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How to turn an SVG drawing into an embroidery file on autodst.com.

• Preparing your SVG
• Size
• Stitching settings
• The preview
• Design: stitches and sew time
• Thread sheet and My threads
• Make a patch
• Download and Send to Machine
• When something looks wrong

Preparing your SVG ↑ Top

• Flat colors only. Gradients, photos and other pictures inside the SVG are not sewn.
• Text must be converted to outlines (often called “convert to curves” or “outline text” in your drawing program). Live text is not sewn.
• A fill is sewn solid; a line (stroke) is sewn as a line. Lines thinner than 1 mm sew as a single running stitch, lines 1–7 mm wide sew as satin, wider lines as fill. Outlines under 0.1 mm are skipped.
• An outline alone is not a solid shape. To sew letters or shapes solid, give them a fill and remove the outline before exporting.
• Each color becomes one color block — one needle. Colors are sewn in the order they first appear in the file; shapes in the order they are stacked, bottom layer first, each overlapping the one below it slightly so no fabric shows between them.
• Export at 300 pixels per inch if your drawing program asks. That matches the default here (see SVG pixels per inch).
• Files up to 5 MB.

Size ↑ Top

Units

Millimeters or inches, for the size boxes.

Width × height

Type either one; the other follows. The artwork always keeps its proportions — it is never stretched.

SVG pixels per inch

How big your file’s pixels are. 300 suits a drawing exported at 300 dpi. If a design arrives at the wrong size, either just type the size you want, or set this to the dpi you exported at.

If the artwork is bigger than the large frames' sewing fields (175 × 305 mm and 194 × 213 mm), the page says so as soon as the SVG loads and offers one click to scale it to either field or to a 5 × 7, 5.5 × 5.5 (115 × 115 mm field) or 4 × 4 in hoop — or Keep size. Designs with a side over 450 mm are not stitched (they would run past the time limit).

Stitching settings ↑ Top

The defaults are a good start for most designs. Hover over a setting on the page for a short reminder.

Fill angle° (default 45)

The direction of the fill (tatami) rows, in degrees counterclockwise from horizontal. Fills sew inside out, the way hats need: rows running up and down start at the center and work outward (right half, then left half); rows running sideways sew bottom to top. The fill’s underlay follows the same rule (it puckers stretchy fabric too). Moves inside a fill run under fill not yet sewn, so a fill has as few trims as possible (trims risk thread breaks).

Pull comp mm (default 0.20)

Thread pulls the fabric in, so sewn shapes come out narrower than drawn. Each stitch is lengthened at both ends by this much to make up for it. Stretchy fabrics may need a little more.

Satin underlay 1 and 2 (default Edge, then Single zigzag)

For satin only (lettering, satin borders, colors set to Satin) — fills have their own underlay. Stitches sewn first, under satin, to hold the fabric steady and lift the satin so it covers well. Satin underlay 1 is sewn first, then Satin underlay 2. Choices: None, Center (a run down the middle), Edge (a run just inside both edges), Single zigzag, Double zigzag (a crossed zigzag, for wide satin). Choosing Single zigzag for both gives a crossed zigzag too. Merrow edges use their own underlay.
Thin lettering (strokes under about 1.8 mm at the chosen size) gets only a center run, whatever is chosen here: an edge run and zigzag would crowd a column that narrow. The page says so under Satin underlay 2 when that happens, and the decision is made for the whole word, so every letter gets the same underlay. Make the design bigger and your choice is used again.

Underlay density (default Normal)

Light for thin, soft fabrics; Heavy for knits, fleece and towels. Applies to zigzag underlay and to the underlay under fills.

Hoop (W×H mm)

Type your hoop size, e.g. 100x100, to get a warning when the design is bigger than the hoop. It does not change the stitching.

Ignore white shapes

Leaves out shapes filled white — for example a white background rectangle — so the fabric shows instead.

