Last updated: October 2026
Ink/Stitch lettering fonts are pre-digitized embroidery alphabets, not ordinary computer fonts. You type your text in the Lettering tool (Extensions > Ink/Stitch > Lettering), pick a font, and set the size with the Scale option so the letters stay within the range the font was designed for. You can also add your own fonts through a custom font folder, including embroidery alphabets you already own, using the Letters to font tool.
This guide follows Ink/Stitch v3.3.0, released July 31, 2026, and the current docs on inkstitch.org. Older versions have fewer fonts and options.
Why Ink/Stitch fonts are different
Your computer’s fonts (the ones in Inkscape’s Text tool) are just outlines. To embroider them, someone has to decide stitch types, directions and travel paths for every letter. Ink/Stitch fonts have that work already done. Each font lives in its own folder, which holds at least a font.json file describing the font and an SVG file of glyph layers, one layer per letter.
That is why you should not stretch or transform lettering with ordinary Inkscape tools. The docs warn that Ink/Stitch letters “may not work as expected” if transformed with common tools.
How to use the Lettering tool
- In Inkscape, open Extensions > Ink/Stitch > Lettering. The docs call the item Lettering; in the 3.3.0 menu files it is named Lettering Tool.
- Type your text. Multiple lines are allowed.
- Choose a font family and set the scale.
- Click Apply and Quit.
- Position the text on your canvas.
Font filters
The dialog has three filters to narrow a long font list:
- Font size filter: Enter your target size and only fonts designed for that size are listed. When this filter is active (not 0), Ink/Stitch sets the correct scale value when you pick a font.
- Glyphs: Shows only fonts that contain every character in your text. Use this for accented letters or symbols.
- Font categories: For example, only applique fonts or only script fonts.
The options, explained
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Scale | Output size as a percentage of the original font size. Use this instead of resizing on the canvas. |
| Align text | Left, center, right, block (the default) or block with letter spacing |
| Letter spacing | Adds width in mm between letters |
| Word spacing | Adds width in mm between words |
| Line height | Adds height in mm between lines |
| Color sort | Sorts colors in multicolor fonts to cut down thread changes |
| Stitch lines of text back and forth | First line stitches left to right, the next right to left, for shorter travel |
| Add trims | Never, after each line, after each word, or after each letter |
| Use command symbols | Adds trims as visible command symbols instead of a trim setting |
You can also save your favorite settings as presets and load them later. The 3.3.0 release notes list new spacing options as one of the lettering improvements in this version.
Font sizes and scaling limits
Every font is digitized for a size range. The docs give a warning to check “the limits for scaling in the font description.” Font creators set a minimum and maximum scale in the font’s JSON file, defining how far the letters can be scaled “without loosing quality when stitched out.”
The Ink/Stitch Font Library page lists every font with its size range as letter height in millimeters, and lets you filter by size and category. A few examples from the library:
| Font | Size range (letter height) |
|---|---|
| Glacial tiny 60 AGS | 2.8 to 8.4 mm |
| Ink/Stitch | 3.56 to 22.86 mm |
| Abecedaire | 6.3 to 28.0 mm |
| Emilio 20 | 6.3 to 120.0 mm |
| Kum Tsoan AGS | 16.0 to 400 mm |
The library lists dozens of fonts across Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and Japanese scripts, with categories such as applique, cross stitch, monogram, multicolor, satin column, script and tiny. The page notes it “may include fonts which are slated for future releases,” so a font you see there may not be in your installed version yet.
Practical rule: If you need small letters, filter by size first and choose a font built for that height. Shrinking a large satin font below its range is how you get letters that are too dense or that lose detail.
