JPG → PES converter
Convert JPG to PES embroidery files
Turn your JPG picture into a ready-to-stitch PES file for Brother, Baby Lock, or Bernette machines. StitchMyPic digitizes it the way a person would, with satin borders, tatami fills, underlay and an optimized stitch order, and shows you every stitch before you download.
- Free stitch preview
- 1 credit per download
- PES, DST, JEF and EXP in one ZIP
Free preview · no account needed
Drop your JPG – see it as PES stitches
No account needed for the preview: your picture is digitized right here in your browser. You only use a credit when you download.
Machine files:.PES.DST.JEF.EXP
What a picture looks like once it's stitched
Drag the handle to compare the original artwork with the stitch simulation StitchMyPic shows you before you download.
Good Vibes retro patch with a striped sunset and a palm tree
How to convert JPG to PES
- 1Drop your JPG into the tool above. Use the largest, least-compressed version you have.
- 2Set the stitched width in millimetres or inches for your hoop, then check the stitch preview, stitch count and sewing time.
- 3Check the colours: PES stores them as Brother palette threads, so the machine screen shows the nearest Brother thread for each colour stop.
- 4Download the ZIP (PES, DST, JEF and EXP), unzip it and copy the PES file to your machine.
Preparing your JPG for embroidery
JPG photos and scans are compressed. Compression leaves faint halos and blocky noise around edges, and the background is part of the picture rather than transparent. When StitchMyPic reduces the picture to thread colours it folds those in-between shades back into your main colours, and the background removal in the editor takes out a plain backdrop, so stray specks don't turn into extra colour stops.
- Use the largest, highest-quality version you have: every re-save adds compression noise.
- If the same logo exists as PNG or SVG, use that instead.
- For photos: crop tightly, remove the background, raise the contrast and aim for 4–6 colours.
What you get in the PES file
PES is the native format of Brother and Baby Lock home machines and is also read by many Bernette and Deco models. Inside a PES file sits a PEC block, the part the machine sews from: it holds the stitches, the colour list as Brother thread palette colours, and a small thumbnail for the machine's screen. StitchMyPic writes PES version 1 with the PEC block, which older and current Brother machines load alike.
| Created by | Brother (PE-Design software) |
|---|---|
| Read by | Brother, Baby Lock, many Bernette and Deco models |
| Thread colours stored | Yes, as entries in Brother's thread palette |
| Stitch precision | 0.1 mm |
| Longest single move | Long moves are written as jumps automatically |
| Also in the file | PEC block with a monochrome thumbnail for the machine screen |
JPG to PES: common questions
Is the JPG to PES converter free?
The preview is free and needs no account: drop your JPG above and you see the stitches, stitch count and sewing time. Downloading uses one credit, from $2.58 per design, and new accounts get one free credit. The ZIP contains PES plus the other three formats.
Will the white background of my JPG be stitched?
A JPG can't be transparent, so its background is part of the picture. Remove it with the background removal in the editor, or leave that colour out of the design. Otherwise it becomes a large fill that adds thousands of stitches and stiffens the fabric.
Which PES version does StitchMyPic write?
PES version 1 with the embedded PEC block. Newer PES versions mainly add data for Brother's PE-Design software, while the PEC block the machine sews from has stayed compatible, so version 1 files load on older and current Brother and Baby Lock machines.
Will the PES file work on my machine?
PES is native to Brother and Baby Lock and is read by many Bernette and Deco models. Copy it to a FAT32 USB stick and make sure the design fits the hoop you've attached: a machine whose largest hoop is 4×4 in (100 × 100 mm) can't sew a 5×7 design.
How big should I stitch my design?
Most logos and badges look best 70–120 mm wide. Keep capital letters at least 6 mm tall and lines at least 1 mm wide at the final size, and leave 5–10 mm between the design and the edge of your hoop's sewing field. The editor warns you if the design doesn't fit.