Auto-digitizing
Auto-digitize embroidery designs online
Auto-digitizing turns a picture into a stitch file automatically: it decides the colours, the stitch type for every shape, the underlay and the sewing order. InstaEmbroid does it in your browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, and writes the file your machine reads.
Updated
- Pictures in
- JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP or GIF
- Files out
- PES, JEF, DST, EXP, VP3, XXX, or a zip of all six
- Runs on
- Windows, Mac, iPad, Android, Chromebook: any modern browser
- Price
- Free plan, and a free week of everything for new accounts
How it works
- Add your picture Upload a JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP or GIF. Pick what it shows (a pet, a face, a logo, text…) and the settings are tuned for it.
- Pick your machine and hoop Choose your machine and hoop; the design is sized to fit and saved in the format your machine reads.
- Match real threads Every colour is matched to a real spool from your thread brand, with its number. Change any of them.
- Watch it sew, then download See every stitch build up on screen, check the stitch count and time, then download the file.
What auto-digitizing does
An embroidery machine can't sew a picture. It sews a list of needle positions, colour changes and trims. Digitizing is planning that list, and by hand it takes a trained digitizer anything from twenty minutes to several hours per design.
Auto-digitizing does the planning in seconds. InstaEmbroid reduces the picture to a set of thread colours, traces each shape, and picks a stitch for it: fill (tatami) rows for large areas, satin columns for borders and thin parts, and running stitch for fine lines. It adds underlay so the stitches sit on top of the fabric, pulls the edges out slightly to make up for thread pulling them in, and orders the shapes to keep jumps and trims short.
What makes InstaEmbroid different
- Subject presets: tell it the picture is a pet, a face, a logo, text, a cartoon, a flower and so on, and the colours, detail and stitch settings are tuned for that kind of picture.
- Watch it sew: every stitch builds up on screen in sewing order, with the stitch count, the number of colour changes and an estimated sewing time.
- Your machine's limits: pick your model and the design is sized for its hoop. You're warned before downloading anything over its stitch or colour limit.
- Real threads: colours are matched to Janome, Brother, Husqvarna Viking, Isacord, Sulky, Robison-Anton and other thread charts, with their numbers on a printable thread sheet.
- AI photo tools on Pro and Unlimited: remove a background, or redraw a photo as clean, flat art that stitches well.
- Fix any shape: change one shape's colour, stitch type, angle or sewing order, then stitch again.
- Lettering: add names and words in 37 satin fonts, straight, arched, in a circle or along a wave.
What auto-digitizing is good at, and what it isn't
Every auto-digitizer, the expensive desktop ones included, does best with bold shapes, flat colours and clear outlines: logos, cartoons, clip art, badges, simple illustrations and lettering.
Photos and paintings have thousands of shades, so any auto-digitizer simplifies them into a few thread colours. The result looks like a poster or a patch rather than the photo. InstaEmbroid's pet and portrait presets and the AI makeover help a lot here, but expect a stylised look.
Very fine detail under about half a millimetre and tiny text can't be sewn at any size. Make the design bigger or simplify it.
Keep going
- Photo to embroidery Photos, portraits and pets.
- Logo to embroidery Business and team logos.
- Names and lettering Monograms, arches and circles.
- How to digitize a picture A step-by-step guide.
Questions
Is auto-digitizing as good as hand digitizing?
For logos, cartoons, lettering and other flat art, a good auto-digitizer gets very close and takes seconds instead of hours. A skilled digitizer still wins on photos, tiny text and designs with lots of overlapping detail. Watch it sew lets you judge the result before you stitch anything.
Is it free?
Previews are free and unlimited, and the Free plan downloads 3 designs a week in every format. New accounts get every feature, the AI photo tools included, free for their first week, with no card needed.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in the browser on Windows, Mac, iPad, Android phones and Chromebooks. You can add it to your home screen as an app if you like.
Which machines does it work with?
Any embroidery machine that reads JEF (Janome, Elna), PES (Brother, Baby Lock), VP3 (Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff), EXP (Bernina), XXX (Singer) and DST (commercial multi-needle machines). Pick your model in the studio and its hoops, stitch limit and format are set for you.
Can I edit the design after it's digitized?
Yes. Change the number of colours, size, density, underlay, stitch angles and more, or click a shape to change its thread, stitch type, angle or sewing order, then stitch again.