Questions, answered

It turns a picture (PNG, JPG, WEBP or SVG) into a machine embroidery file you can load on your embroidery machine: PES, DST, JEF or EXP. The converter reduces your image to thread colours, decides for each shape whether it should be a satin column, a fill or a running stitch, adds underlay and pull compensation, and plans the sewing order so the machine trims and jumps as little as possible.

Yes. Uploading a picture, adjusting the design and looking at the stitch preview are free and don't need a card. You only spend a credit when you download the finished file. New accounts also get 1 free credit, so your first download is on us.

Five steps:

1. Upload your picture.
2. Pick the size you want to stitch and the number of colours.
3. Check the stitch preview and adjust settings if needed.
4. Download the file in your machine's format (1 credit).
5. Copy it to your machine by USB stick, cable or Wi-Fi, the same way you would with any purchased design.

No. Everything runs in your web browser on a computer, tablet or phone. The digitizing is done on your own device, so a recent browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) is all you need. On older or very low-powered devices, large designs may take a little longer to compute.

No, and we'd rather be upfront about it. A skilled human digitizer makes artistic choices for every shape. StitchMyPic automates the standard techniques (satin columns, tatami fills, underlay, pull compensation, stitch ordering) and gives very good results on logos, lettering, clipart and flat-colour artwork in seconds. For complex illustrations you can fine-tune settings, and you always see the stitch preview before you pay.

Home embroiderers personalising gifts and clothing, small shops making patches, caps and merch, and studios that need a quick first draft of a customer's logo. If you can load a design onto your machine from a USB stick, you can use StitchMyPic.

It depends on the brand: PES for Brother, JEF for Janome, DST for commercial machines and EXP for Bernina and Melco. In more detail:

• Brother, Baby Lock and most Bernette and Deco machines: PES.
• Janome, Elna and Kenmore: JEF.
• Tajima, Ricoma, Happy, Barudan, SWF, ZSK and most commercial multi-needle machines: DST.
• Melco and Bernina: EXP.

If you're not sure, check the file list in your machine's manual or on its USB screen. Almost every machine and embroidery program can also read DST.

They all store the same thing: a list of needle positions, jumps, trims and colour changes. PES and JEF also store the thread colours, so your machine shows the right colour on screen. DST and EXP only store colour stops, not the colours themselves, so the machine just says "next colour"; keep the colour list from StitchMyPic next to you while you sew.

We write PES version 1 with the embedded PEC block. It's the most widely compatible version and is read by Brother and Baby Lock machines from older single-needle models to current ones, as well as by common embroidery software.

Download the file to your computer, then copy it to a USB stick (FAT32-formatted sticks of 32 GB or smaller are the safest bet for older machines) and plug it into the machine. Some machines need the file in the root folder rather than inside a sub-folder. Wi-Fi models can also receive files through the manufacturer's own app or transfer software.

As big as your hoop's sewing field allows, and you choose the stitch size before downloading. The sewing field is a little smaller than the hoop frame itself. Common sewing fields are 100×100 mm (4×4 in), 130×180 mm (5×7 in), 160×260 mm (6×10 in) and 200×300 mm (8×12 in); see the hoop size chart for every brand. If the machine refuses a file or shows it as too large, re-download it at a smaller size or use a bigger hoop.

Small changes of about 10% up or down are usually fine. Bigger changes on the machine only stretch the existing stitches, which leaves gaps or makes fills too dense. It's better to set the final size in StitchMyPic and download again: the stitches are recalculated for that size, and re-downloads within 7 days are free.

PNG, JPG, WEBP and SVG. For the cleanest result, use a PNG with a transparent background or an SVG logo. A JPG works too; the converter can drop a plain background colour.

Yes. They're standard files, so you can open them in your machine brand's software or in free tools like Ink/Stitch to view them, add lettering or combine them with other designs. Our comparison of free digitizing software lists the options.

Logos, cartoons, clipart, badges and lettering with clear shapes and a limited number of flat colours. Aim for at least 1000 pixels across, sharp edges and good contrast between neighbouring colours. Six colours or fewer usually stitch faster and look cleaner than twelve.

A photo is made of millions of soft colour gradients, while embroidery is made of solid areas of thread. To stitch a photo, the converter has to group it into a handful of flat colour regions, so faces and soft shading look posterised. For photos, crop tightly, raise the contrast, and choose a simplified or cartoon-like version of the image if you have one. Pets and portraits work best as a bold, simplified illustration.

