A method for creating an altered embroidery design, the method comprising altering an embroidery design to create an altered embroidery design, the altered embroidery design comprising an at least one design element, determining a size of the at least one design element, selecting a stitch type for the at least one design element by comparing the size of the at least one design element to a set of values, wherein the stitch type can be selected from the set of values based on the size of the at least one design element, and generating a stitch pattern for the at least one design element.