Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 057: Stitching Squares Hints and Answer

Puzzle 057 is Stitching Squares, a 45-picarat Select puzzle from Lucille, Hershel's mother, in the Living Room of the Layton family home during the Chapter 4 flashback. She has embroidered a cushion as an 8 by 8 grid of green and yellow squares and already stitched two red squares into it. You have to add six more, so that each of the four yellow areas ends up with two red squares and no two red squares share a row, a column or a diagonal. It's probably not mandatory.

Video: Stitching Squares solved. It shows the answer, so skip it if you only want the hints.

This page covers story Puzzle 057 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS. The cushion and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions; the UK wording differs slightly. Quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 057, the other puzzle in the Living Room or Puzzle 57 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 057? below.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 057 Stitching Squares: on the top, a square cushion with an orange patterned border propped on a green armchair, its 8 by 8 grid of yellow squares crossed by two green diagonals, with one red square in row 4, column 2 and one in row 5, column 8, and a brown-haired man dozing behind the right arm of the chair; below, the same grid on the touch screen under the objective bar Place the red squares!, with the Hints, Quit, Memo and Submit buttons — Illustration of the cushion on the top screen and the grid you tap on the touch screen, with the two red squares Lucille has already stitched.

What Puzzle 057 is

Puzzle 057 at a glance
Name	Stitching Squares (US and UK)
Type	Select (tap squares on the grid, then touch Submit)
Picarats	45
Location	Living Room, the Layton family home in Stansbury
Chapter	Chapter 4
When	The flashback to Hershel's teenage years
Given by	Lucille, Hershel's mother (Mrs. Layton)
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 056, Clear-Cut Contrasts (Living Room)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 058, Sorting Blocks (Market Street)

The question reads: "I've been embroidering this cushion in green and yellow, but it's not lively enough. I want to add two red squares to each of the four yellow areas." It goes on: "Oh, but I don't want more than one red square in any given row, column, or diagonal. Trust me--it'll look nicer!" and ends, "I've stitched two already. Can you help me work out where the other six should go?" The objective bar says, "Place the red squares!"

Two green diagonals run corner to corner across the grid and split the yellow squares into four triangle-shaped areas: top, right, bottom and left. Each area has 12 yellow squares. The two red squares that are already stitched are in the left area (row 4, column 2) and the right area (row 5, column 8). This page counts rows 1 to 8 from the top and columns 1 to 8 from the left.

How placing squares works

Tap a yellow square to stitch a red square there. Tap it again to take the red square out.
Green squares can't be used, and you can't remove the two red squares that were already stitched.
Six new squares at most. Once six red squares of your own are on the grid, you have to take one out before you can place another.
Submit appears to work only when all six new squares are in place. The game then checks the whole grid.
"Diagonal" means every diagonal line, not only the two green ones. Two red squares that touch corner to corner, or that sit anywhere on the same slanted line, break the rule.

With eight red squares, one in each row and column, this is the cushion version of the classic eight queens puzzle. The extra rule about two squares in each yellow area is what makes the answer unique.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 057 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	Stitching Squares
UK	Stitching Squares
Japanese	クッションのナゾ (Kusshon no Nazo, roughly "the cushion puzzle")

The UK question and hints probably differ only in small details of wording and punctuation, such as "row, column or diagonal" without the serial comma and "Trust me, it'll look nicer!" The cushion and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions.

Wrong Puzzle 057?

Daily Puzzle 057 in Miracle Mask is a different puzzle: Tile 05, from the Tile set. There's no cushion in it.
Puzzle 056, Clear-Cut Contrasts, is the other puzzle in the Living Room at the same time. Roland, Hershel's father, gives you that one.
Puzzle 018, That's Juicy!, is the hidden juice-bottle puzzle in the same room, back in Chapter 2.
Puzzle 57 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show a green and yellow cushion, you're in the wrong game.

Where you find it

In Chapter 4, Randall and Angela call at the Layton family home in Stansbury, and your objective is "Sneak out of the House!" Lucille is in the Living Room. Randall says, "Good evening, Mrs. Layton." She answers, "Oh, good evening, children! Do make yourselves comfortable." and adds, "If Hershel had told me you were coming, I'd have had a pot of tea ready, but..." Angela says, "Please don't trouble yourself. We'll only be a minute." Lucille then asks, "Well, can I get you a snack? Or... I know! How about a quick puzzle?"

