Skip to content
Appliqué Maker

Free tool

Embroidery file converter

Reads PES, PEC, DST, EXP, JEF, VP3, XXX, HUS, VIP, SEW and PCS. Writes PES, DST, JEF, EXP, VP3, XXX and PEC. Conversion happens on your device.

Drop an embroidery file or click to choose
PES, PEC, DST, EXP, JEF, VP3, XXX, HUS, VIP, SEW, PCS · stays on your device

Direct conversions

About this tool

What conversion can and cannot do

A stitch file is a list of needle positions with commands between them. Converting keeps every position to 0.1 mm; what changes is the metadata the target can carry. DST and EXP store no colours, only stops. JEF stores colours as indices into Janome's 79-colour chart and PES into Brother's 64-colour palette, so colours become the nearest entry on the way in. VP3 stores thread names and has no jump command. Stitches longer than a format's record limit (12.1 mm for DST) are split in two.

The writers for DST, EXP, JEF, PES, PEC and XXX produce byte-identical output to pyembroidery for the same stitches; VP3 keeps exact positions where the reference library rounds. Every output is read back before you download it.

What conversion is not

It is not resizing, editing or digitising, and it will not turn a flat design into an applique. Build applique in the studio, which writes every format directly; for resizing with density correction, pre-flight checks and lettering, our sister site Stitch Toolbox has the tools.

How to use it

  1. 1

    Drop the source file

    Any of the 11 readable formats.

  2. 2

    Pick the target

    Seven output formats. The note under the picker says what that format keeps and drops: colours, trims, stitch length limits.

  3. 3

    Adjust if needed

    Rotate in 90 degree steps, mirror, and centre the design on the origin.

  4. 4

    Download

    The file is written on your device and read back before the download starts.

Questions

Does converting change the design?

Geometry is kept to 0.1 mm. What can change is metadata the target format cannot hold: DST drops thread colours, VP3 turns jumps into moves, JEF maps colours to the Janome chart. The notes under the download button say what applies.

Which version of PES is written?

PES version 1 with an embedded PEC stitch block. Every Brother and Baby Lock machine reads it; PE-Design features such as named threads and object data are not needed by the machine.

Can I convert to ART, EMB or PHC?

No. Those are proprietary object formats (Bernina ART, Wilcom EMB, Brother PHC). Machines that use them also read EXP, DST or PES respectively.

Is there a file size limit?

40 MB, which is far beyond any stitch file. Very large designs with hundreds of thousands of stitches take a few seconds.

Learn

More tools