Embroidery machine software: what you need and what it does

You do not need software to stitch built-in designs or files from a USB drive. You need it to edit designs, add lettering, convert files or create your own designs from artwork, and those are three different jobs. Free tools such as Ink/Stitch, Embrilliance's Express mode and the free version of Brother's Artspira app cover basics, while paid suites such as Brother PE-DESIGN, Hatch and Embrilliance add lettering, editing and digitizing.

You do not need software to run an embroidery machine. Built-in designs, files on a USB drive and apps such as Brother’s Artspira cover plenty of home use. Software starts to matter when you want to resize or combine designs, type names in your own fonts, change thread colors, convert a file for another machine, or turn a logo into stitches. Those jobs fall into three groups, editing, lettering and digitizing, and each one needs a different kind of program.

Brother, Hatch, Embrilliance, Bernina and others are named below as examples. This site is not affiliated with any of them, and features change, so confirm current details on each maker’s page.

What embroidery software does

Sewing Machine Fun, an established embroidery education site, sorts programs into four types: file viewers, converters, editors and digitizers. Most paid suites bundle several of these, so the table below groups them by the job you want done.

Job	What it does	Typical use
Viewing and organizing	Shows real thumbnails of design files and sorts your library	Finding a file among hundreds
Editing	Resizes, recolors, rotates, mirrors, merges and splits designs; converts file formats	Fitting a design to a hoop, combining two designs
Lettering	Types text in embroidery fonts, with monogram and curved-text layouts	Names, monograms, labels
Digitizing	Creates a stitch design from artwork, by hand or automatically	Logos, drawings, original designs

Editing changes a finished design. Embrilliance, for example, says its Essentials program resizes designs from 50% to 250% and recalculates the stitches to keep the density the digitizer intended, so a small design is not packed too tightly and a large one is not too sparse. It can also split a design across more than one hoop position.

Lettering is usually part of an editing program. Hatch’s Personalizer tier and Embrilliance Essentials both include lettering and monograms, with 66 and 21 built-in fonts respectively. Brother’s PE-DESIGN 11 lists 130 built-in fonts.

Digitizing builds a design from scratch. Our guide to embroidery digitizing explains the stitch choices involved. There are two styles:

Manual digitizing. You trace shapes, pick a stitch type for each and set the order. It gives the most control and has the steepest learning curve.
Auto-digitizing. The program converts a picture into stitches with little input. Sewing Machine Fun says results are weaker on intricate, multi-color images and usually need cleanup.

Machine files such as PES and DST hold finished stitches, so always keep the original editable file if you digitize. See our file formats overview for what each format stores.

Do you need software at all?

Stitching built-in designs or files from a USB drive: no software needed.
A file in the wrong format: a converter or an editor that saves your machine’s format. Our guide to converting embroidery files covers the steps.
Changing size, colors or merging designs: editing software.
Names and monograms: your machine’s built-in fonts, or lettering software if you want more choice.
Logos and your own artwork: digitizing software, or a digitizing service if you only need it occasionally.

Free options

Free programs are a good way to learn what you actually need.

Program	What it does	Notes
Ink/Stitch	Manual digitizing and lettering	Free, open-source extension for Inkscape, a free vector drawing program. Install guides for Windows, macOS and Linux.
My Editor	Basic editing	Sewing Machine Fun calls it very basic and lists resizing, merging, format conversion, color changes, rotation and template printing.
Embrilliance Express	Typing with BX fonts	Listed by Embrilliance as a free mode; Sewing Machine Fun describes it as font software.
Artspira (free version)	Browsing, light editing, wireless transfer	Brother’s app for iOS and Android. See the Brother section below.

Ink/Stitch is the free digitizer Sewing Machine Fun calls the most extensive of the free options. Its site says it offers many stitch types, from manual stitch placement to tartan patterns, plus a lettering system with ready-made fonts. It writes many machine formats, including PES, DST, JEF, EXP and VP3, and reads many more. Because it runs inside Inkscape, you need Inkscape installed first, version 1.0.2 or newer according to its install pages. Sewing Machine Fun warns of a steep learning curve for anyone with no vector graphics experience, and of limited support, since it is a free project.

Hatch is not free, but its site says every level comes with a 30-day free trial. Its help center says that trial is not supported when you run Hatch on a Mac. Our guide to free embroidery software goes into more detail on the free choices.

Paid options

Prices vary widely and change, so this guide gives none. Check each maker’s page, and use a trial where one is offered.

Brother PE-DESIGN. Brother’s PE-DESIGN 11 is digitizing software for hobbyists and home-based businesses. Its page lists photo stitch, Auto Punch and cross stitch wizards, 1,000+ built-in designs, and an Intelligent Color Sort that groups areas of the same color to cut thread changes. The page lists wireless transfer for the Luminaire XP1, XP2 and XP3 (see the Luminaire XP3). Sewing Machine Fun found Brother’s interface less intuitive than Hatch or Embrilliance, which is one person’s view but worth knowing.

Hatch Embroidery. Hatch’s own page describes four tiers, each building on the one before:

Organizer: manage a library, resize, recolor, mirror, rotate and convert formats.
Personalizer: adds lettering and monogramming.
Composer: adds auto-digitizing of photos and artwork, layout tools and one-click multi-hooping for large designs.
Digitizer: adds manual digitizing, advanced appliqué tools and Color PhotoStitch.

