Resize, Rotate and Position a Pattern

Need more room for lettering, a design that fits a frame, or a motif facing the other way? Start with the task below. Open the pattern in the editor and switch to Edit if you are tracking stitches.

• Make the design bigger or smaller
• Add blank space or make the canvas taller
• Add or remove a row or column
• Fit a frame or choose a finished fabric size
• Rotate or flip stitches
• Move and centre text or a motif

Make the design bigger or smaller

1. Open Settings (the gear in the editor toolbar), then choose Canvas.
2. Under Canvas Size, choose Cells, Inches or cm. One cell is one stitch.
3. Choose Scale content. Keep the proportions Locked to preserve the shape.
4. Enter a new Width or Height. With the lock on, the other value changes too.
5. Click Resize (the button shows your new dimensions), then check the result. Use Undo if needed.

Scaling changes the stitch arrangement to fit the new size. Check small lettering and fine details afterwards. Zooming the editor only changes your view; it does not resize the pattern.

Add blank space or make the canvas taller

1. Open Settings → Canvas and choose Extend canvas.
2. Click the proportions lock so it reads Unlocked if you only want to change one dimension.
3. Increase Height to make room above and below, or increase Width for room at the sides.
4. Click Resize. Your existing stitches keep their size and blank cells are added around them.

For example, change a 60 × 60 canvas to 60 × 80 cells to add ten blank rows above and below. Entering smaller dimensions can cut off stitches; use larger dimensions when adding space. To remove unused outer space, use Fit artboard to content.

Add or remove a row or column

For small adjustments, use the tabs at the edges of the canvas to add or remove one row or column at a time. Your existing stitches keep their size.

1. Hover over a small, translucent grid tab at the edge of the canvas. On mobile, tap the tab to reveal its controls.
2. The top and bottom tabs show − Row +. The left and right tabs show − Col +, where Col means column.
3. Choose + to add one blank row or column at that edge, or − to remove one. For example, use the bottom tab's + to make the canvas one row taller at the bottom.
4. Move your pointer away to tuck the controls away again. On mobile, tap the tab again or tap elsewhere.

Removing a row or column also removes any stitches on that edge. Use Undo to restore them. These controls are available in Edit mode; switch out of stitch tracking first.

Fit a frame or choose a finished fabric size

The finished size depends on both the stitch dimensions and your fabric count. A 112 × 154 stitch pattern measures 8 × 11 inches on 14-count Aida. The same stitches make a smaller piece on higher-count fabric.

1. Set the fabric count to match the fabric you will stitch on. For patterns with a source image, find this in Settings → Chart; otherwise it is in Settings → Canvas.
2. In Canvas, choose Inches or cm and check the size shown below the width and height fields.
3. Use Scale content to change the artwork size, or Extend canvas to add a border of blank space. Keep proportions locked when scaling unless you want to stretch the design.

Measure the visible opening of your frame and leave room for any border. Cut extra fabric outside the design for finishing and mounting. For a bookmark, choose a narrow width and a taller height.

Rotate or flip stitches

To rotate a selection: mark the stitches with Select, then choose Rotate 90° beside the centring buttons in the selection action bar. Each click turns the selected stitches a quarter turn anticlockwise. You can keep dragging the selection afterwards, or use Undo to reverse the turn. The button is also available on mobile.

The rotated selection moves just far enough to stay inside the canvas if needed. If it is too large to fit, the editor asks you to add blank canvas space before rotating. Flip H and Flip V in the same bar mirror the selection horizontally or vertically.

To rotate or flip a whole stitch layer:

1. Open Layers (the stacked-squares icon) and select the stitch layer you want to change. Unlock it if necessary.
2. Click the gear on that layer's row to open Layer options.
3. Choose Rotate 90°, Flip horizontal or Flip vertical. Repeat Rotate for another quarter turn.

These operations change the selected stitch layer. Other layers stay in place. Leave enough canvas around a motif before rotating it, especially on a narrow canvas, so the rotated stitches fit. Reference image layers have their own controls; see the Layers guide.

Move and centre text or a motif

Centre Lines in Display are visual grid guides. The separate Snap to canvas centre option in Settings → Canvas → Alignment helps position objects while dragging. Snapping starts switched on and works even when Centre Lines are hidden.

1. Select the layer containing the motif or text. To move only part of a stitch layer, mark it with Select.
2. Choose Move and drag towards the canvas midpoint. You can also drag an existing selection with Select.
3. A purple alignment indicator appears when the object snaps horizontally, vertically or both. Release to keep that position.
4. Hold Option on Mac (Alt on Windows), or switch snapping off in Canvas settings, to move freely. Keep the motif inside the canvas. Undo reverses the move.

For one-click positioning, use the two Centre selection buttons in the selection action bar. To centre a whole stitch or text layer, open its Layer options gear and choose Centre horizontally or Centre vertically. These commands work even with snapping switched off. Text stays editable.

Stitches move in whole cells. When exact centring would need half a cell, the nearest stitch position is used and the indicator reads Nearest stitch to centre. Snapping applies to stitch and text layers and selected stitches; reference images and sketches retain their existing movement controls.

For several lines of lettering, Centre in the text controls aligns the lines within the text block. Moving the whole block on the canvas is a separate action. See Text Generator and Pattern Editor for more detail.