Under shapes on top (default Auto)

What happens to a color where another shape sits on top of it. Auto decides per shape: under big shapes (they sew as fill) the color underneath is cut out, so two fills don’t stack; under lettering and thin shapes it sews complete with the top shape sewn over it — far fewer trims, and each trim risks a thread break. Fill under and Cut out do one or the other everywhere. Watch the trim count to compare.

Letters close together

Satin letters that sit close together are joined by a short connector stitch instead of a trim; letters farther apart are trimmed.

Strokes (default Single run)

Single run: thin outlines (under 1 mm) sew as a single running stitch; lines 1–7 mm still sew as satin.
Satin: a thin outline becomes the outer edge of a satin border that grows inward — the usual patch edge.
Merrow edge: lines sew as a simulated merrow (overlocked) edge; a thin outline becomes the outer edge of a merrow band.

Border width mm (default 4.1)

How wide the satin border or merrow band is, measured inward from the outline (1.5–8 mm).

Sewing order (default Left to right)

The order shapes — usually letters — are sewn within each color. Left to right / Right to left: top line first. Center, right, left: from the middle letter out to the right end, then from the middle out to the left — the usual choice for hats, because it pushes the crown fabric outward instead of bunching it. Center, left, right: the same, left side first. Left, right, center / Right, left, center: from both ends in toward the middle. The center and ends orders sew the bottom line first (hats: bottom up, inside out). Shortest travel: whatever is nearest next — fewest long jumps, but the order can look random.

Narrow fills (default Satin columns)

Filled shapes that are narrow everywhere (up to 7 mm thick), such as text converted to outlines. Satin columns splits each letter into strokes and sews them as satin, like digitized lettering; Tatami fill sews them as fill rows. Shapes that can’t be split cleanly, and anything wider, sew as fill either way.

No trims on jumps (default off)

Trims are written the standard way: three jump codes in a row. Set your machine to trim after 3 jumps (the setting is often called “Jump and trim stitch” or “Trim on jumps”). If your machine is set to always jump, it never trims and you get thread strands between letters and shapes. Tick this box to write no trims at all.

Save as (default DST)

DST is the standard file for multi-needle machines, and the one we test on a machine. The other formats are offered for machines that need them.

The preview ↑ Top

• Move by dragging, zoom with the mouse wheel or trackpad, and double-click (or Fit) to see the whole design. On an iPad: one finger moves, two fingers pinch to zoom, double-tap fits.
• Play watches the design sew (Replay starts it over); the slider moves to any stitch; the menu sets the speed.
• artwork shows your drawing faintly under the stitches. jumps shows the moves between shapes. thread and fabric only change how the preview is drawn — never the file.
• start points: closed satin outlines (rings, borders) show a marker where they start. Drag the marker — or click the outline — to move that seam somewhere it won’t show, such as the bottom.

Design: stitches and sew time ↑ Top

Clear (by Fit, under the preview) starts over: it removes the stitches and every pick — Fill / Satin, widths, color and shape order, start points — and shows just your artwork at the size you set.

The trim count also shows at the bottom left of the preview, with the last count after each change (“was 9”). Every trim risks a thread break, so try another fill angle or sewing order and keep whichever gives fewer trims.

The Design panel shows the sewn size (mm and inches), stitches, jumps and trims, color changes, the length of thread sewn, and Est. run time. Type your machine’s speed in Machine speed (spm) — stitches per minute — for a better estimate; the time also allows for color changes and trims. This browser remembers the speed.

Thread sheet and My threads ↑ Top

Start with Create stitches as is — it picks fill, satin and the order for you. Use the picks below only when the result isn't right, then press Regenerate.

