SVG to DST

Turn SVG into a stitch-ready DST file for Tajima and most industrial multi-needle machines — free, in the browser, nothing to install.

Convert now — no account needed

One free conversion a day. Create an account for three.

What to know about starting from SVG

SVG is the ideal starting point. It is already made of shapes with exact edges and flat colour regions, which is the same thing a stitch file is made of — there is no pixel guessing in between.

You are starting from the best possible place. Vector artwork converts more predictably than anything else, because the shapes in the file are already the shapes that get stitched — nothing has to be inferred from pixels.

SVG to DST specifically

The best geometry available paired with the format that keeps none of your colour. That combination is ideal for sending work to a shop: they get exact shapes, and they assign threads from their own stock anyway. Keep the thread sequence list that exports beside the DST — it is the only record of what your SVG's fills were meant to be.

How to convert SVG to DST

Upload your SVG. Nothing much. Flatten any live text to paths if your editor offers it, and make sure gradients and blur effects are simplified, because thread has no way to fade.
Set the finished size. Work in millimetres and set it before you judge anything else — every decision about detail depends on how big the design will be. Detail that survives at 150mm disappears at 60mm.
Reduce the colours. Each colour is a thread change on the machine. Pick the fewest that still read as your artwork.
Check the preview, then export as DST. The stitch preview plays the design in the order the machine will sew it, so you can catch problems before there is thread in the hoop.

About the DST format

DST is the native format for Tajima and most industrial multi-needle machines. DST is the universal format — if you are sending a design to a shop and do not know their machine, send DST. The trade-off is that it stores no thread colours at all, only the stops between them, so the operator sets the threads. We write a thread sequence list alongside the file so you can pass the colour order on.

DST does not store thread colours. That is the format, not the converter — it records stitches and the stops between them, and the operator loads the threads. Every DST export comes with a thread sequence list naming the colours in stitching order, so nothing is lost, it just travels beside the file rather than inside it.

What makes the difference to the result

Digitizing is not tracing. The converter decides how each region gets filled, which direction the stitches run, where the underlay goes and how much to compensate for the fabric pulling the design in as it sews. Those decisions are what separate a design that stitches cleanly from one that puckers, gaps at the edges or takes twice as long as it should.

Size before everything. A shape narrower than about 1.2mm cannot be stitched as its own satin column; it has to be widened or dropped.
Fewer colours, better result. Every extra colour is a thread change, a trim and a chance for registration to drift.
Flat beats subtle. Gradients, glows and soft shadows have no equivalent in thread and become banding.
Check the stitch order. The simulator plays it back so you can see the sequence before you sew it.

Common questions

Is converting from SVG really better than from PNG?

Yes, measurably. An SVG is already closed shapes with exact edges, which is what a stitch region is, so no edge has to be inferred from pixels. Flatten live text to paths first, and simplify any gradient or blur — thread cannot fade.

Does DST keep my thread colours?

No, and no converter can change that — the format has nowhere to put them. A DST records stitches and the stops between them, so the operator loads the threads. Every DST exported here comes with a thread sequence list naming the colours in stitching order.

Why do embroidery shops ask for DST?

Because it loads on almost anything. DST carries nothing brand-specific, which is exactly why nearly every machine reads it, and shops assign thread from their own stock regardless of what a file claims.

What is actually inside a DST file?

A fixed 512-byte header holding the design name, the stitch and colour-change counts and the design's extents, then three bytes per stitch. That is the whole format, which is both why it is so portable and why it has nowhere to record a colour.

Is it free?

Yes, to start. A free account converts up to three designs a day at up to three thread colours and three inches, with every export format available. Premium lifts the colour and size limits and raises the daily allowance.

Related converters

SVG to any format SVG to PES SVG to JEF Any image to DST PNG to DST JPG to DST Logo to DST Photo to DST

Already have an embroidery file in the wrong format? That is a different job — no digitizing needed, just a re-encode. Use the embroidery file converter. Working with text rather than artwork? Browse the embroidery fonts.