A DST file is a machine embroidery file in Tajima's format. It tells an embroidery machine exactly where to put each stitch, when to jump, trim and stop for a new color. It's the format most commercial machines read. It doesn't store thread colors, and it isn't meant to be resized much or edited, which is why a good digitizer also sends the working file and a color sheet.
What it holds
What it doesn't
What a DST file actually is
DST stands for Data Stitch Tajima, after the Japanese machine maker that created it. It became the common language of commercial embroidery, so almost every multi-head machine and most embroidery software can read it.
The file itself is very plain. After a short header with the design name, stitch count, number of color changes and the design's outer size, it's simply a list of moves: go this far left and this far up, put the needle down, repeat. Each move is stored in tenths of a millimeter and can be at most 12.1 mm long, so longer travels are split into jump stitches. Mixed in are a few commands: jump, trim, color change and end.
That's why a DST is called a machine file or expanded file. All the decisions about how the logo should be stitched were made earlier, in the digitizing software. The DST is the finished result, ready to sew.
What's inside, and what isn't
Stored in a DST
- Every needle position, in sewing order
- Jump stitches and trim commands
- A stop at each color change
- Design name, stitch count and outer size in the header
Not stored in a DST
- Thread colors or brand numbers
- The shapes the digitizer drew (fills, satins, outlines)
- Lettering as editable text
- Underlay and density settings you could change later
How to open and check a DST file
- 1Use your machine's softwareIf you run a commercial machine, its software already reads DST. Home machine software from Brother, Janome and others usually opens it too.
- 2Or use a free viewerWilcom TrueSizer, Embrilliance Express and Ink/Stitch (a free Inkscape add-on) open DST files so you can check the size, stitch count and sewing order.
- 3Check three thingsThe size matches what you ordered, the stitch count looks sensible for that size, and the color stops match the colors on your approval sheet.
Colors look wrong? That's normal. Because DST doesn't carry thread colors, every viewer shows its own default palette. Set your threads from the PDF approval sheet. Every file we deliver comes with one listing each color in sewing order.
Can you resize a DST file?
Only a little. When you scale a DST, the software moves the existing stitches further apart or closer together. It doesn't add or remove stitches the way the digitizing software would.
As a rule of thumb, stay within about 10 percent of the original size. For anything more, resize from the working file, which recalculates the stitches, or ask your digitizer for a second size. We do size changes on files we made for free when the change is small, and a new size counts as a new order when it's more than about an inch. More on sizing in our left chest logo size guide.
DST vs PES and other formats
Each machine brand reads its own format, and most of them can be converted from the same digitized design.
| Format | Used by | Keeps colors? |
|---|---|---|
| DST | Tajima and most commercial multi-head machines | No |
| PES | Brother and Baby Lock | Yes |
| EXP | Melco and Bernina | No |
| JEF | Janome | Yes |
| VP3 | Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff | Yes |
| EMB | Wilcom working file (editable, not for sewing) | Yes |
Converting DST to PES in a viewer works, but you'll need to set the thread colors yourself afterwards. It's cleaner to ask your digitizer for the PES directly, made from the working file. For the bigger picture on what to send and what your machine needs, see logo format for embroidery.
Can a JPG or PNG become a DST?
Not by renaming or converting it. A JPG is a picture made of pixels. A DST is a set of sewing instructions. Getting from one to the other is what embroidery digitizing is: someone decides which areas become fill and which become satin, the stitch angles, the underlay, the pull compensation for the fabric and the order the machine sews in.
Auto-digitizing buttons do exist, but they guess at all of that. The result usually sews with loose outlines, gaps and far too many trims, which costs more in machine time and fixing than having it done properly once.
What you should get with a DST
A complete digitizing order includes
- The DST file, ready for your machine
- Your own machine format on request (PES, EXP, JEF, VP3 and others)
- The EMB working file, so the design can be edited or resized properly later
- A PDF approval sheet with the size, stitch count and thread colors in order
- A JPG sew-out preview
That's exactly what comes with every file we digitize, and you can have several machine formats from one order at no extra cost. Left chest and cap logos start at $10. See how much embroidery digitizing costs.
DST file FAQs
What program opens a DST file?
Any embroidery software can open it, including the software that came with your machine. If you only want to look at the design, free viewers such as Wilcom TrueSizer, Embrilliance Express and Ink/Stitch (a free add-on for Inkscape) will show the stitches, the size and the stitch count.
Why are the colors wrong when I open a DST file?
A DST file doesn't store thread colors. It only tells the machine where to stop for the next color, so viewers fill in their own default colors. Use the PDF approval sheet or the color list from your digitizer to set the right threads.
Can I resize a DST file?
A little. Most designs survive a change of about 10 percent up or down. Beyond that the stitches are only stretched or squeezed, not recalculated, so the design gets gappy or too dense. For bigger changes, resize from the working file (EMB) or ask your digitizer for a new size.
Can I convert a JPG or PNG into a DST file?
Not in a way that sews well. An image has pixels, not stitches, so someone has to digitize it: decide the stitch types, angles, underlay and sewing order. Automatic converters exist, but the results usually need a lot of fixing.
Is DST or PES better?
Neither is better, they're made for different machines. DST is the standard for commercial and multi-head machines. PES is the format Brother and Baby Lock home machines read, and it keeps the thread colors. Use the one your machine loads.
Is a DST file editable?
Only in a limited way. You can change colors in the viewer, move or rotate the design and delete small parts, but you can't reshape letters or change fills properly. Real edits are done in the working file, which for us is the Wilcom EMB file we send with every order.
Need a DST that sews right the first time?
Send us your logo and the size you need. You get the DST, your machine format, the EMB working file and a PDF approval sheet, usually the same day.
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