Does converting an embroidery file change the design?

No. The converter reads the stitches, jumps, trims and colour changes out of your file and writes the same ones back in the new format. The size and the stitch count are unchanged. The only things that can differ are what the target format cannot store — DST and EXP hold no thread colours, and a format with a shorter maximum stitch length will split the few stitches that exceed it.

Is this the same as digitizing?

No, and that distinction matters. Digitizing turns a picture into stitches, and a good one is a design decision. This tool never touches the stitches — it only rewrites the container. If you have an image rather than an embroidery file, use the image converter instead.

Will I lose my thread colours?

Only if you convert to DST or EXP, which have no thread list in the file at all — the colour changes survive, so the machine still stops in the same places, but the operator picks the actual threads. PES, JEF, SEW, VP3 and XXX all store colours, and they are carried across.

Do I need an account to convert an embroidery file?

No. Format conversion is free and needs no account. It costs us almost nothing because there is no digitizing involved, so there is no reason to put it behind a sign-up.

Embroidery file converter

Change a design from one machine format to another — DST, PES, JEF, SEW, EXP, VP3 and XXX. Your stitches are re-encoded, never re-digitized, so what comes out is the design that went in.

Drop an embroidery file here

or click to choose one from your computer

Up to 6 MB · no account needed

Convert to

What this converter does

It changes the format of an embroidery file you already have. If your design is a DST and your machine wants PES, that is a container problem, not a design problem — the stitches are already decided. This tool reads them out and writes them back in the format you need.

It does not re-digitize. Nothing is re-traced, re-fitted, or re-decided. That matters, because a converter that quietly re-digitizes will hand you a file with a different stitch count and different edges from the one you tested — and you will not find out until it is in the hoop.

Have an image instead of an embroidery file?

A PNG, JPG or SVG is a picture, not stitches, so it cannot be re-encoded — it has to be digitized. That is a different job and it lives on the image to embroidery converter, which traces your artwork into fills, satin columns and outlines and then writes the machine file.

Formats you can convert between

Format	Machines	Stores thread colours?
PES	Brother, Baby Lock	Yes
DST	Tajima and most industrial multi-needle machines	No — colour changes only
JEF	Janome, Elna	Yes
SEW	Older Janome — Memory Craft 5700, 8000, 9000	Yes
EXP	Melco, Bernina	No — colour changes only
VP3	Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff	Yes
XXX	Singer, Compucon	Yes

Files can also be read from a wider set — HUS, SHV, PHB, PHC, JPX, EMD, PCS, U01, TAP and several older industrial formats — even though those are not offered as outputs.

Common conversions

DST → PES DST → JEF DST → EXP PES → DST PES → JEF PES → EXP JEF → DST JEF → PES JEF → EXP EXP → DST EXP → PES EXP → JEF

Frequently asked questions

No. The stitches, jumps, trims and colour changes are read out of your file and written back in the new format, so the size and stitch count are unchanged. The only differences come from what the target format cannot store: DST and EXP hold no thread colours, and a format with a shorter maximum stitch length splits the few stitches that exceed it.

No, and the distinction matters. Digitizing turns a picture into stitches. This only rewrites the container around stitches that already exist. If you are starting from an image, use the image to embroidery converter.

Only converting to DST or EXP, which have no thread list in the file at all. The colour changes survive, so the machine stops in the same places, but the operator sets the actual threads. PES, JEF, SEW, VP3 and XXX all store colours and carry them across.

No. Format conversion is free and account-free. There is no digitizing behind it, so it costs almost nothing to run and there is no reason to put it behind a sign-up.

Yes — that is what the preview under the result is for. It plays the converted file in the order the machine will sew it, so you can confirm the colour blocks and stop points before committing. The stitch simulator does the same for any file you already have.