KXStitch

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Screen Shots

Here are some snapshots of the current build of the software.

The Main View


The KXStitch window consists of the main menu bar and main toolbar, a stitch toolbar, a tools toolbar and the status bar.

There is a pattern preview window in the top left corner with the palette view underneath. The main editor window is on the right with scales on the top and left sides. The scales can be displayed in stitches, inches or cm, or can be disabled completely. The editor window is divided into a grid, with major and minor divisions. The number of cells per group is user definable as are the colours. Again the grid can be turned off if required.

The main KXStitch window with a pattern loaded from a PCStitch 5 file and the scales displayed in stitches.
The editor context menu allows changing the visible elements of the editor view. Wether things are visible or not, and how they are displayed.
The scales displayed in CM. And in Inches.

Stitches can be displayed in 5 formats, or disabled altogether to improve the visibility of other elements like backstitches or french knots.

Pattern displayed as regular stitches. As B&W symbols.
As coloured symbols. As coloured blocks.
And as coloured blocks with symbols.

Creating Patterns

Creating new pattern in KXStitch can be done in several ways.

  • A blank canvas, with a user defined size.
  • A blank canvas, using a background image.
  • Import an image, lots of formats are supported.
  • Scan an image.
  • Open an existing file, either KXStitch or PCStitch 5
Initially when creating a new blank canvas, it is created with the default size set in the Properties dialog. The Properties dialog, displays size in stitches, inches or cm. The cloth count in cm or inches. Various other pieces of information and the canvas colour. You can change the values here which will be reflected in the current pattern.
When inserting a background image, the image will initially occupy the entire pattern area. This may not be what you require, as often the aspect ration of the image will be distorted
You can use the select area tool to select an area of the canvas that you want the background image to occupy. Then by selecting the Pattern->Fit Background to Selection menu item.....
....the image will be rescaled to fit within the selected area.
Selecting a file to import. The image import dialog. Allows selection of the floss palette, scaling of the image and colour reduction. The import process supports transparency in images, which results in no stitches in the transparent area.

The Palette


The palette view displays the colours that have been added to the current palette. Hovering the mouse over any of the colours will display a tooltip showing some information for the colour. A context menu is available to manipulate the contents of the palette.

Palette view tooltip. The palette context menu.
Adding colours to the palette. New colours can be created for any of the existing schemes. Removing colours uses the same dialog, but used colours are grayed out and can not be selected. Creating a new colour. Just add a name and a description and select the colour. This is most useful when floss manufacturers update their ranges.
Displaying the symbols relating to the palette colours. The current palette may be saved as a seperate file and then reloaded for a new pattern. This is useful if you want to create a range of patterns based on the same colour scheme.
As computer monitors are different, colours may not look the same on screen compared to the physical thread. Calibrate colours can be used to rectify this.

Adding Text

A new feature of KXStitch allows you to add text to your pattern. Select a font and a size, then enter your text, which will be formatted in the font and size you have selected.
The text will then be converted to stitches which can be placed on your canvas with the left mouse button in the same way as you paste any other entity.

Printing

Once you have your pattern created you will want to print it out. The KXStitch print dialog is an extension of the basic KDE print dialog with a KXStitch specific page. It allows you to configure how the final printout will appear. A PDF of the pattern above is here
The pattern will be printed with a front sheet showing the title, author and an image.
The floss list shows a sorted list of flosses, optionally with a summary of the usage, number of stitches and length of floss used
Each sheet of a multi sheet pattern will show a keyplan in the top right hand corner.

Libraries

KXStitch has a pattern library which allows selected areas to be added to a catagorised pattern list. Patterns from the library can then be added to other patterns.
Select an area. Select Library->Create library pattern.
Adding a pattern to a library. Currently no catagories are defined. A context menu will allow the creation of catagories. If a catagory is selected when creating a new one, the new one will become a child of the selected catagory. After a new root and child catagory have been defined. Selecting a catagory and clicking 'Add' will store the selected area in that catagory.
The KXStitch pattern used to create the above is here, use right click, and Save As...