Skip to content
Stitch Toolbox

Converter

EXP to DST converter

Turn a EXP file (Melco and Bernina machines) into DST (Tajima, Ricoma, Barudan, Happy, SWF and most commercial machines). Drop the file, DST is preselected, download. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

What this conversion keeps and changes

  • Both formats store no colour information, only stops, so colours carry across.
  • Trims: EXP marks them as explicit; DST as three consecutive jumps. They are translated, not dropped.
  • DST allows stitches up to 12.1 mm; longer stitches from the EXP are split into jumps.
  • DST stores stops, not colours: the operator threads the needles from a colour sheet.

Inside a EXP file

  • Read by: Melco and Bernina machines.
  • Colours: no colours at all, only stops between blocks, so the operator threads needles from a colour sheet.
  • Trims: explicit.
  • Longest stitch per record: 12.7 mm; anything longer is written as two.

Inside a DST file

  • Read by: Tajima, Ricoma, Barudan, Happy, SWF and most commercial machines.
  • Colours: no colours at all, only stops between blocks, so the operator threads needles from a colour sheet.
  • Trims: three consecutive jumps.
  • Longest stitch per record: 12.1 mm; anything longer is written as two.
  • DST stores stops, not colours: the operator threads the needles from a colour sheet.

When you need this conversion

Designs are sold and shared in the format of the digitiser's software, and EXP is common because Melco and Bernina machines use it. If your machine is one of the Tajima, Ricoma, Barudan, Happy, SWF and most commercial models, it wants DST. The stitches are the same; only the container changes, and the notes above are the whole list of what the container cannot carry.

Before a paid job, run the result through the pre-flight check for density and hoop fit, and read the conversion guide for the traps that are specific to each pair.

Reverse: DST → EXPEXP → PESEXP → JEFPES → DSTJEF → DSTU01 → DSTTBF → DSTDSB → DSTDSZ → DST

How to use it

  1. 1

    Drop the EXP file

    Drag it onto the page or click to choose it. The file is decoded on your device and drawn on a hoop grid with its size, stitch count and colour blocks.

  2. 2

    Check the preview

    Step through the sew-out order if you want to see how the machine will run it. Rotate or mirror here if the placement needs it; centring is on by default.

  3. 3

    Download the DST

    DST is already selected as the output. The file is written and read back on your device before the download starts.

  4. 4

    Copy the colours over

    DST stores no colours, so print the colour sheet from the viewer and set the needles from it on the machine.

Questions

What changes when converting EXP to DST?

Both formats store no colour information, only stops, so colours carry across. Trims: EXP marks them as explicit; DST as three consecutive jumps. They are translated, not dropped. DST allows stitches up to 12.1 mm; longer stitches from the EXP are split into jumps. DST stores stops, not colours: the operator threads the needles from a colour sheet.

Which machines read DST?

Tajima, Ricoma, Barudan, Happy, SWF and most commercial machines. DST stores stops, not colours: the operator threads the needles from a colour sheet.

Will the DST stitch identically?

Geometry, yes: every needle position is kept to 0.1 mm, and the writer was checked against pyembroidery. Colours, trims and stops follow what the target format can store, as described on this page.

Is the file uploaded?

No. Reading and writing happen in your browser; close the tab and nothing remains.

Can I resize it at the same time?

Not here. Scaling a stitch file changes its density; use the resize tool, which re-spaces satin, fill and running stitches, then convert the result.

Learn

More tools