Smooth backstitch outlines, step-by-step PDF reviews, and your own files in the WIP planner

In this update, we taught the Outline tool to draw neat, smooth lines, added an easy way to review tricky spots after PDF recognition, and made it possible to upload your own files directly into projects to stitch from.

Smooth backstitch outlines

Until now, the Outline tool built contours strictly along cell edges. On round or elongated details, this left a staircase effect you had to smooth out by hand.

Outline now features a smoothness slider from 0 to 8. At 0, you get the classic staircase. Values 1 to 5 cut the corners with diagonals, and 6 to 8 turn the contour into a smooth curve. Straight edges stay straight, and no stitch is longer than four cells.

We've also added a “Free backstitch” checkbox. This lets stitch ends snap to the middle of cells, allowing the line to follow the shape more naturally. Settings apply live: move the slider after outlining, and the contour rebuilds instantly. The editor still automatically picks a thread a couple of shades darker than the fill, and your settings are now saved for next time.

You can find Outline in the selection properties: select a motif with the Selection tool, then open Backstitch → Outline.

Reviewing a recognized chart

PDF recognition isn’t always perfect: symbols can blur together, and poor source quality can be misleading. Until now, doubtful spots were just highlighted, leaving you to hunt for them yourself.

There’s now a “Start with unsure places” button above the canvas showing the number of spots to check. It walks you through them step by step: the canvas zooms in on each spot, and a curtain slides over the canvas with the matching part of the original PDF. If a symbol is uncertain, you’ll see its key row from the PDF so you can correct the thread on the spot. You can pause the review at any time and return to it later via the “From PDF” menu.

Your own .oxs and .xsd files — straight into the WIP planner

If you already have a finished chart, you can now attach it directly to a project card in the WIP planner (via “Upload PDF, OXS or XSD”) and start marking your progress in the Hoop.

These files work in a stitch-only mode and don't take up a slot in My patterns. This means uploads work even on the free plan when all three slots are full. If a new version of the chart comes out, just upload it to the same project card—the file will update, but all your marks will stay exactly where they are.