Draw it. Sew it.
You already draw with the Pencil. For digitizing it has been left on the table. StitchPencil hands it the job: pull a stroke, get stitches — runs, satin and fills, with underlay, pull compensation and ties already in place.
The beta is running with a small group of testers and is not taking new ones at the moment. The App Store release is the next step — it will be announced here.
01Why this exists
Digitizing is drawing. So draw.
Where a line runs, how wide a satin stitch gets, which way an area is stitched — you decide all of that while you draw. And for drawing you are already holding the best tool there is.
StitchPencil grew around exactly that idea: you draw your design with the Apple Pencil, and StitchPencil turns it into the stitch plan. While you draw, pressure sets how wide the satin stitch gets. Two fingers undo a change, three put it back.
Nothing is final. Every object stays editable, and the stitch plan is worked out again after every change.
StitchPencil is made for hobby embroiderers on single-needle machines. That is why the sequence optimizer goes after colour changes first: every change means you swap the thread and rethread by hand, while a jump costs the machine a moment.
StitchPencil does not do the craft for you. How a design should be built up, which stabilizer your fabric needs, what density makes sense — that stays your call.
The software helps where software can help: with sensible defaults, a design check that measures real values and puts what it finds in plain words, and a warning before a design gives you trouble on the machine.
StitchPencil grew out of the way I work. So almost everything can be adjusted — from the underlay to the sewing order to your own stitch presets, ready to use again whenever you want.
Hi, I'm Mika — I develop StitchPencil, and I embroider and sell my own designs. What I care about is helpers that actually help instead of confusing you: if you are just starting out, you should get somewhere without reading a manual first. If something gets in your way, write to me: support@stitchpencil.app.
02The three stitch types
Three stitch types. Hundreds of possibilities.
Anyone can draw a zigzag. What makes a design sew out cleanly is everything underneath it: underlay, pull compensation, ties, stitch lengths and a lot of small decisions. StitchPencil makes them for you, checks them, and still lets you change every one.
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Running stitch
Single, triple or bean stitch (1/3/5 passes) with a stitch length you choose. Branching line networks are joined into one continuous route — instead of needless jumps.
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Satin columns
The width follows Apple Pencil pressure. Underlay, pull compensation, mitred corners, short stitches on tight curves and foam underlay are all handled for you. If a column gets too wide to sew cleanly, StitchPencil says so.
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Fills
Tatami with angle, density and stitch pattern; contour fills that follow the outline; holes cut cleanly. Travels are grouped sensibly, so the needle doesn't cover ground it doesn't need to.
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Sashiko patterns
Grid and asanoha patterns are sewn as one continuous running stitch. The route closes cleanly instead of falling apart into single jumps.
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Gradient blends
Up to three colours flow into one another. You set the width and softness of the transition — and the stitch direction can follow the shape instead of the hoop.
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Lettering
Curated embroidery fonts, text on a path, and the option to turn lettering into editable outlines whenever you want.
You edit objects, never stitches.
Draw a shape, then change your mind: density, angle, satin width, underlay, pattern, colour. The stitch plan is worked out again from scratch each time — rather than existing stitches being laboriously altered. So a design stays understandable and cleanly built, however many changes it has been through.
Undo applies to your drawing — not to the stitch plan it produces. The stitch plan is a result. What you edit are the objects.
03Pencil-first
The tool is in your hand, not in a menu.
No slider for satin width
More pressure means more width. You watch the satin column grow while you draw — the band appears right under the Pencil tip.
Straight lines without a ruler
Hold the Pencil still at the end of a stroke and the line snaps clean. The same gesture Procreate taught your hand.
No stroke has to be finished
Break off a line and carry on later, or switch to node mode at any time to work the Bézier points directly.
Less hunting, more drawing
Two fingers for undo, three for redo. A double tap switches tools — instead of hunting for buttons.
Sewing order without lists
Tap the objects in the order you want them sewn. StitchPencil numbers them and warns you if the order would change how the design looks.
See the result, not just stitches
See your design the way it will be sewn — as thread, not as flat shapes. With a direction view and a player that walks through every colour block.
Watch it sew before the machine does.
The player shows every colour block at its true stitch size. So before the first stitch you can see when one block is out of proportion, or when a colour change buys you only a handful of stitches. A normal progress bar doesn't tell you that.
04Not everything starts blank
Bring in artwork, keep the object model.
Imports stay editable. Instead of finished stitches you get real objects — the same ones you would have drawn yourself.
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Put existing artwork to work
Paths, arcs and transforms come across intact. Outlines become running stitch or satin, areas become fills. Colours can be matched to real thread catalogues — or you simply use the artwork as a crisp tracing template.
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Real thread colours
Match every colour to a thread you can actually buy: Madeira, Isacord, Sulky, Brother and three more catalogues, around 1,900 shades. You see on screen what will be on the spool — and whatever colour a file format can carry, it carries.
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Reference photos
Put a photo under your design as a template, move and scale it right on the canvas, and draw over it. Reference images are locked by default so you never select one by accident.
05For single-needle machines
Fewer rethreads, not fewer millimetres.
Most optimizers save travel distance. For a single-needle machine that is often the wrong target. A jump costs the machine a moment. A colour change costs you getting up, swapping the thread and rethreading.
Every colour change is you.
Get up. Swap the thread. Rethread.
So StitchPencil reduces colour changes first. The visible layering of your design stays exactly as it was: overlaps that end up covered anyway don't get to constrain the order. The design comes out identical — just with less rethreading.
The design stays the same. Only how often you have to rethread changes.
06Getting it out
Export without surprises.
Before a file is written, StitchPencil checks it. Stitches that are too long, satin columns that are too narrow, objects outside the hoop — you find out here, not after the fabric and thread are gone.
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For your machine
DST universal · PES Brother · EXP + INF Bernina · JEF Janome. Straight onto the stick, ready to sew.
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To hand on
SVG for further editing · PDF production sheet · PNG preview · MOV stitch-out animation. For your documentation, your shop, or desktop software.
The project stays yours.
A .hoop file is an open, documented format — not a black box you depend on. The specification is public, and anyone can read what is inside your work.
Read the specification.
07Where this stands
No big company. One developer.
StitchPencil is in private beta with a small group of testers. That round is full, so there is nothing to sign up for right now — the App Store release is the next step. Some things are unfinished, some will still change. That is exactly what a beta is for.
I develop StitchPencil on my own. If something is missing or doesn't work, your feedback lands directly with the person who writes the code. Every feature is unlocked during the beta.
What StitchPencil deliberately is not: a cloud service. No account, no sync, no telemetry. Your projects stay on your iPad until you export them yourself.
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Requirements
iPadOS 26 or newer and an Apple Pencil. An M-series chip makes big designs faster, but is not a requirement. No iPhone app. No Mac version.
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Documentation
The handbook and the open project format are added to as things land. Both are publicly documented: docs.stitchpencil.app and hoop.stitchpencil.app.
Tell me when something snags.
If something doesn't work or behaves oddly, send a screenshot and the .hoop file along. Most of the time I can reproduce it the same day.
You won't get canned replies or a ticket system — your message comes straight to me. I can't promise an answer in five minutes. But I read every one myself.