Free Embroidery Tools: File Viewer and Stitch Estimator

DST, EXP and PES file viewer

The free DST viewer is for anyone who has a stitch file and no software to open it. Drop a DST, EXP or PES file on the page and it draws the design stitch by stitch. You see:

• The stitch count, size in millimeters and inches, color changes, and jumps and trims
• A playback slider and a "Play sew-out" button that shows the sewing order
• Dashed lines for jumps, so you can spot long travel moves
• A dark fabric background, and a PNG snapshot you can save and send

Shops use it to check files from customers before quoting. Home embroiderers use it to check that a downloaded design fits their hoop before they copy it to a USB stick. If you do not have a file at hand, the viewer has a sample button that opens a 2 in round patch we digitized, so you can see how it works first.

How to check a stitch file before you sew it

A file that looks fine as a thumbnail can still cause problems on the machine. Five checks in the viewer catch most of them in under a minute:

1. Size against your hoop. Compare the width and height with your largest hoop. Common home hoops are 4 × 4 in (100 × 100 mm), 5 × 7 in (130 × 180 mm) and 6 × 10 in (160 × 260 mm), and the usable sewing field is a little smaller than the hoop itself.
2. Size against the order. A left chest logo is usually 3 to 4 in wide and a structured cap front about 4.5 in. A file that is much larger or smaller than the job was digitized for a different placement and should not simply be scaled.
3. Stitch count against size. Very few stitches for a large filled design can mean thin coverage. A very high count for a small design can mean the fill is too dense for the fabric.
4. Color stops against the artwork. The number of thread blocks should match the colors in the logo. Extra stops often mean the same color is sewn twice, which costs time on a single-needle machine.
5. Jumps and trims. Switch on the jump lines. Long travel moves across the design are normal for trims, but many long jumps without trims leave threads to cut by hand.

Embroidery stitch estimator

The stitch estimator answers "how many stitches is this logo likely to be?" before any file exists. Enter the width and height in inches, choose how much of the area is stitched, and tick 3D puff if it applies. It returns an estimated stitch count with a likely range, the machine time per piece, and our flat digitizing price for that size.

It is useful for quoting garment runs, planning production time, and comparing a small and a large version of the same logo. The estimate uses a common rule of thumb of about 1,800 stitches per square inch of fill, adjusted for how much of the area is actually stitched, and adds about 35% for 3D puff. Run time assumes 700 stitches a minute and does not include hooping or color changes. It is a planning figure, not a replacement for the stitch count on a finished file, which you can read in the viewer once the design is digitized.

How close is the estimate? Two real files

We checked the estimator against files from our own portfolio. The finished stitch count landed inside the estimated range when the right coverage was chosen:

The lesson is in the coverage setting. The same left chest logo on the Light setting estimates about 3,400 stitches, well below the real file, because bold lettering fills more of the area than it seems to. When in doubt, pick the heavier option.

Machine format table

Not sure which file your machine needs? The embroidery file formats guide includes a table of the formats read by Tajima, Brother, Baby Lock, Janome, Bernina, Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff, Singer, Barudan, Happy, SWF, Ricoma and Melco machines, plus the working files used by digitizing software.

Free embroidery tools that keep your files private

Both tools run entirely in your browser. The viewer reads your stitch file with your own browser and draws it on your screen. The file is never uploaded to our server, and we cannot see it. That makes the viewer safe for customer designs and files under a confidentiality agreement.

When a free tool is not enough

The tools show what is in a file, but they cannot fix it. If a check turns up a problem, these services pick up where the tools stop:

• Wrong format for your machine: embroidery file conversion at $5 per file.
• Wrong size, dense fill or too many color stops: embroidery file editing, or a new file if the design needs rebuilding.
• Only a picture of the logo: embroidery digitizing from $14, with every machine format included.