Fonts renamed in 3.3.0
Ink/Stitch v3.3.0 added many fonts (including Alchemy, Allegria 20 and 55, Eloquent, Heavenly, Montecarlo, Neon, Noble and Venezia) and renamed others to comply with reserved font names in some open font licenses. If a font you used before seems to be missing, look for its new name:
| Former name | New name |
|---|---|
| Baumans FI | Bathaus FI |
| Marcellus SC FI | Caesarus SC FI |
| Espresso | Caffeine KOR |
| Namskout AGS | Kum Tsoan AGS |
| Kaushan Script MAM | MAM Script |
| Lobster AGS | Stebor AGS |
| Coronaviral | Paquerette |
| Manuskript Gothisch | Pisankris |
Lettering along a path
To curve text, do not bend it by hand. Select a path and a lettering group, then run Extensions > Ink/Stitch > Lettering > Lettering along path. With stretch on, Ink/Stitch spreads the letters to fill the whole path. Text follows the path direction, so reverse the path (Path > Reverse) if the letters come out upside down. In 3.3.0 you can also choose where the text sits: on top of the path, on its baseline, or below it.
Adding your own fonts
Step 1: Set a custom font folder
Run Extensions > Ink/Stitch > Font Management > Custom font directory and pick a folder on your computer. Put each font in its own subfolder. Per the docs, each font folder needs at least one font variant file and one JSON file, and a license file is recommended. The JSON file must at least include the font’s name.
Variant files are now named ltr.svg (left to right) or rtl.svg (right to left). Older fonts used arrow symbols in the file names; the 3.3.0 release notes say that was troublesome on some operating systems, so rename them if an older custom font stops showing.
Step 2: Turn letters you own into a font (Letters to font)
If you bought a digitized alphabet with one file per letter, Letters to font (under Font Management) imports it. The files must meet two conditions:
- One file per glyph, in an embroidery format Ink/Stitch can read.
- The letter must be at the end of the file name, such as
A.pesorExample_Font_A.pes.
Bought fonts often keep each format in its own subfolder. You do not need to rearrange them; the tool searches subfolders.
- Choose the file format to import. The docs suggest one that stores color information.
- Select the font’s main folder.
- Decide whether to import commands. The docs warn that importing commands on a large scale slows things down.
- Click Apply and wait.
- Move the baseline into place and position the letters. The left edge of the canvas also affects letter positions.
- Save the font as an .svg in a new folder inside your custom font directory.
- Run Generate JSON and save the JSON file in the same folder. For predigitized letters, do not check AutoRoute Satin and leave scaling at 1.
You can adjust spacing later with Font Management > Edit JSON. If you add or remove letters later, run Edit JSON again so the glyph list updates.
Common lettering problems
A character prints as the wrong letter or a placeholder. The font does not contain that glyph, so Ink/Stitch shows its default glyph. Turn on the Glyphs filter to list only fonts that have every character you typed.
Letters look crowded, thin or lumpy. You probably resized on the canvas or scaled past the font’s range. Undo and use the Scale option inside the Lettering tool.
Too many color changes on a multicolor font. Turn on Color sort. The docs note all multicolor Ink/Stitch fonts sort cleanly except Infinipicto.
Thread tails between every letter. Use Add trims (after each word or letter), then trim any remaining jump stitches after stitching.
Small text unravels after trimming. Font creators can use the Force lock stitches tool for this, since Ink/Stitch’s default minimum jump stitch length is 3 mm and close accent marks may otherwise skip lock stitches.
A custom font does not appear. Check that it sits in its own subfolder of the custom font directory, has a JSON file with a name, and uses ltr.svg or rtl.svg naming. The docs also say clones, path effects and gradients are not supported inside font files.
For the stitch types behind most lettering, see our Ink/Stitch satin column guide. If the Ink/Stitch menu is missing entirely, start with Ink/Stitch not showing in Inkscape.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my regular computer fonts in Ink/Stitch? Not directly in the Lettering tool. A TrueType or OpenType font has to be converted and digitized into an Ink/Stitch font first. The Ink/Stitch font creation tutorial covers this, and notes the original font’s license must allow it.
What size can I make Ink/Stitch letters? It depends on the font. Check its range in the Font Library, which runs from under 3 mm for tiny fonts to hundreds of millimeters for large display fonts.
Can I make many name files at once? Yes. Batch lettering is under File > Save a copy: pick “Ink/Stitch: batch lettering (.zip)” as the format, and each line of text becomes its own file.
Which Ink/Stitch version does this guide cover? Version 3.3.0, released July 31, 2026. The font list and menu names differ in older versions.