.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: false
  • Shown when split_method is default
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

min_random_split_length_mm

Shortest split stitch. With a random split phase, also split stitches longer than this but no longer than the longest stitch. 0 splits every stitch. Empty: the longest stitch.

  • Accepts: a length from 0 to 25 mm, or empty
  • Default: empty
  • Shown when split_method is default
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

split_staggers

Staggers. How many stitches the staggered splits take to come back to where they started. A fraction draws diagonals that show less than whole numbers do.

  • Accepts: a number from 0.01 to 100
  • Default: 4
  • Shown when split_method is staggered
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Centre walk underlay

center_walk_underlay

Centre walk underlay. Sew a running stitch along the middle of the column first, there and back. It holds the fabric still along the column, and suits narrow columns. The other underlays and the top stitches follow it.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: false
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

center_walk_underlay_stitch_length_mm

Centre walk stitch length. How long each stitch of the centre walk is. Between corners its stitches are spread evenly, so each one is at most this long.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.1 to 25 mm
  • Default: 3
  • Ink/Stitch: same key and default; StitchCraft differs:
    • DEV-RUN-003. No running stitch is shorter than the shortest stitch, measured straight: corners keep their needle before other points do, a stitch a drop makes too long is split, and lengths below twice the shortest stitch are raised (SC-W0402). A satin column’s travel length is raised the same way, for the straight stitches that join its parts as for its line to the start and the end. Where a satin column’s parts meet nearer than the shortest stitch, the needle’s way between them gives way to the next part’s first point, and so does an underlay’s last point or the column’s start, which moves there; beside a top stitch’s end, which stays where it is, the next part’s points that near it give way instead. Ink/Stitch’s running stitch has no shortest stitch, and it joins a satin column’s parts as they are; its plan later drops stitches of at most 0.1 mm (its default), keeping the stitch before.

center_walk_underlay_stitch_tolerance_mm

Centre walk tolerance. How far a centre walk stitch may stray from the middle of the column on a curve. A smaller tolerance follows curves more closely, with more and shorter stitches.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.01 to 5 mm
  • Default: 0.2
  • Ink/Stitch: same key; StitchCraft differs:
    • DEV-SAT-004. The centre walk underlay keeps within center_walk_underlay_stitch_tolerance_mm of its line, and follows points that far apart. Ink/Stitch declares that parameter but uses running_stitch_tolerance_mm in its place, the tolerance of the satin’s travel to its start and end. Both are 0.2 mm unless a file sets them.

center_walk_underlay_repeats

Centre walk repeats. How many times the centre walk is sewn: 2 goes there and back, 3 there, back and there again. An odd number ends at the column’s end, and the rest of the column is then sewn from its end.

  • Accepts: a whole number from 1 to 100
  • Default: 2
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

center_walk_underlay_position

Centre walk position. Where the centre walk runs, in percent of the way from the first rail to the second: 50 is the middle.

  • Accepts: a percentage from 0 to 100
  • Default: 50
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Contour underlay

contour_underlay

Contour underlay. Sew a running stitch along each edge of the column, a little inside it, after any centre walk. It holds the edges still and keeps them crisp.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: false
  • Ink/Stitch: same key and default; StitchCraft differs:
    • DEV-SAT-011. After an odd centre walk, which turns a zigzag satin’s run round, StitchCraft stops the contour underlay’s sides where it stops them without one: at the zigzag’s last point on the first rail, and its first and last on the second, in the order the column places them. Ink/Stitch looks for those points in the order the top stitches are sewn, after it has turned them round, and finds the first points where it means the last. Its first side is not cut, and its second shrinks to a stub: on a column 10 mm long and 4 mm wide at a zigzag spacing of 2 mm, 0.2 mm long.

contour_underlay_stitch_length_mm

Contour stitch length. How long each stitch of the contour is. Between corners its stitches are spread evenly, so each one is at most this long.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.1 to 25 mm
  • Default: 3
  • Ink/Stitch: same key and default; StitchCraft differs:
    • DEV-RUN-003. No running stitch is shorter than the shortest stitch, measured straight: corners keep their needle before other points do, a stitch a drop makes too long is split, and lengths below twice the shortest stitch are raised (SC-W0402). A satin column’s travel length is raised the same way, for the straight stitches that join its parts as for its line to the start and the end. Where a satin column’s parts meet nearer than the shortest stitch, the needle’s way between them gives way to the next part’s first point, and so does an underlay’s last point or the column’s start, which moves there; beside a top stitch’s end, which stays where it is, the next part’s points that near it give way instead. Ink/Stitch’s running stitch has no shortest stitch, and it joins a satin column’s parts as they are; its plan later drops stitches of at most 0.1 mm (its default), keeping the stitch before.

contour_underlay_stitch_tolerance_mm

Contour tolerance. How far a contour stitch may stray from its line on a curve. A smaller tolerance follows curves more closely, with more and shorter stitches.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.01 to 5 mm
  • Default: 0.2
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

contour_underlay_inset_mm

Contour inset. How far inside each rail the contour runs, so that it does not show past the top stitches. It also stops short of the column’s start by the first rail’s value and of its end by the second’s. 2 values set the first rail’s side, then the second’s.

  • Accepts: a length from -10 to 10 mm, or 2 separated by a space
  • Default: 0.4
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

contour_underlay_inset_percent

Contour inset (% of width). More inset, in percent of the column’s width at each point, added to the length above. 2 values set the first rail’s side, then the second’s.

  • Accepts: a percentage from -100 to 100, or 2 separated by a space
  • Default: 0
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

Zigzag underlay

zigzag_underlay

Zigzag underlay. Sew a sparse zigzag across the column, to its end and back, before the top stitches. It lifts them off the fabric and makes a wide column look fuller.

  • Accepts: true or false, in any case, or yes, y, t or 1 for true and no, n, f, 0 or off for false
  • Default: false
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

zigzag_underlay_spacing_mm

Zigzag underlay spacing. How far apart the zigzag’s points on each rail are, each way.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.01 to 10 mm
  • Default: 3
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

zigzag_underlay_inset_mm

Zigzag underlay inset. How far inside each rail the zigzag’s points are. Empty: half the contour’s inset, which puts them between the contour and the edge. 2 values set the first rail’s side, then the second’s.

  • Accepts: a length from -10 to 10 mm, or 2 separated by a space, or empty
  • Default: empty
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

zigzag_underlay_inset_percent

Zigzag underlay inset (% of width). More inset, in percent of the column’s width at each point, added to the length above. Empty: half the contour’s. 2 values set the first rail’s side, then the second’s.

  • Accepts: a percentage from -100 to 100, or 2 separated by a space, or empty
  • Default: empty
  • Ink/Stitch: same key, meaning and default

zigzag_underlay_max_stitch_length_mm

Zigzag underlay longest stitch. Split zigzag stitches longer than this into equal parts. Empty: none is split.

  • Accepts: a length from 0.1 to 25 mm, or empty (0 or less counts as empty)
  • Default: empty
  • Ink/Stitch: same key and default; StitchCraft differs:
    • DEV-PRM-003. An optional length below 0 is read as not set, as 0 is, and SC-W0102 says so. Ink/Stitch reads it as a length and sews what that gives: with a min_jump_stitch_length_mm below 0, it ties off, jumps and ties in between every 2 groups of stitches.