Manual
Short, plain guides for everyone, from your first design to fixing a gap in a fill.
Nothing found. Try a simpler word, like "thread" or "letters".
Getting started
Install Lilo, make a first design and learn your way round.
- Welcome to LiloWhat Lilo does, who it is for, and how to use this guide.
- Install Lilo on Mac, Windows or LinuxDownload Lilo, open it the first time, and get past the Windows SmartScreen and Linux AppImage prompts.
- Your first design in five minutesTurn a logo into stitches, check it, and export a file. No embroidery knowledge needed.
- The screen at a glanceA map of the editor: top bar, workflow strip, left panel, canvas, toolbar, player and the right-hand column.
- Embroidery basics: stabiliser, hoop, thread and bobbinThe four physical things every sew-out needs, explained from scratch.
- Stitch terms: density, pull compensation and underlayThree ideas that decide whether a design looks crisp or messy, with a picture of each.
- Helpers inside Lilo: tour, strip, hints and warningsHow the first-launch tour, the five-step workflow strip, the ? hints and the warnings tray work, and how to turn them off.
Digitizing
Turn pictures into stitches, or draw your own.
- Turn a picture into stitchesOpen a logo or sketch and let Lilo trace it, pick thread colours and lay stitches.
- Click to stitchChoose, region by region, which parts of a traced picture get stitched and how.
- Drawing toolsEvery tool in the bottom toolbar, with its key, what it does and when to use it.
- Editing shapesReshape, cut holes, slice, set start points, duplicate, lock and map shapes along a path.
- Sizing and hoopsSet a design's size, choose a hoop that fits, add your own hoop and see the design at real size.
Stitches
Run types, fills, underlay and your sewing setup.
- Run stitches versus fillsThe two families of stitches in Lilo, when to pick each, and how Style switches between them.
- Run typesThe seven ways Lilo can sew along a line: single, triple, satin, E-stitch, double rope, triple rope and manual.
- Underlay and pull compensationHow the hidden first layer works, which underlay to pick, and how to stop shapes shrinking.
- Satin tipsChoose a width, density and split for clean satin columns, and avoid the usual traps.
- Standard or Premium qualityWhat changes when you pick Premium, how many more stitches it makes and when it is worth it.
- Sewing setupTell Lilo your fabric, thread weight and quality so spacing, underlay and compensation suit what you are sewing.
- All fill patternsEvery one of the 36 fill patterns: what it looks like, what its sliders do, and when to pick it.
- Sewing setup presetsWhat each fabric, thread weight and quality choice means: needle, stabiliser, hooping and how the stitches change.
Lettering
Monograms, names and your own fonts.
- Lettering: built-in fontsType a word or monogram, pick an embroidery font that suits the height, and add it to your design.
- Using your own fontsUpload a TTF, OTF or TTC font and turn it into satin lettering.
- Small lettersThe smallest letters you can sew: 6 mm with 40 wt thread, 4 mm with 60 wt, and how to make small text sew clean.
- Text on a curveBend lettering round the top or bottom of a circle, for hat patches, badges and crests.
Threads
Brands, matching and the spools you own.
Preview
Watch the design sew before the machine does.
- The stitch playerWatch your design sew stitch by stitch, pause at colour changes, scrub to any point and read the totals.
- Realistic view and view optionsSwitch the canvas between a flat plan and a thread-like preview, and turn the grid, reference picture and jumps on or off.
- The sequencerChange the order shapes are sewn in, hide shapes, group by colour, and manage reference images.
- Fewer colour changesWhy each thread swap costs time, and four ways to cut them.
Sending
Wi-Fi, USB sticks, formats and troubleshooting.
- Set up Wi-Fi sending with Lilo LinkConnect a Brother or Baby Lock machine to your Wi-Fi so Lilo can find it and send designs.
- Send a design to your machinePress Send, choose a machine and watch the progress. What Lilo checks first.
- Use a USB stick insteadSave a file, copy it to the root of a USB stick and load it on any machine. Keep it to 12 designs or fewer.
- Wi-Fi troubleshootingEvery message Lilo Link can show when a send fails, what it means and what to do.
- Choosing a format and exportingPick the right file format for your machine, set a name and origin, and save.
Other tools
Pixel art, the converter and opening files.
- Pixel artPaint a grid of squares and stitch each one as a block, a cross or a satin bar. Good for small badges and patterns.
- The converterChange an embroidery file to another format, or turn pictures into stitches or a traced SVG, many files at once.
- Opening filesWhich files Lilo can open, how to open them and what happens to an embroidery file you open.
Projects
Saving, autosave and version history.
Reference
Shortcuts, glossary and file formats.
- Keyboard shortcutsEvery keyboard shortcut, built from the app's own tool list and command list.
- File formatsThe 12 embroidery file formats Lilo writes (all but G-code it also reads), and which machines use each one.
- GlossaryPlain-word meanings for every embroidery and Lilo term, from appliqué to zig-zag.
Help
Fix sew-out problems, FAQ and how to report a bug.
- Fixing sew-out problemsPuckering, gaps, thread breaks and birdnesting: what causes each and which Lilo setting to change.
- What the warnings meanEvery warning Lilo can show in the tray and in Export or Send, what it means and how to fix it.
- Frequently asked questionsQuick answers: cost, accounts, privacy, machines, formats, photos and more.
- Report a bug or a machineHow to report a problem, and how to tell us your machine worked, so others can find out.
- Licence and creditsLilo is free software under GPL-3.0. Here is what it is built on and where the full notices are.