• The Thread sheet lists the color blocks in sewing order — needle 1, 2, 3… — with each one’s stitch count. Load the threads to match.
• Artwork first: a new SVG shows as your artwork with its colors listed here — no stitches yet. Set the stitch type per color (and any other setting), then press Create stitches (over the preview, or above Download). After that, change as many settings as you like, then press Regenerate to re-create the stitches; until you do, the page says the stitches are out of date and Download waits. Patches from Make a patch are stitched right away.
• Stitch type per color: under each color, Auto follows the Stitching settings, Fill sews that color as tatami, and Satin sews each stroke (a letter, a ring, a swash) as one satin column following it, stitches square to the stroke; stitches longer than 7 mm (the safe length for wearables) are split into shorter staggered ones. Compact shapes (a pie piece, a disc) sew as tatami; other shapes that aren’t strokes get an outline band — a satin border along the outside edge, growing inward. Type a width in the box beside Satin to make every piece of that color a band that wide. Any part the band doesn’t reach (a bar between two letters) sews as satin columns, and wide parts as fill. Use it for outlined logos: the letters Fill, the outline colors Satin.
• Order across colors: Order across colors (top of the Thread sheet) lets you click shapes of any color in the order to sew them — a color can come back later, as in many hand digitized logos (black band and quarters, then the white center and letters, then the black outer border). Each return is another color change on the same thread. Shapes you skip sew with the first turn of their color. Press Clear to start over.
• Stitch type per shape: Types beside a color (on the Thread sheet) lets you click its shapes one at a time, in the order you want them sewn: click a shape, then pick Auto, Fill or Satin for it. For a satin shape you can type a width (mm) in the menu before pressing Satin — only that shape changes, spread evenly both sides (the badge shows it, e.g. 3S 2.5); everything else you picked stays. Badges show the order and the type (1F, 2S, 3S...); untick Sew in pick order to keep the normal order. Use it when one shape of a color should sew differently from the rest — a letter as fill while the ring around it stays satin. Undo takes back the last click.
• Sewing order: the arrows move a color earlier or later. Colors set to Satin go last on their own, the innermost outline first, so the outer border sews on top. Default order puts it back.
• Click a color in the preview to find its row; that color’s shapes are outlined in the preview, and once stitches are created they show numbers in their sewing order.
• Order (on a color’s row) sets the order of that color’s shapes: click them in the preview in the order you want them sewn, then Done. Shapes you skip sew after them, in the Sewing order setting. Clear starts over; Cancel keeps the old order. Click Order and then Done without clicking anything to go back to the Sewing order setting.
• Sew only these (in the Order banner) is for test runs: the file then holds only the shapes you picked — in every color — each at its place in the full design. A run that stopped after “LA” can go on with N, C and E: with the hoop untouched and the machine starting from the same point, they land where the full design puts them (if your machine centers each design, line it up with the machine’s positioning). The page says “Test run” under the Thread sheet while it is on; Order, then Done without it ticked, goes back.
• Match to finds the closest thread to each design color in a built-in thread chart, or in My threads, and says how close it is. Screens and thread cards differ — check against the real thread before sewing.
• My threads… is your own list of threads on hand. Type a chart brand and number and the color fills in, or pick the color yourself. It is saved in this browser only: use Export CSV to keep a copy or move it to another computer, and Import CSV… to load one (columns: brand, number, name, color as #RRGGBB — or R, G, B columns instead of color).

Make a patch ↑ Top

Open Make a patch in the Artwork section to make a patch without drawing one: pick a shape and a preset size (or type your own), a satin or merrow border and its color, and optionally a background fill. Create patch loads it like an SVG, ready to adjust and download. Merrow edges are offered only for smooth shapes — a real merrow machine can’t follow sharp corners.

Download and Send to Machine ↑ Top

• Download saves the file. Each visitor can download 10 designs per hour; downloading the same conversion again doesn’t count. Your designs are deleted from the server within an hour.
• On an iPad, downloads go to the Files app → Downloads.
• Send to Machine hands the design straight to AutoDST Link (free, for Mac and Windows) or the AutoDST app for iPad, which send it to an S1501-type embroidery machine on your network and check every stitch after it lands. The links to get AutoDST Link are under the buttons. Setting up the app: Support. Machine far from your router: Wi-Fi bridge guide.