| Shape | Shortcut | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle | R | Borders, frames, badges, label backgrounds |
| Ellipse | O | Circles, dots, rounded motifs, wreaths |
Shape Tool
Draw clean geometric shapes in stitches — rectangles, circles, and more — filled or outlined. Perfect for borders, frames, labels, and geometric patterns.
Shortcut: R
Location: Left toolbar → Shape
Keyboard & modifiers
- R
- Switch to Shape tool (Rectangle)
- O
- Switch to Shape tool (Ellipse)
- Shift (while drawing)
- Perfect square / circle
- Alt (while drawing)
- Draw from center instead of corner
- Alt+Click (not drawing)
- Eyedropper — pick color from canvas
Basics
Shape Tool is for clean geometry without hand-drawing.
Use it for:
- Borders and frames.
- Badges and labels behind text.
- Geometric ornaments.
- Clean circles (wreaths, moons, dots).
Shapes always land on the stitch grid — what you preview is what you get. Press R for Rectangle or O for Ellipse.
Quick start
- Choose a shape (R for Rectangle, O for Ellipse).
- Choose Filled or Outline.
- Click and drag to place it.
- Optional: hold Shift for a perfect square/circle; hold Alt to draw from center.
- Release to place.
Pick a shape
Switch between them with the keyboard shortcuts or the toolbar dropdown. The last shape you used is remembered.
Filled vs outline
Filled paints the whole shape — every stitch inside the boundary gets your active color.
Outline draws only the border — the interior stays empty. Great for frames and clean icons.
Outline width (1–10 stitches, default 1) controls how thick the border is. A width of 1 is a single-stitch border; higher values create thicker frames.
Drawing a shape
- Click and hold to set one corner.
- Drag to the opposite corner. A live preview shows the shape with dimensions (width × height in stitches).
- Release to place. The shape becomes stitches in your active color.
Each shape is one Undo step. If it's not quite right, Cmd/Ctrl+Z and redraw — Shape is meant to be fast.
Modifiers
Hold modifier keys while drawing to change behavior:
| Modifier | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shift | Perfect square (Rectangle) or perfect circle (Ellipse) |
| Alt | Draw from center — start point becomes the center, not a corner |
| Shift + Alt | Both — perfect shape from center |
| Alt+Click (not drawing) | Eyedropper — pick a color from the canvas |
The toolbar also has checkboxes for the same thing without holding keys:
- Keep square aspect — always constrain to square/circle.
- Start from center — always draw from center.
Common uses
- Instant frame: Outline rectangle, width 1–3 stitches.
- Badge behind text: Filled rectangle on its own layer, text on the layer above.
- Polka dots: Small filled circles, duplicate and transform to repeat.
- Geometric tile: Square + circle combinations, then duplicate the layer.
Dithering & eraser
Like other drawing tools, Shape supports dithering and eraser modes:
- Single-color dithering — The shape is filled with a scattered density pattern, creating a textured look.
- Two-color dithering — Stitches inside the shape split between primary and secondary colors.
- Eraser mode — Right-click drag or enable the global eraser toggle. Clears stitches instead of filling them.
Symmetry
When Brush symmetry is active, shapes are mirrored across the symmetry axes. Draw one shape and its reflections appear simultaneously in all mirrored positions.
Works with both filled and outline modes and all symmetry types: horizontal mirror, vertical mirror, 4-way, and 8-way.
Tips & gotchas
- R and O are quick toggles. Press R for rectangle, O for ellipse — no dropdown needed.
- Shift for perfect squares and circles. Same convention as Photoshop, Figma, and most design tools.
- Alt from center is great for centered designs. Click the center of where you want the shape, Alt+drag outward.
- Thick outlines on small shapes. A thick outline on a tiny shape might fill the whole thing. Use thin outlines for small shapes.
- Circles will look a bit stair-stepped up close. That's normal on a stitch grid — zoom out to judge the overall look.
- For super crisp outlines, consider Backstitch instead. Backstitch lines sit on top of stitches and can snap to half-stitch points for more precision.
- Works with selection. The shape is clipped to the selected area — great for filling a specific region.
- Dithering + shapes = textures. Two-color dithering on a filled shape creates a crosshatch effect. Experiment with different densities.
- Use a separate layer for experimental geometry. Flatten when you're happy.