She stays in the Living Room while your objective is "Sneak out of the House!", "Go to the Forest!", "Head to Norwell!" and "Investigate Norwell!" Her puzzle is gone once the objective changes to "Find Angela!".

The Layton family's Living Room: a green striped sofa with a checked cushion in front, a floor lamp, a corner bookcase with a tall clock on top, a dining table and chairs under two arched windows and a brick fireplace on the right. Numbered markers show hint coin spots 1 on the sofa cushion, 2 on the floor lamp and 3 at the fireplace, and a teal ring around the bookcase is labeled Tap the bookcase: 3 more coins — Illustration of the Living Room. The numbers mark where the three hint coins in the normal view are, and the teal ring shows the bookcase you tap to zoom in, where three more coins are. People aren't shown.

The Living Room has six hint coins. Three are in the normal view of the room: in the cushion on the sofa (1), in the floor lamp (2) and in the fireplace (3). The other three only show up after you tap the bookcase to zoom in on the kitchen; they're at a basket of bottles, on a chair and at a clock. Each coin can be collected only once, so if you already picked them up in Chapter 2, they won't be there again.

If you leave it unsolved, it probably goes to Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) at the start of Chapter 5.

When you're stuck

"Too bad. You must have placed two red squares in the same row, column, or diagonal." That's the game's message for a wrong answer. Check every pair of red squares, including the two that were already stitched, and remember that diagonals run both ways.
Submit doesn't do anything. You probably haven't placed all six new red squares yet.
You can't place another square. You already have six of your own on the grid. Tap one to take it out first.
You keep running out of space in one area. Use the Memo function to cross out every square the red squares already share a row, column or diagonal with. Then look for the area with the fewest yellow squares left.
You can't find the puzzle. Talk to Lucille in the Living Room in Chapter 4, before your objective changes to "Find Angela!".

Hints, one at a time

These are the game's own hints, word for word from the North American version and in the same order. Open only the next one you need. In the game, Hints 1 to 3 cost one hint coin each and the Super Hint costs two.

Hint 1: where to begin

The Memo Function is the easiest way to solve this puzzle.

Start with the two red squares that have already been stitched, and mark off the squares in the same rows, columns, and diagonals so that you know not to place any more red squares there.

Hint 2: the right-hand area

If you mark the unusable spaces as shown in the previous hint, you should find that there's only one place for you to put the second red square in the right-hand yellow area.

Now place that square, and mark off the spaces that it makes unusable.

Hint 3: the top area

Continuing from Hint 2, there are now only three usable spaces in the top yellow area.

Since two of them are in the same column, it's impossible to use them both. So you know for sure that you need to use the remaining third space.

Super Hint: the rest of the top and left

If you mark off the spaces in the same row, column, and diagonal as the red square you placed in Hint 3, you'll see where to place the second red square in the top yellow area.

In turn, this will tell you where to place the other red square in the left-hand yellow area. The rest should be easy.

Answer and full solution

The answer below lists all six squares, walks through the order the hints suggest and shows the finished cushion. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

Answer: stitch the six new red squares at row 1, column 6; row 2, column 3; row 3, column 7; row 6, column 5; row 7, column 1; and row 8, column 4. Together with the two that were already there (row 4, column 2 and row 5, column 8), that's one red square in every row and every column, two in each yellow area, and no two on the same diagonal.

Where the eight red squares go
Row	Column	Yellow area	Note
1	6	Top	You place it
2	3	Top	You place it
3	7	Right	You place it
4	2	Left	Already stitched
5	8	Right	Already stitched
6	5	Bottom	You place it
7	1	Left	You place it
8	4	Bottom	You place it

Step by step:

Cross out what the first two squares rule out. Mark every square in row 4, column 2, row 5 and column 8, and on the four diagonal lines through those two squares.
The right area. Only one yellow square is left there: row 3, column 7. Place it and cross out its row, column and diagonals.
The top area. Three squares are left: row 1, column 3; row 2, column 3; and row 1, column 6. The first two are in the same column, so you can't use both, and the top area needs two. That means row 1, column 6 must be one of them.
The rest of the top area. Row 1, column 6 rules out row 1, column 3, so the second top square is row 2, column 3.
The left area. After that, only row 7, column 1 is left in the left area.
The bottom area. Only two yellow squares are still free, and both are in the bottom area: row 6, column 5 and row 8, column 4. Place them both and touch Submit.

