Embroidery digitizing questions, answered

Embroidery digitizing is turning a picture into stitches: deciding which shapes are filled, which are satin and which are lines, the angle of the stitches, the underlay and the sewing order. The result is a file your embroidery machine reads.

Stitch and Threads is an AI embroidery digitizer. You upload a picture, and in about a minute for most designs it shows it stitched in 4 styles. Pick one and download DST, PES, JEF, EXP, VP3 or XXX.

Yes, to start. Every free account gets 5 free designs, no card. See pricing.

Yes, a free one. Sign up with Google, Apple, Microsoft or email. Every account gets 5 free designs, no card.

Yes. Stitch and Threads works in the browser on Mac, PC, iPad and phones. There is nothing to install.

Yes. Stitch and Threads is in Beta.

Logos, lettering, clip art and line drawings. Upload the biggest, cleanest image you have. Photos work too, but they're experimental in the Beta.

Yes, but photos are experimental in the Beta. Logos, lettering, clip art and line drawings work best.

PNG or JPG, up to 25 MB.

You choose the width, from 10 to 400 mm.

Your art is only used to make your design.

Classic: fills for big areas, satin for borders and letters, fine lines as runs. Bold Outline: Classic plus a satin outline around every color, for a crisp badge look. Soft & Light: lighter density and fewer stitches, softer on t-shirts and faster to sew. Line Art: just the outlines, for a light, hand-drawn look.

Classic suits most logos. Bold Outline gives a badge look and suits caps and dark garments. Soft & Light suits t-shirts and light fabrics and is faster to sew. Line Art gives a light, hand-drawn look.

No. The preview is a realistic render, not a photo of a sew-out. Thread, fabric, stabilizer and machine all change the result. Do a test sew-out first.

Each style shows its stitch count before you download. Our sample badge at 90 mm has 7,019 stitches in Classic, 7,924 in Bold Outline, 4,174 in Soft & Light and 941 in Line Art.

Each style shows an estimated sewing time. Our sample badge at 90 mm is about 11.5 min in Classic, 13.0 in Bold Outline, 7.6 in Soft & Light and 1.5 in Line Art.

DST for most commercial machines (Tajima, Melco), PES for Brother and Baby Lock, JEF for Janome and Elna, EXP for BERNINA and Melco, VP3 for Husqvarna Viking and PFAFF, and XXX for Singer.

No. A DST file has color stops only: the operator chooses the thread for each needle. Our EXP files work the same way. PES and JEF use the nearest color from the brand's thread chart, and VP3 and XXX store the exact colors.

Yes. Downloading the same design again, in any style or format, is free.

Choose a width that fits your hoop. Common home hoops are about 4×4 in (100×100 mm), 5×7 in (130×180 mm) and 6×10 in (160×260 mm). Check your machine's manual.

One picture you upload. Downloading it again, in any style or format, is free. So is making it again at a new size.

Yes. The first download of a design uses 1 free design. Downloading it again, in any style or format, is free.

No. The 5 free designs need no card.

Paid plans are coming soon. Downloading a design you already downloaded stays free.

Not yet. Asking for changes in your own words is coming next. Today you can change the style, the size and the file format with the controls.

Coming next. Today the product previews show our sample badge on a polo, a cap, a t-shirt and a tote.

You do. Your artwork stays yours, and you own the embroidery files you download; we only get the limited permission we need to run the service. Read more in Your artwork and files.

Yes. You can stitch your designs on products you sell and use them for client work, with no royalties. You just need the rights to the artwork itself, so get permission before using someone else's logo or character (Your artwork and files).

No. We never use your uploaded artwork or your designs to train AI models; AI only helps plan the stitches for your own design (Your artwork and files).

We keep your uploads and designs while your account is open, so you can download them again. If you delete your account, we delete them within 30 days and backups cycle out within a further 30 days (Privacy Policy).

Email hello@designmusketeer.com from the email address on your account and ask us to delete your account. We'll delete your account, uploads and designs within 30 days, and backups cycle out within a further 30 days (Privacy Policy).

Stitch and Threads is free during the beta, and if a download fails, your free design comes back automatically. When paid plans launch, unused credits are refundable within 14 days, and if a file we made won't load or sew correctly on a supported machine and we can't fix it, we refund the credits used (Refund Policy).