Saving Your Work
Stitch A Lot Studio saves your designs as .stitchalot files.
Saving
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Save | Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on Mac) |
| Save As | Ctrl+Shift+S (Cmd+Shift+S on Mac) |
The first time you save a new pattern, a save dialog appears so you can choose the file name and location. After that, Save overwrites the existing file.
Use Save As to create a copy with a different name or in a different location.
The .stitchalot File Format
The .stitchalot file is a JSON file that stores everything about your design:
- Metadata — File name, author, creation and modification dates, software version
- Canvas settings — Width, height, mesh count, background color
- Color palette — All colors with thread brand, code, name, RGB values, and symbol assignments
- Layers — Each layer with its stitches, freeform lines, visibility, lock state, and name
- Overlays — Reference images with position, size, and opacity
- Thumbnail — A small preview image for the file browser
Files can be opened on any platform — a design saved on Windows can be opened on macOS or iPad.
Auto-Save
Enable auto-save in Preferences to automatically save your work at regular intervals. Choose from 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes. Auto-save writes to the current file, so you need to do the first manual save before auto-save has a file to write to.
Opening Files
Go to File > Open (or press Ctrl+O / Cmd+O) to open a .stitchalot file.
The Home Screen
The Home screen shows a grid of your recent files with thumbnail previews. Click any file to open it. The Home screen stores up to 50 recent files.
Working Directory
Set a default folder in Preferences > Working Directory to control where save and open dialogs start. This is useful if you keep all your pattern files in one place.
iPad File Management
On iPad, files are managed through the iOS Files app. You can save to local storage or iCloud Drive. Use the Share sheet to send .stitchalot files to other apps or devices.