Selection Tool

Select stitches so you can copy, fill, erase, expand, or hand them off to Transform.

Shortcut: V Location: Left toolbar → Selection
Keyboard & modifiers
V
Switch to Selection tool
Cmd+A Ctrl+A
Select all
Cmd+D Ctrl+D
Deselect
Cmd+Shift+I Ctrl+Shift+I
Invert selection
Cmd+C Ctrl+C
Copy selected stitches
Cmd+X Ctrl+X
Cut selected stitches
Cmd+V Ctrl+V
Paste
F
Fill selection with Primary color
Delete Backspace
Erase stitches inside selection
Shift
Perfect square / perfect circle (while drawing)
Alt Option
Draw from center (while drawing)
Ctrl Cmd (while drawing)
Add to selection
Alt (while drawing)
Subtract from selection
Ctrl+Shift Cmd+Shift
Subtract from selection (alt)
Enter
Close polygon (Polygon Lasso mode)
Arrows
Nudge selection border by 1 stitch

Basics

Selection is your "masking tape." First you mark which stitches, then you act on them.

Selection basics — draw, act, done

Core rhythm:

  1. Draw a selection.
  2. Do something — copy, fill, erase, expand.
  3. Press T if you want to move, resize, or rotate the stitches themselves.

Common uses

  • Select a background area, then Fill
  • Copy a small motif and paste it elsewhere
  • Erase a messy corner without touching the rest
  • Select a region, then Transform to reposition it

Selection modes

Pick the shape that matches what you're trying to grab:

Geometric

  • Rectangle — best for block shapes and clean regions.
  • Ellipse — round and oval areas.

Lasso

  • Freehand Lasso — draw around an organic shape; it closes automatically when you release.
  • Polygon Lasso — click to place points for clean straight edges. Close with Enter, double-click, or by clicking the first point.

Wand

  • Color Wand — click a stitch to grab a connected area of the same color.
  • Stitch-Type Wand — click a stitch to grab a connected area of the same stitch type (full cross, half stitch, etc.).
Selection modes — Rectangle, Lasso, Wand

Drawing a selection

Click and drag to draw a selection. You'll see an animated dashed outline.

Helpful modifiers:

  • Shift — perfect square or perfect circle.
  • Alt / Option — draw from the center outward.

Polygon Lasso works differently: click to place points, then close the shape with Enter, double-click, or by clicking the first point again.

Drawing selections — Rectangle, Ellipse, Lasso

Adding & subtracting

Already have a selection? You can grow or carve into it:

  • Replace (default) — your new selection becomes the only selection.
  • Add (Shift or Ctrl/Cmd while drawing) — grow the selection.
  • Subtract (Alt or Ctrl/Cmd + Shift while drawing) — carve a hole out of it.

Tip: Ctrl/Cmd does two different things depending on what you're doing — while drawing it means Add, while clicking it temporarily switches to the Wand. If the Wand triggers by accident, you probably clicked instead of dragging.

Add and subtract selections

Operations

Once you have a selection, you can:

  • Copy (Cmd/Ctrl+C) — copy selected stitches.
  • Cut (Cmd/Ctrl+X) — copy and erase selected stitches.
  • Paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V) — paste as a floating selection you can place.
  • Fill (F) — fill selection with Primary color.
  • Erase (Delete / Backspace) — clear stitches inside the selection.
  • Invert (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I) — select everything except what's currently selected.
  • Select All (Cmd/Ctrl+A) — select the whole pattern.
  • Deselect (Cmd/Ctrl+D) — clear the selection.
  • Expand — grow the selection outward by a set number of stitches.
  • Contract — shrink the selection inward by a set number of stitches.
  • Select Outline — convert the selection to just its border.

These actions only affect the selected area — everything outside stays untouched.

Selection operations in the Edit menu and toolbar

Move & resize the border

You can move and resize the selection border without moving stitches:

  • Drag inside the outline — move the border.
  • Drag handles — resize the border.
  • Arrow keys — nudge the border by 1 stitch.

Important: this moves the border only. The stitches underneath don't move. To move, rotate, or resize the stitches themselves, press T (Selection Transform).

Move and resize the selection border

Magic Wand

The Wand selects based on what's already on the canvas:

  • Color Wand — click a stitch to select a connected area of the same color. Great for grabbing a filled background or a single-color shape.
  • Stitch-Type Wand — click a stitch to select a connected area of the same stitch type (full cross, half stitch, etc.). Useful for targeting all the full crosses in a region.

Quick trick: From any selection mode, hold Ctrl/Cmd and click to temporarily use the Wand. Release to go back to your current mode.

Color Wand and Stitch-Type Wand

UI overview

You'll see:

  • Mode picker — Rectangle, Lasso, and Wand modes.
  • Transform button (T) — switch to move/resize/rotate the stitches inside.
  • More actions menu — Expand, Contract, Outline, and other selection actions.
  • Animated dashed outline — shows what's selected.
  • Resize handles — corners and edges for reshaping the border.
  • Size readout — shows the selection size in stitches (width × height).
Selection UI — mode picker, handles, outline

Selection chooses which stitches. Selection Transform (T) changes where those stitches go — move, resize, rotate, flip.

Tips & gotchas

  • Moving the outline isn't moving stitches. If nothing seems to move, you're probably moving the border. Press T to move stitches.
  • Expand / Contract snap to whole stitches. They're designed for clean borders, not for tiny in-between positioning.
  • Ctrl/Cmd has two jobs. Add to selection while dragging; Wand while clicking. If the Wand keeps firing, drag instead of clicking.
  • Polygon Lasso must be closed. Close with Enter, double-click, or click the first point again. If you switch tools without closing, the polygon is discarded.