Linear Gradient Fill

This feature will be part of an upcoming Ink/Stitch release. It is not yet integrated in Ink/Stitch.

What it is

Linear gradient fill uses Inkscapes linear gradient color to create seamless gradients with a consistent stitch positioning.

How to Create

• Create a closed path. The shape may have holes.
• In the Fill and Stroke dialog, select a linear gradient as a fill and adjust colors. On canvas adjust the gradient angle. The stitch angle will have a 90 degree angle to gradient direction.
• Open the params dialog (Extensions > Ink/Stitch > Params) and select Linear Gradient Fill as the fill method Set the params as you wish and Apply

Set Start and End Point

Set start and end points for autofill objects with Visual commands.

Params

Run Extensions > Ink/Stitch > Params to tweak the settings to your needs.

Settings		Description
Automatically routed fill stitching	☑	Must be enabled for these settings to take effect.
Fill method	Linear Gradient Fill	Linear Gradient Fill must be selected.
Expand		Expand the shape before stitching, to compensate for gaps between shapes.
Maximum fill stitch length		The length of each stitch in a row. “Max” is because a shorter stitch may be used at the start or end of a row.
Spacing between rows		Distance between rows of stitches.
Stagger row this many times before repeating		Stitches are staggered so that neighboring rows of stitches don’t all fall in the same column (which would create a distracting valley effect). Setting this dictates how many rows apart the stitches will be before they fall in the same column position.
Skip last stitch in each row		The last stitch in each row is quite close to the first stitch in the next row.
Stop at ending point	☑	If this option is disabled, the ending point will only be used to define a general direction for stitch routing. When enabled the last section will end at the defined spot.
Running stitch length		For circular fill this is the overall stitch length.
Running stitch tolerance		All stitches must be within this distance from a path. A lower tolerance means stitches will be closer together. A higher tolerance means sharp corner may be rounded.
Allow lock stitches		Enables lock stitches in only desired positions
Force lock stitches		Sew lock stitches after sewing this element, even if the distance to the next object is smaller than defined in the collapse length value value in the Ink/Stitch prefreneces.
Tack stitch		Select tack stitch type (start).
Lock stitch		Select lock stitch type (end).
Stop After		Stop the machine after sewing this object. Before stopping it will jump to the stop position (frame out) if defined.
Trim After		Trim the thread after sewing this object.

Underlay

Underlay in Linear Gradient Fill is the same as for Auto Fill and uses the fill angle which can be defined in the underlay params.

Sample Files Including Linear Gradient Fill Stitches