Why would I use layers in a cross stitch pattern?

To keep a part you might change apart from the rest. Put the lettering on its own layer and you can move or redo it without unpicking the design under it. Try a new background on a copy of a layer, and if you do not like it, delete the copy and nothing else has changed.

How many layers can I have?

Up to 10, plus the base layer. When you reach 10, merge (flatten) or delete one to make room.

What does Flatten do?

It merges a layer into the one directly below. Where both have a stitch in the same square, the upper one wins. The upper layer then goes away. Undo brings it back.

Do hidden layers appear in my PDF?

No. A hidden layer is left out of PDF and image exports, along with its backstitch, knots, beads, text and motifs. Show it again before exporting if you want it in the chart.

Layers

Why use layers

Most patterns are fine on a single layer. Layers help when part of the design is still up for debate.

Keep the text separate so it can move. Put the name and date for a birth sampler on their own layer. If the lettering needs to sit two rows lower, or the name is spelled wrong, you change that layer and the design under it stays exactly as it was.
Try an idea without wrecking the pattern. Wondering if a darker background would look better? Copy the layer, recolor the copy, and compare by hiding one or the other. If it doesn't work, delete the copy.
Leave something out of the chart. Notes to yourself, a rough sketch to stitch over, a guideline: put them on a layer and hide it before you export.

Think of layers as clear sheets stacked on your chart. Each holds its own stitches, and you only ever draw on one at a time.

A birth sampler with the name and date on their own layer: the Layers panel lists Base Layer and Lettering, with Lettering active

I want to…

I want to…	Do this
Keep text or a border separate	Add a layer, then stitch or type on it
Try a change I might not keep	Duplicate the layer and change the copy
Separate a part I've already stitched	Select it and lift it to a new layer
See the pattern without one part	Hide that layer
Keep notes or a guide out of the PDF	Put them on a layer and hide it before exporting
Put one part in front of another	Drag the layer higher
Make it one layer again	Flatten

How layers stack

Every pattern starts with a Base Layer. When you create or import a pattern, all its stitches are on it. You can stitch on the Base Layer and hide it, but it always stays at the bottom and can't be deleted or renamed.

Layers you add sit on top of it. The top of the list is the front of the pattern: if two layers have a stitch in the same square, you see the one higher up.

Add a layer

Open Layers from the left toolbar and click +. The new layer goes on top, is named Layer 1, Layer 2 and so on, and becomes the layer you're working on.

You can have up to 10 layers plus the Base Layer. At 10, the + button stops working: flatten or delete one to make room.

Choose the layer you are working on

Click a layer to work on it. It's marked Active.

Everything you draw, fill, erase or recolor goes to the active layer only. Stitches on other layers aren't touched, even in the same square. A common surprise is painting away and seeing nothing change because the layer you're on sits under another one. Check which layer is active before you start.

Before and after: a red heart filled onto a Lettering layer above the design. Hiding the Lettering layer shows the design under it is unchanged

Hide a layer

Click the eye beside a layer to hide it, and again to show it.

Hiding is how you compare: hide the copy to see the original, show it to see your change. It's also how you keep something out of the chart, because hidden layers aren't exported to PDF or images. A layer's backstitch, French knots, beads, text and motifs hide with it.

Hiding the Base Layer for a moment shows only what you've added on top, which is handy for checking lettering is centered.

Clicking the eye on a Lettering layer: the name and date disappear from the chart, then come back

Rename and reorder

Rename a layer to what's on it ("Lettering", "Border", "Darker sky") so you can tell them apart a week later. Double-click its name, or right-click it and choose Rename Layer. The Base Layer keeps its name.

Reorder by dragging a layer up or down the list. If one part is covering another, moving it lower is usually the fix. The Base Layer stays at the bottom.

Dragging a Border layer below a Motif layer: where they overlap, the motif now shows in front

Try an idea on a copy

Right-click a layer and choose Duplicate Layer. An exact copy, named with "copy" at the end, appears at the top and becomes active.

Duplicate the layer you want to change.
Make your change on the copy.
Hide and show the copy to compare.
Keep the one you like and delete the other.

The copy brings the layer's backstitch, text and motifs along. It counts toward the 10-layer limit.

Before and after: the original sky on the left, the same pattern with a darker sky on a duplicated layer on the right

Move part of the pattern to its own layer

Already stitched everything on one layer and now wish the border were separate? Select it, right-click the selection and choose New Layer from Selection.

The selected stitches move off their layer onto a new one, which becomes active. Backstitch, knots and beads that sit wholly inside the selection come along.

The right-click menu on a selected border, with New Layer from Selection highlighted

Merge a layer down

When you're happy with a layer, merge it into the one below: right-click it and choose Flatten to Layer Below.

Where both layers have a stitch in the same square, the upper layer's stitch wins.
Empty squares on the upper layer leave the stitches under them alone.
Its backstitch, knots, beads, text and motifs move down too.
The upper layer goes away. Undo brings it back in one step.

Flatten works one layer at a time, so to merge everything, flatten from the top down. The Base Layer can't be flattened since nothing is below it.

Delete a layer

Right-click a layer and choose Delete Layer, or click the trash can at the bottom of the panel to delete the active one. You're asked to confirm.

Deleting removes the layer with all its stitches, backstitch, knots, beads, text and motifs. If it was active, you're moved to the Base Layer. Changed your mind? Cmd/Ctrl+Z brings it all back.

Backstitch, text and motifs on layers

Backstitch, French knots, beads, text and motifs belong to the layer that was active when you made them. They hide, duplicate, flatten and delete with that layer, and a selection only picks up the ones on the active layer. To move one to another layer, right-click it and choose Move to layer.

They always draw above the stitches of every layer, whatever order the layers are in. Lines and objects from patterns made before layers owned them stay visible whatever you hide.

Tips & gotchas

Check the Active layer before stitching. Drawing on the wrong layer is the most common mix-up.
Lettering goes on its own layer. It's the part most likely to move or change.
Hidden means not exported. Before you make the final PDF, check every layer you want is showing.
Duplicate and Flatten are in the right-click menu, or the menu button on each row on a touch screen.
Everything is undoable. Add, delete, rename, reorder, duplicate and flatten each undo in one step.