Thread OrderColor sort and overlaps
Why color sort won't touch overlapping parts
The part sewn later lies on top. If two parts of different colors stitch over the same spot, swapping their order puts the wrong one on top, so a safe color sort leaves them in order. Machine color sorts often skip such designs entirely; Brother's help page says its version "does not work on overlapping patterns."
The workbench below still sorts the parts that don't overlap, and names the pairs it kept apart.
Run sheet
| Stop | Thread | Needle | Stitches | Before you start it |
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Worked example
The sample flower on this page has 8 stops in three threads: green (stem and two leaves), pink (three petals) and gold (bee and center). The gold center overlaps the petals, so it cannot move above them. The bee, also gold, only touches the stem. So the sort moves the bee down to join the center, and the file still goes from 7 color changes to 2.
How overlap is checked
The design is divided into 1 mm squares. Two stops overlap if both put stitches in the same square. That is careful on purpose: parts that only touch at an edge are kept in order too.
Questions
Can I sort just part of an overlapping design?
Yes. Join same threads joins every pair it safely can and keeps the rest.
Why are touching parts kept apart?
An outline and a fill that share an edge may cover each other by a stitch or two, so swapping them can show. The check errs toward keeping order.
Where does the Brother quote come from?
From Brother's online manual for its color sort function, linked below.