What is a HUS file?

HUS is a Husqvarna machine format. The mySewnet software used by Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff lists it in its own group, "Husqvarna (.hus, .shv, .dhv)", separate from the shared "Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff" group of .vp3, .vp4 and .vip. The format you see most often on newer machines and in design shops is VP3, and mySewnet names VP3 as its preferred format for stitching out.

You mostly meet HUS files in older design collections and on disks and USB sticks made for older Husqvarna Viking machines. Like every machine format, a HUS is a stitch file: it shows what the machine sews, not the objects and settings a digitizer used. Our guide to embroidery file formats covers the difference between stitch files and working files.

What does a HUS file store?

The open-source pyembroidery library, which can read HUS, shows the layout: a short header, a list of thread colors, then the commands and the X and Y movements stored as three separately compressed blocks.

DataIn a HUS file?Notes
Stitch and color counts, design extentsYesIn the header
Stitches, jumps, trims, color changesYesStored compressed
Thread colorsYes, as palette numbersEach color points to an entry in a fixed Husqvarna color list
Thread brand and catalog numberNoUnlike VP3, which stores full thread records
Editable objects and settingsNoUnderlay, density and compensation are already stitches

The compression is why fewer programs handle HUS than DST or PES. pyembroidery notes that HUS uses "an obscure and defunct form of compression", which its authors had to rewrite from scratch to read the files.

Should I use HUS or VP3?

HUSVP3
BrandsHusqvarna VikingHusqvarna Viking and Pfaff
Thread informationPalette colors onlyColor, thread brand, number and name
Status in mySewnetOpens and exportsPreferred export format
Free software supportInk/Stitch reads it onlyInk/Stitch reads and writes it

Use VP3 when your machine reads it. Ask for HUS only when your machine's manual lists HUS and not VP3, which is usually an older model. The embroidery section of the manual lists the formats your model loads.

How do I open a HUS file?

  • mySewnet software: the mySewnet format list includes .hus for both loading and exporting.
  • Ink/Stitch (free): the Ink/Stitch file formats list shows HUS as read only, so you can open and view a HUS design, then save it in another format.
  • The machine: older Husqvarna Viking machines that list HUS in their manual load it directly.

Our free embroidery file converter works with DST, PES and EXP and does not open HUS. Once you have saved a DST copy in another program, the free DST file viewer shows its size, stitch count and color stops.

What should I do with an old collection of HUS designs?

Many embroiderers have folders of HUS designs bought or made years ago. If you have moved to a newer machine, or want the designs to last, a little housekeeping helps:

  1. Keep the originals. Copy the HUS files to a backup before converting anything, so you can always go back.
  2. Convert copies to VP3 in mySewnet if you sew on a current Husqvarna Viking or Pfaff machine, or to the format your new machine reads.
  3. Record the colors. Note each design's color order before and after converting, because the palette colors in a HUS map to the nearest thread in the new format.
  4. Test the designs you use most. Sew each one on scrap fabric with the stabilizer you normally use before a real job.

A design that sewed well on your old machine should sew the same after conversion, because the stitches are copied as they are. If it did not sew well before, converting will not fix it.

How do I convert a HUS file?

Open the HUS in software that reads it and save it in the format you need: VP3 for a newer Husqvarna Viking or Pfaff, PES for Brother, DST for a commercial machine. Before you sew the result:

  • Re-check the colors. HUS colors are palette entries, and a converted file shows the nearest match in the new format's thread chart, or none at all in DST.
  • Do not resize it. Scaling a stitch file changes its density, because the stitch count stays the same while the area changes.
  • Stitch a test. Conversion copies the stitches as they are. If a converted design sews poorly, the stitches themselves need work, not the format.

If a design you rely on only exists as an old HUS and no longer sews well, send it to us. Our hand-digitized embroidery digitizing service can rebuild it and includes every machine format, VP3 and HUS among them.

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Frequently asked questions

Husqvarna Viking machines, mainly older models. Newer Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machines use VP3; check the embroidery section of your manual for the formats your model loads.
Yes, as entries in a fixed Husqvarna color list. It does not store thread brand or catalog numbers the way VP3 does.
Yes. Ink/Stitch, a free extension for Inkscape, can read HUS files, though it cannot save them. Our free browser converter works with DST, PES and EXP only.
Open the HUS in mySewnet or another program that reads it and export it as VP3. Check the colors afterward, because HUS stores only palette colors.
HUS stitch data is compressed with an old method that many programs never added. Try mySewnet or Ink/Stitch, or ask whoever supplied the design for a VP3 or DST.

Sources

Sources checked 19 September 2026.