Embrilliance. Embrilliance sells separate programs for separate jobs. Essentials handles editing and lettering. StitchArtist, in three levels, digitizes from scratch, and Embrilliance says it is not an auto-digitizing or photo-to-stitch tool. Enthusiast is a further step up that adds stitch editing and Knockdown Stitches, an underlay meant to keep outlines visible on towels and other fabrics with loops or nap. Embrilliance says its titles come in both Windows and macOS versions.

Bernina and other makers. Bernina, Baby Lock, Janome and Husqvarna Viking/Pfaff each have software for their own machines, according to Sewing Machine Fun, which names Baby Lock’s Palette and Janome’s Artistic Digitizer among them. It also calls Bernina’s ARTlink free software for basic jobs such as file conversion, and Bernina’s Toolbox a basic editing program. Bernina’s own pages would not open for us, so check them directly for current versions, levels and whether ARTlink is still offered.

Brother software and the Artspira app

Brother embroidery machine software can mean one of three things.

PE-DESIGN on a computer, for editing and digitizing, covered above.
Artspira, a cloud-based app on phone or tablet. Brother’s page says it can create, edit and wirelessly send designs to Brother machines. It imports PES, PHC, PHX and DST files, has a Design Editor for thread colors and text layouts, and connects up to four wireless or Bluetooth-compatible machines. The free version includes 700+ licensed designs and stores up to 20 imported designs. Artspira+ adds a larger library, more storage and photo-to-embroidery conversion tools.
Machine-link tools that move a design from your computer to the machine. Our guide to transferring designs to a machine walks through the options.

Brother’s compatibility list for Artspira includes the SE700, SE725, PE545, PE900, SE2000, NQ1700E, PR680W and PR1055X, among others, and says each machine needs its latest update. Our Artspira guide covers setup in more detail.

Windows, Mac and tablets

Software support varies a lot, so check this before anything else.

Embrilliance: Windows and macOS versions.
Ink/Stitch: installs on Windows, macOS (its install page names macOS 12 Monterey and later) and Linux.
Artspira: iOS and Android.
Hatch: Hatch’s help center says it is designed for Windows and does not run natively on macOS. It describes running it in a Windows virtual machine, such as Parallels Desktop, on a Mac, and says the free trial is not supported that way.
Brother PE-DESIGN: the PE-DESIGN 11 product page lists no system requirements, and Brother’s trial page for it lists only Windows versions. Ask Brother before assuming it works on a Mac.

Sewing Machine Fun reports that Embrilliance is one of few embroidery programs that run natively on a Mac.

How to choose

Name the job. Editing and lettering software is easier to learn and cheaper than digitizing software. Many people never need to digitize.
Check your machine’s formats. Brother and Baby Lock machines read PES, many commercial machines use DST, and JEF is Janome’s format, also used by Elna and Kenmore. The software must save one your machine reads.
Check your computer. Confirm Windows or Mac support, and whether the program needs another program such as Inkscape.
Try before you commit. Sewing Machine Fun notes that some free trials do not let you save designs, and says that includes the Brother programs’ trials and Embrilliance’s. Check what a trial can export before you rely on it.
Learn one tool well. Start with a free editor or Ink/Stitch, then add a paid suite if you hit a real limit.

Common mistakes

Buying digitizing software when you need editing. Resizing, recoloring and lettering rarely need a full digitizing suite.
Expecting auto-digitizing to finish the job. Plan to clean up the stitches, especially on photos.
Resizing a design a long way. Use software that recalculates stitches, and keep the changes modest.
Throwing away the original file. The editable source is easier to change than a converted machine file.
Forgetting the machine’s limits. Software cannot make a design stitch outside your machine’s embroidery field. Splitting a large design across hoop positions is the workaround, and our guide to splitting large designs shows how.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need software to use an embroidery machine?

No. A machine stitches its built-in designs, and most also read design files from a USB drive or send them over a wireless link. You only need software to edit, add lettering, convert formats or create new designs.

Which embroidery software can digitize my own designs?

Ink/Stitch is free, Embrilliance StitchArtist and Hatch's Digitizer tier are paid options, and Brother's PE-DESIGN line is Brother's own digitizing software. Check each maker's site for current levels, because the lower tiers of paid suites often do editing and lettering but not full digitizing.

Does Brother have embroidery software?

Yes. Brother sells PE-DESIGN software for editing and digitizing, and it offers the Artspira app for browsing, editing and sending designs to compatible machines, with a free version and a paid Artspira+ version.

Can I use embroidery software on a Mac?

Some of it, yes. Embrilliance lists Windows and macOS versions, and Ink/Stitch installs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Hatch is built for Windows and does not run natively on a Mac, and Brother's PE-DESIGN 11 trial page lists only Windows versions, so confirm Mac support before you buy.

Can software turn a photo or logo into embroidery automatically?

Some programs offer auto-digitizing, but results are usually weaker on detailed, multi-color images and often need cleanup by hand. Simple logos with flat colors work far better than photos.