Keep capital letters at least 6 mm (about 1/4 in) tall for satin lettering, and larger for thin or serif fonts. Below about 4 mm, letters close up and become hard to read, especially on towels or fleece. Tiny marks like ® and ™ are often better removed: they can't be sewn legibly at small sizes.

Satin stitches zigzag across narrow shapes like letters and borders and give a shiny, raised look; they suit shapes from about 1 mm up to about 7–8 mm wide. Fill (tatami) stitches cover larger areas with rows of shorter stitches that lie flat and stay durable. Running stitch is a single line used for fine outlines, details and the hidden travel between areas. StitchMyPic picks the right one for each shape automatically.

Underlay is a light layer of stitches sewn first to anchor the fabric and lift the top stitches, so they cover well and don't sink. Pull compensation makes shapes slightly wider than the artwork, because thread tension pulls fabric inward as it sews. Without both, you get gaps between colours and outlines that don't line up. Both are added automatically.

It depends on the fabric: cut-away for anything that stretches, tear-away for stable wovens, and a water-soluble topping on pile fabrics.

• Stretchy knits (T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts): cut-away stabilizer, because the design needs permanent support.
• Stable woven fabrics (denim, canvas, cotton twill, caps): tear-away.
• Towels, fleece and velvet: add a water-soluble topping on top so stitches don't sink into the pile.

Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together, firm but not stretched. When in doubt, use more stabilizer, not less.

The stabilizer guide has a fabric-by-fabric chart.

Your design shows the colour list in sewing order. PES and JEF files store colours from the Brother and Janome charts, and you can match each colour to the nearest thread number in popular charts such as Isacord, Madeira, Robison-Anton, Sulky or Gunold. Screen colours and thread never match perfectly, so hold real thread spools against your fabric before you start.

Puckering is usually a hooping or stabilizer issue: hoop tighter, use a heavier or cut-away stabilizer and slow the machine down on dense designs. Gaps between colours usually mean the fabric moved; use more stabilizer, and try a slightly higher pull compensation for stretchy fabrics. Always test-stitch on a scrap of the same fabric before sewing on the final piece.

A 75/11 embroidery needle with 40-weight polyester or rayon embroidery thread suits most designs. Use a ballpoint needle on knits and a sharp needle on wovens and caps. Change the needle every 8 to 10 hours of stitching, or sooner if you hear it punching or see broken threads.

Downloading a design costs 1 credit. Once you've paid, that design stays unlocked for 7 days: during that time you can change the size, colours or settings and download it again in any format as often as you like, free of charge. Previews never cost anything.

No. Credits you buy, credits from a monthly plan and your free signup credit never expire, even if you cancel your plan.

Packs (1, 5, 10 or 50 credits) are one-off payments, ideal if you embroider now and then. Monthly plans (Hobby, Pro and Studio) add credits every billing cycle at a lower price per design, and suit shops and studios that digitize regularly. Unused plan credits roll over. You can see current prices on the pricing page.

Payments are handled securely by PayPal. You can pay with a PayPal account or with a debit or credit card through PayPal's checkout, without creating a PayPal account where PayPal offers guest checkout in your country. We never see or store your card number.

From Credits & billing in your account, at any time. Your plan stays active until the end of the period you've already paid for and isn't renewed afterwards. All your credits stay in your account.

Unused credits can be refunded within 14 days of purchase: just write to us. If you spent a credit on a design that turned out not to stitch usably, tell us and we'll return the credit. Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time, but we don't refund partial months by default. The refund policy has the full details.

Yes. Every purchase has a receipt in Credits & billing in your account, and PayPal also emails you a payment confirmation.

Yes. You can stitch and sell products made with your files, and use them for clients. We claim no ownership of your designs. The one condition is that you have the right to use the artwork you upload: for example your own logo, your own drawing, or a design you have a licence for. Don't upload other companies' logos or characters without permission.

The digitizing runs in your browser. We store your original upload and design settings on our server so you can reopen and re-download your designs later. We don't sell your images, share them with other users or use them for advertising. You can delete a design, or your whole account, at any time.

Your designs stay in your account. Within 7 days of paying for a design, re-downloads are free in any size, colour set or format. After that, you can still open the design, and downloading it again costs 1 credit, which unlocks it for another 7 days.

No. You can sign up with any email address and a password. Signing in with Google is an optional shortcut, and you can connect or disconnect it in your account settings.

No. We only use the cookies the site needs to work: one that keeps you signed in and one that remembers your language. There are no analytics, advertising or social media trackers. PayPal sets its own cookies during checkout.

Go to Account and choose Delete account. Your designs and stored images are removed. We keep payment records only as long as tax and accounting law requires. If you have unused credits you'd like refunded, write to us before deleting.