Text on a curve

Curved text is what you want round the edge of a hat patch or the rim of a crest. A name along the top of a 50 mm hat patch is a good example.

Bend the text#

1. Choose the Text tool (press T) and type your words.
2. Find Curve in the Text panel. It has three buttons:
   • Straight keeps the baseline flat. This is the default.
   • Arc up bends the words over the top of a circle. The letters stand on the outside.
   • Arc down bends them along the bottom of a circle. The letters stand on the inside, and still read left to right.
3. For a curve, a Curve radius slider appears. The radius is the size of the circle in millimetres. A smaller radius bends harder.
4. Press Add text.

A curve centres the words on the arc, so Alignment is ignored while a curve is on.

Pick a radius#

• The text should be shorter than the arc. A 30 mm radius gives an arc of about 150 mm. That is room for a name at 10 mm tall.
• For a round patch, make the radius a little smaller than the patch radius. A 50 mm patch is 25 mm from the centre, so try 20 mm and make the letters about 6 mm tall.
• If the text is too long for the circle, Lilo says so: "The text is N mm long but the path is only N mm". Make the radius bigger or the letters smaller.

Change it later#

Select the word. The panel becomes Edit text and the curve settings load into it. Change the buttons or the slider and press Update text. The word stays where you put it, and keeps any rotation you gave it. ⌘Z undoes the change.

Top and bottom text on one patch#

Add the top words with Arc up. Then start new text with New text, and add the bottom words with Arc down. Move the second word until the two sit on the same circle. Use the Measure tool to check the gap.

Related#

Lettering: built-in fonts, Small letters, Sizing and hoops