{"id":3021,"date":"2026-02-25T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/?post_type=knowledge-base&#038;p=3021"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:34:48","slug":"how-to-use-auto-and-manual-sequencing-in-embroidery-software","status":"publish","type":"knowledge-base","link":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-use-auto-and-manual-sequencing-in-embroidery-software\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Auto and Manual Sequencing in Embroidery Software"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Properly sequencing your design is crucial for an efficient and clean embroidery stitch-out. DRAWings PRO XII offers two distinct ways to handle this: <strong>Auto<\/strong> mode, which intelligently calculates the best sewing order for you, and <strong>Manual<\/strong> mode, which gives you complete control over the timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is a step-by-step guide to mastering both sequence modes.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_55559\"  width=\"1290\" height=\"725\"  data-origwidth=\"1290\" data-origheight=\"725\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RGJBD0AA4Eg?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"YouTube player\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/RGJBD0AA4Eg\/maxresdefault.jpg\" title=\"\"><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding Auto Mode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By default, any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-create-a-new-design-in-drawings\/\">new design<\/a> is set to <strong>Auto<\/strong> mode. This means the software uses intelligent mechanisms to find the optimum sewing sequence based on built-in rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open your design in DRAWings PRO XII.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Locate the <strong>Sequence window<\/strong> positioned at the top right edge of your design area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Observe the sequence timeline. You will see only a single icon representing the entire design, which indicates that the <strong>Auto<\/strong> function is currently controlling the order.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udca1 <strong>Tip:<\/strong> You can adjust the size of the sequence icons to better fit your workspace. Simply hover your mouse over the left edge of the sequence window until a double arrow appears, then click and drag left or right.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adjusting the Optimization Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even while in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-use-the-sequence-manager-to-re-order-embroidery-designs\/\">Auto mode<\/a>, you can change the underlying rules the software uses to determine the sewing order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open the <strong>Optimizer options<\/strong> menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Navigate to the <strong>Optimization strategy<\/strong> section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select a new strategy from the list. For example, selecting <strong>Large to small<\/strong> ensures the largest objects are embroidered first, while <strong>Small to large<\/strong> reverses this rule.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Activate the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-use-slow-redraw-to-simulate-and-perfect-your-embroidery-designs\/\">Slow redraw<\/a><\/strong> feature to preview your design and verify the new sewing order.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Switching to Manual Mode for Custom Control<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you need to make specific adjustments to the sewing order that the Auto mode cannot accommodate, you can easily take full control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Locate the <strong>Auto<\/strong> button on the standard toolbar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the button to disable automatic optimization. The button&#8217;s label will change to <strong>Manual<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check the Sequence window. The single design icon will now be broken down into individual icons for every separate shape.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click and drag any individual icon to a new position on the timeline to create your exact desired sequence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udca1 <strong>Tip:<\/strong> Switching to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-use-the-sequence-manager-to-re-order-embroidery-designs\/\">Manual mode<\/a> doesn&#8217;t mean you have to start from scratch. Upon switching, the software automatically applies your chosen Optimization strategy one last time. This does the heavy lifting for you, so you only need to make minor drag-and-drop tweaks to get the perfect final result.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Manual Mode Handles Fills and Outlines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to understand how the software modifies object properties when moving from automated to manual control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Note that in <strong>Auto<\/strong> mode, a single object can contain both a fill and an outline.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Switch to <strong>Manual<\/strong> mode. The software will automatically separate the fill parts from the outline parts, creating distinct objects for each.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Observe how the optimizer automatically rearranges these newly separated objects to minimize machine color changes and applies necessary trimmings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drag and drop these separate fill and outline objects in the sequence timeline just as you would any other shape.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udca1 <strong>Tip:<\/strong> Because Manual mode strictly requires objects to be <em>either<\/em> a fill or an outline, applying an outline color to a fill-only object will automatically remove its fill color, converting it into an outline-only object (and vice versa).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Properly sequencing your design is crucial for an efficient and clean embroidery stitch-out. DRAWings PRO XII offers two distinct ways to handle this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3022,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":""},"categories-kb":[333],"class_list":["post-3021","knowledge-base","type-knowledge-base","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-kb-how-to-training"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"categories-kb":[{"value":333,"label":"How to Training"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/how-to-use-auto-and-manual-seque-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"DRAWings Embroidery Software","author_link":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/author\/drawings\/"},"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge-base\/3021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge-base"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/knowledge-base"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categories-kb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories-kb?post=3021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}