Underlay

Underlay is a holding stitch that sews first, under fill and satin. It tacks the fabric so the cover stitches sit still. Auto follows the fabric you picked in Settings. That is the usual choice.

Auto, On, and Off

Underlay sits in the right panel, after Border and Fill.

1. Select a filled shape, or a satin column.
2. Under Underlay, Auto is on for a new object.
3. Click Off to skip the holding pass.
4. Click On to pick the pass yourself: Center, Edge, or Zigzag.

The hint: Auto sews holding stitches under fill and satin first. Off skips them. Open Simulator and press Play to watch the first pass.

Center, Edge, and Zigzag are the pass under satin. Center is a line through the middle. Edge follows just inside the border. Zigzag is a wider holding field. Use On when this object needs a different pass from the fabric default.

Under a fill, the holding pass is a light grid of rows across the shape, whatever you pick. With Auto it is only that grid. With On, a tight fill with no border also gets a pass just inside its edge.

Auto skips:

• Open and widely spaced fills.
• Cross-hatch, Curved crosshatch, and Tartan, which cross their own rows.
• Leather / vinyl fabric. Auto lays no underlay there. Use On if one piece needs it.

A Fine line with Fill off has nothing for underlay to hold. An Appliqué has no underlay: its placement line and tack-down hold the fabric.

Watch it in Simulator

The first stitches you see are underlay, then the cover.

1. Click Simulator.
2. Click Play, then pause near the start.
3. Set Underlay to Off and click Play again. Cover starts immediately.

Fabric in Settings is the default for Auto. Change fabric there for new objects. Change Underlay on this object when this one needs a different pass.

Satin columns are in Satin. Fill types are in Stitches and fills. Fabric fills are in Appliqué.