Five copies of the grid with rows and columns numbered 1 to 8 and ruled-out squares crossed in grey. Panel 1: only the two first red squares at row 4, column 2 and row 5, column 8, with their rows, columns and diagonals crossed out. Panel 2: a new red square ringed at row 3, column 7. Panel 3: a new red square ringed at row 1, column 6. Panel 4: new red squares ringed at row 2, column 3 and row 7, column 1. Panel 5: the last two ringed at row 6, column 5 and row 8, column 4, with every other yellow square crossed out — Illustration of the five steps in order. Grey crosses mark squares that share a row, column or diagonal with a red square.

The game confirms it: "Correct! Now you've got a balanced embroidery pattern. From a certain point of view..."

The solved puzzle: on the top, the cushion on the armchair with eight red squares, at row 1 column 6, row 2 column 3, row 3 column 7, row 4 column 2, row 5 column 8, row 6 column 5, row 7 column 1 and row 8 column 4, and the man behind the chair now awake and smiling; below, the touch-screen grid with the same eight red squares — Illustration of the finished cushion on both screens.

Why it's the only answer: with just the row, column and diagonal rules, the two first red squares still allow three different ways to finish the grid. Only one of them puts exactly two red squares in each yellow area, and that's the one above.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

Stitching Squares shows 45 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 45, 40 or 35 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. If you quit, Lucille says, "Do come back and try again sometime!" When you come back, she asks, "Would you like to try my puzzle again?"

Hints cost hint coins, not picarats. The costs are one coin each for the first three hints and two for the Super Hint, five in total. The Living Room's six coins, three in the normal view and three in the zoomed-in view, are enough for all four hints, as long as you haven't already collected them in Chapter 2.

Does it unlock anything?

Yes. Solving Stitching Squares adds the sixth aisle to the Shop minigame in the Professor's trunk: Green Thumb. The game announces, "You got a new shop aisle: "Green Thumb"!" Its description says, "Rare leafy plants, cacti, and flowers from around the world are gathered here on one aisle and pruned daily."

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. You tap the squares on the touch screen, and the cushion on the top screen shows the same grid.
US and UK English versions: the cushion, the two first red squares and the answer are the same, and so is the name. The UK question, hints and wrong-answer message probably differ only in small details of wording and punctuation.

The scene around the puzzle

When it's solved, Randall says, "Wow, Mrs. Layton. Do you always have puzzles ready for unexpected guests?" Lucille answers, "If I'd had a bit more time, I'd have offered you a better puzzle...and a slice of cake." Angela teases, "Careful, Mrs. Layton. If Randall hears that, you may end up with two boys under your roof!" and Lucille replies, "Oh, that would be lovely. It's always nice visiting with Hershel's friends." Randall is probably the one who solves it.

Talk to her again afterwards and she says, "You won't stay out too late, will you? I wouldn't want your parents to worry."

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 057?

It's in the Answer and full solution section above, hidden until you open it. If you only want a push, open the hints one at a time first.

What is Puzzle 057 called?

Stitching Squares, in both the North American and the UK version. The official Japanese title is クッションのナゾ.

Where is Puzzle 057?

In the Living Room of the Layton family home in Stansbury, in Chapter 4. Talk to Lucille, Hershel's mother, before your objective changes to "Find Angela!".

Do the green diagonals count as the only diagonals?

No. Every slanted line counts, in both directions, so no two red squares may touch corner to corner or sit anywhere on the same diagonal line.

I missed Puzzle 057. Can I still get it?

A missed copy probably goes to Nanna Grams at the start of Chapter 5.

How many picarats is Puzzle 057 worth?

It shows 45 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 45, 40 or 35 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.

Is Daily Puzzle 057 the same as Puzzle 057?

No. Daily Puzzle 057 is Tile 05, from the Tile set. Story Puzzle 057 is Lucille's cushion puzzle in the Living Room.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.