Editing Colors

Basics

The palette on the right of the editor lists every thread in your pattern. Most color changes start there: right-click a color on a computer, or long-press it on a phone, and you get everything you can do with it.

The four things people do most:

• Look at where one color is used, before changing anything.
• Replace a thread with another one, everywhere or in just one area.
• Merge two shades that look the same on fabric into one.
• Tidy the chart, with clear symbols and short notes for whoever stitches it.

Every change is one Undo step, so it's safe to experiment. If your pattern uses a thread brand (DMC, Anchor, Cosmo and others), you're always choosing real threads with real codes, so the thread key stays something you can shop from.

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I want to…

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See where a color is used

Before you change a thread, it helps to see where it actually is. Highlighting shows one color, or a few, on their own: every stitch in any other color fades behind a light veil, so the thread you're asking about is all that stands out. It answers questions like "is this green only in the leaves?" or "are these two blues really in different places?"

Ways to turn it on:

• The Highlight current color switch under the palette (see below).
• Highlight on chart in a color's Edit Color panel.
• On a phone, long-press the color and choose Highlight on chart. With several colors selected, it's Highlight these on chart.

A small label at the top of the chart says what's showing, with a Show all button to bring everything back. Escape does the same; if something else is open, like a selection or a panel, Escape closes that first.

Highlighting is only a way of looking. It doesn't change your pattern, isn't saved, doesn't show up in exports, and isn't an Undo step. It turns off by itself when you open another pattern, start Follow Mode or go to the importer.

Follow the color you're on

On a computer, turn on Highlight current color under the palette and leave it on. The chart then always shows the color you're working with, and follows you as you click another color or step through the palette with [ and ]. It's the quickest way to walk the whole palette and spot colors used in only a few scattered stitches.

Select two or more colors (Ctrl/Cmd+click or Shift+click) and the switch becomes Highlight selected colors, which shows them together. That's a good look before deciding whether to merge them.

The switch stays on between visits. Clicking Show all turns it off.

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Swap one thread for another

Your shop is out of DMC 310, you'd like a warmer black, or the sky came out a touch too purple. Replace changes every stitch of one color to a different thread.

1. Right-click the color and choose Replace with a color….
2. The thread picker opens with the closest matches first, so the nearest neighbors of your thread are right at the top. Looking for something specific? Type a code or name in the search, switch brands, or open the full Color Library.
3. Click a thread and your pattern changes to show it. Click a few to compare. The line above Apply tells you which stitches will change and whether that thread is new to your palette.
4. Click Apply (or press Enter) to keep it, or Cancel (Escape) to leave everything as it was. Double-clicking a thread applies it straight away.

If you pick a thread that's already in your palette, the two become one color and the old one leaves the palette. That's handy when the right replacement is a thread you're already using.

Only in one area

Sometimes you want the change in one spot: a different red for one flower, a darker shade for a shadow. Select that area first, then right-click the color. The menu now says Replace in selection….

Replace opens set to change only the stitches inside your selection, and tells you how many stitches of that color outside it will stay as they are. Switch Change in to Everywhere if you change your mind.

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Merge look-alike colors

Two colors that are different on screen can be almost impossible to tell apart in thread, especially after turning a photo into a pattern. Merging them means one less skein to buy and one less color to keep track of while stitching.

1. Select the colors: Ctrl/Cmd+click or Shift+click each one in the palette.
2. Click Merge 3 Colors (or however many you picked) at the bottom of the palette.
3. The colors are listed with the most-used first. Click the one to keep. Your pattern shows what it will look like.
4. Click Merge to do it, or Cancel to leave things as they were.

Keep the color with the most stitches. Fewer stitches change, so the pattern looks most like it did.

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Not sure which colors are look-alikes? The Check tab's FLOW view finds them and can merge them for you. To cut a palette down a lot, Simplify Colors is faster than merging by hand. Our guide to reducing colors walks through the whole process.

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Fine-tune a color

The Edit Color panel holds everything about one color. Open it with Edit color in the right-click menu, or Edit Color at the bottom of the palette. Whatever you change applies everywhere that color is stitched.

• A different thread: Replace Color opens the thread picker, the same as Replace.
• An exact color of your own: Edit as Custom HEX… lets you type any color. If you started from a custom color, Match to Thread Library… finds the closest real thread.
• Two threads in one needle: Create Blend makes the color a blend of two or more threads.
• Strands: how many strands to stitch this color with, in crafts that use strands.
• A name you'll recognize: type a Display name, like "Sky" or "Fur shadow". Leave it empty to keep the thread's own name.
• A symbol and a Legend Comment, covered below.

Click Done to keep your changes.

The panel also has quick actions: Select all stitches (handy for moving or copying everything in that color), Highlight on chart, Erase all stitches and Remove color.

