Free Embroidery File Analyzer
Score a stitch file out of 10 before you run it, and see exactly what cost the points.
Your file never leaves your device. It is read and measured entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.
This free analyzer reads a DST, PES, EXP, JEF or VP3 file and grades it out of 10 on the things that ruin a stitch-out: stitches too short to sew cleanly, stitches long enough to snag, long jumps that should have been trims, patches much denser than the rest of the design, the colour change count and whether it fits a standard hoop. Every deduction is shown with the measurement behind it, and the fixes are ranked by what each problem cost. The file is read on your device and never uploaded.
Wrong size, too dense, messy jumps or an auto-digitized file that sews badly? We fix or rebuild broken, auto-digitized or third-party files, quoted after a free file check.
The things that ruin a stitch-out
| Check | Threshold | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Micro stitches | above 0 and under 0.5 mm | The needle punches almost the same hole twice, which breaks thread, packs lint into the machine and can damage the needle or the fabric. |
| Short stitches | 0.5 to 1 mm | A few are normal in tight detail. A lot of them slow the machine down and shed lint. |
| Overlong stitches | over 7 mm | A long stitch sits loose on the fabric, so it snags and pulls. Those areas usually want splitting or turning into a fill. |
| Long jumps | over 5 mm | Each one leaves a thread across the design that someone has to cut by hand. Turning them into trims saves that work. |
| Dense patches | more than twice this design's own median | Too much thread in a small area is the usual cause of puckering and needle holes. |
| Colour changes | over 12 | Every change adds handling time, cost and a chance of the design shifting out of registration. |
| Hoop fit | design plus 10 mm clearance | A design that fits no standard hoop has to be scaled or split before it can be run. |
What a score out of 10 cannot tell you
A stitch file is a list of needle movements. It records where the machine went, and nothing about why, so there are real questions this report cannot answer and does not pretend to.
- Whether the density is right. The correct stitch spacing depends on the fabric: what sits perfectly on twill will pucker a knit and sink into a towel. So the report measures density and flags the patches that are much denser than the rest of that design, rather than judging against a made-up universal limit. Our density by fabric lookup gives the spacing to aim for.
- Whether the underlay is right. Underlay is stitched before the top layer and looks like ordinary stitches in the file. There is no marker that says which stitches are underlay, so no tool reading a finished stitch file can grade it.
- Whether pull compensation was applied. Compensation changes the shape of the stitches, so a compensated file and an uncompensated one both look like valid stitches. You can only tell by sewing it.
- Whether it is the right design. A file can be technically clean and still be the wrong size, the wrong placement or the wrong artwork.
A low score is a reason to look, not proof that the file is bad. An unusual design can score lower for a perfectly good reason, and a simple one can score well while still being wrong for the job.
How to check an embroidery file
- Add your file. Drag a .dst, .pes, .exp, .jef or .vp3 file onto the drop zone, or click to browse. It is read in your browser.
- Read the score. A score out of 10, with every deduction listed and the measurement behind it shown.
- Work through the fixes. The list is ranked by what each problem cost, so the first item is the one worth doing.
- Check the measurements. Stitch length spread, micro and overlong counts, jumps, trims, colour changes, density and hoop fit.
- Re-run after a change. The score is worked out the same way every time, so you can tell whether an edit helped.