Traces the picture into thread colours
Pixels become a handful of flat shapes, one per thread. The embroidery preset keeps up to six colours and removes the background, because every extra colour means another thread change at the machine.
Image to Embroidery
Go from image to embroidery file without learning digitizing software. Upload a logo, drawing or clip art and our AI traces it into a few flat thread colours, then the stitches are laid out automatically: fills, narrow columns, running lines and underlay. Check the stitch preview, set the size for your hoop and download PES, DST, JEF, EXP or VP3. Already have an SVG? Switch tabs and convert it free.
Made for
The traced result as it is. You can adjust everything afterwards.
Drop your image here
PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF · up to 25 MB · one free preview a day, no signup
Signed in? Pick up to 20 images at once.
The embroidery preset is on. After unlocking, click Embroidery file to download PES, DST, JEF, EXP or VP3.
What Does an Image to Embroidery Converter Do?
An embroidery machine cannot read a picture. It needs a stitch file that says where every needle drop goes, in which order and in which thread colour. Making that file is called digitizing.
Lays out the stitches
Wide areas get a fill of staggered stitches at 45 degrees, narrow parts get one stitch per row like a satin column, and thin lines become running stitches. Each area starts with an underlay and is pulled slightly wider so neighbours meet after the fabric shrinks.
Writes the machine file
The stitches are saved in the format your machine reads, with tie-in and tie-off stitches, trims between separate areas and one colour stop per thread. To keep editing the shapes instead, download the SVG and open it in our free SVG editor.
SVG editor →Why Use This Image to Embroidery Tool?
Professional digitizing software takes weeks to learn and paid digitizing takes days. For logos, patches and simple artwork, an automatic image to embroidery file is often all you need.
Five formats from one design
PES for Brother and Baby Lock, DST for Tajima and most commercial machines, JEF for Janome, EXP for Melco and Bernina and VP3 for Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff. The files are written byte for byte the way the open-source pyembroidery library writes them.
Embroidery file converter →See the stitches before you sew
The preview draws every stitch in its thread colour, with the stitch count, the number of colours and an estimated sewing time. It also names the smallest common hoop the design fits.
Free for SVG files
If your artwork is already a vector, nothing has to be traced: drop the SVG in the second tab and the stitch file is made in your browser, free and without uploading anything.
How to Convert an Image to an Embroidery File in 3 Steps
From a PNG or JPG to a file on your machine's USB stick takes a couple of minutes.
Upload the image
Drop a PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF into the box above. The embroidery preset is already selected: background removed, up to six colours, clean closed shapes.
Check the preview and unlock
Compare the traced shapes with your original, merge or recolour anything that should share a thread, then unlock the result to download it.
See pricing →Choose Embroidery file
Set the width, check the stitch preview and hoop size, and download PES, DST, JEF, EXP or VP3. Your SVG, PNG, PDF and EPS downloads are included as well.
Tips for Better Embroidery Files
Automatic digitizing works best when the artwork is simple. A few minutes of preparation saves thread and a lot of unpicking.
Fewer colours, bigger shapes
Every colour is a thread change and every tiny island is a trim. Merge similar shades into one thread, and delete specks smaller than a grain of rice before you convert.
Change SVG color →Keep text large or remove it
Letters under about 5 mm (0.2 in) tall lose their shape in thread. Remove small taglines from the artwork, or set the words in your machine's built-in fonts afterwards.
Size it once, at the right size
Stitch density does not change when a machine enlarges a design, so a file scaled up by more than about 20% looks thin. Pick the final width here and make a new file for each size.
Image to Embroidery FAQ
Digitizing turns artwork into stitch instructions: the stitch type, direction, density and sewing order of every area. Here it happens automatically: the AI traces your image into thread colours and the tool lays out fills, columns, running lines and underlay. Dedicated software gives you manual control over each of these choices.
Start from a clean image with a few solid colours, convert it here, check the stitch preview and download the format your machine reads. If you already have an SVG, the second tab makes the file without any tracing.
Use the cleanest version of the logo you have, ideally with a transparent background. Reduce it to the thread colours you want, remove fine taglines, then convert it and set the width to the size it will be sewn, for example 90 mm for a left-chest logo.
It depends on the machine brand: PES for Brother and Baby Lock, DST for Tajima and most commercial machines, JEF for Janome, EXP for Melco and some Bernina models and VP3 for Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff. Many home machines also read DST, so check your manual if unsure.
DST is the Tajima embroidery format. It stores stitch movements and commands such as jumps, trims and colour stops, but no thread colours, which you choose at the machine. Almost every embroidery machine and program can read it.
Upload the PNG above, check the traced preview and unlock the result. Then click Embroidery file, set the width and download PES. The same steps work for a JPG or WEBP.
PES is the format used by Brother and Baby Lock machines. It holds the stitches, the thread colours from the Brother palette and a small preview picture. This tool writes PES version 1, which older and newer machines both read.
Copy it to a USB stick and open it on the machine, or open it in embroidery software on a computer. Before downloading, the stitch preview here already shows what the file contains.
Brother machines use PES, and many models also accept DST. Choose PES here so the thread colours come with the design.
It is the step between artwork and sewing: converting shapes into stitches with a type, angle, length and order that a machine can follow. Good digitizing also adds underlay and compensates for the fabric pulling in.
Professional programs such as Wilcom, Hatch and PE-Design give full manual control, and Ink/Stitch is a free extension for Inkscape. For logos, patches and simple artwork this online image to embroidery tool is faster: no install and no learning curve.
Not directly: embroidery machines read stitch files, not vector drawings. An SVG is a very good starting point, though. Open the second tab above, drop the SVG in and download PES, DST, JEF, EXP or VP3 free.
Download the stitch file in your machine's format, copy it to a USB stick (most machines need FAT32) and select the design on the machine's screen. Some newer machines also accept files over Wi-Fi from the maker's app.
Only as a simplified picture. Soft shading and skin tones need hand digitizing; automatic conversion turns a photo into a few flat colour areas, like a poster. Remove the background and keep four to six colours for the best result.
Converting an SVG is completely free here. A PNG or JPG first has to be traced by AI: the preview is free, and downloading needs one conversion credit, which includes the embroidery files as well as SVG, PNG, PDF and EPS.
Not on this page, which makes new files from images and SVGs. To change an existing DST, PES, JEF, EXP or VP3 file into another format, use our free embroidery file converter.
Set the width you will sew; the height follows the artwork. The tool shows the smallest common hoop the design fits: 4 × 4, 5 × 7, 6 × 10 or 8 × 12 inches.
Close, but fabric moves. Automatic digitizing cannot know your fabric and stabiliser, so always sew a test on scrap material first and adjust the size or colours if needed.
Text smaller than about 5 mm (0.2 in) does not stitch legibly. Text inside an SVG must also be converted to outlines first; the tool tells you when it skips any.
Images are uploaded so the AI can trace them, and are handled as described in our privacy policy. SVG files in the second tab never leave your browser, and the embroidery files are always made in your browser.