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Erase or remove a color

Two options that sound alike but do different things:

• Erase stitches clears every stitch of that color from the chart and leaves the color in your palette, ready to use again. Use it to restitch an area from scratch.
• Remove color takes the color out of the palette. Its stitches don't disappear: each one changes to the closest-looking color you have left. Use it for a stray color you don't want to buy.

Both work on several selected colors at once, and both are one Undo step.

Colors with no stitches at all can go in one press with Remove unused colors in Palette tools. It only removes colors nobody stitches, so nothing on your chart changes.

Need a new color instead? Click Add at the bottom of the palette to pick any thread from the Color Library. Duplicate color in the right-click menu adds a copy of a color, which you can then change.

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Symbols that are easy to tell apart

On a printed black-and-white chart, the symbol is the only thing telling one thread from another. When two shades are close, as they often are in skin, sky or shading, give them symbols you can't mix up at a glance.

1. Right-click the color and choose Change symbol… (or click Replace Symbol in the Edit Color panel).
2. Pick a symbol from the grid. Symbols already taken by other colors are marked, so you won't double up.
3. Choose None if you'd rather have plain colored squares.

Symbols show in the editor when Symbols is on in View Options, and they print in every PDF chart style that has symbols.

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Notes in the thread key

A legend comment is a short note that prints beside a color in the PDF thread key. Use it for anything the stitcher needs to know about that one thread:

• "Use 1 strand"
• "For the eyes"
• "Blend with DMC 3865"
• "French knots only"

Write one in the Legend Comment box in the Edit Color panel, up to 200 characters. To do the whole key in one go, open the PDF export: next to Color comments in the thread key settings, Edit… lists every color on one screen. Comments are saved with the pattern either way. More in PDF Export.

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Order the palette your way

The two small buttons at the bottom right of the palette change how it looks and in what order the colors come.

Layout: a full List with names and stitch counts, a Compact list that fits more colors, or a Grid of swatches only.

Sort by: color code, name, stitch count, color family, or Custom order, where you drag colors into the order you like. Pick the same sort again to reverse it.

Custom order is saved with the pattern, and the PDF thread key can follow it: set the legend order to Editor order in the export. That's useful when you want the key to follow the order you'll stitch in, or to group threads by area.

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Changes to the whole palette

For changes to every color at once, click Palette tools at the bottom of the palette. Each one is explained on the Palette Tools page:

• Apply a Palette: recolor the pattern with a saved palette, your own threads, or a color style.
• Switch Thread Brand: move every color to the closest threads in another brand.
• Adjust Colors: brighter, softer, warmer or cooler, with a live preview.
• Simplify Colors: fewer colors, keeping the look.
• Remove unused colors: drop every color with no stitches.

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Colors while importing

You can fix colors before a pattern even reaches the editor.

• Turning a photo into a pattern: select a color in Your palette to highlight it on the preview, or Change thread… to swap it. See Change thread in Image Import.
• Importing a PDF pattern: if a thread was read wrong, change it from the thread key. See fixing a thread in PDF Import.

Changing a thread there works like Replace here: the original color sits beside the thread you're trying, you click threads to try them on the preview, and Use it keeps your choice. Click the original to go back to it.

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Tips & gotchas

• Look before you change. Turn on Highlight current color and step through the palette with [ and ]. Colors used in only a handful of scattered stitches jump out, and they're the first ones worth merging.
• Replace when you know the thread you want; merge when you have too many. Replace searches the whole thread library. Merge only combines colors already in your pattern.
• Merge the least-used colors first. It cuts down on confetti without losing detail.
• Close shades need different symbols. Especially if you'll print in black and white.
• Compare with the original. After a lot of swaps, check against your photo with overlay images (U).
• Didn't like it? Undo. Every color change, including a merge, is one Undo step.
• Remove unused colors is always safe. It only takes away colors with no stitches.
• Check the PDF after writing comments. They print in the thread key, and only while Color comments is on in the export (it is unless you've switched it off).

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FAQ

What's the difference between replacing and merging?

Replace swaps a color for any thread you choose from the thread library, for example because the original is out of stock. Merge combines two or more colors already in your pattern into one: you pick which survives, and the stitches of the others move to it.

Can I undo a color merge?

Yes. A merge is a single Undo step (Cmd/Ctrl+Z). Every stitch goes back to its original color and the merged colors return to the palette.

How do I see where one color is used?

Turn on Highlight current color under the palette. Every other color fades, so only that thread stands out. Click Show all, or press Escape, to see everything again.

Does highlighting a color change my pattern?

No. Highlighting is only a way of looking. It isn't saved with the pattern, doesn't show up in exports, and isn't an Undo step.

What are legend comments for?

They're short notes that print beside a color in the PDF thread key, such as "use 1 strand" or "for the eyes". Write them one color at a time in the Edit Color panel, or all at once from the PDF export.

How do I add a new color to the palette?

Click Add at the bottom of the palette. The Color Library opens, where you can pick threads from any supported brand.