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Stitch Toolbox

Pro tool · free preview

File cleanup

The fixes a digitiser applies before sending a file out, done on the stitch data: short stitches, long stitches, pointless colour changes, untrimmed jumps. Every fix is a checkbox and every change is counted.

Drop an embroidery file or click to choose
PES, PEC, DST, EXP, JEF, VP3, XXX, HUS, VIP, SEW, PCS, U01, TBF, DSB, DSZ, TAP, EXY, 10O, KSM, SHV, EMD, PHC, Z01, STX · stays on your device

What cleanup can and cannot do

It fixes the things that live in the stitch data: stitches that are too short or too long, pointless colour changes, jumps that should have been trims. It cannot re-digitise: density that is too high across a whole fill, missing underlay, or wrong pull compensation need the original object file. The pre-flight check tells you which of the two you have.

About this tool

The fixes, one by one

  • Remove stitches under 0.3 mm: the point is dropped and the thread spans to the next stitch. Nothing visible changes, because a stitch shorter than the thread is wide adds nothing to the surface, and the needle stops re-entering its own hole.
  • Split stitches over 12.1 mm: a needle-down is added every 12 mm so the stitch stays a stitch instead of becoming a jump on the machine.
  • Merge same-colour blocks: back-to-back blocks with the same thread become one block and the stop between them becomes a trim, so the operator is not asked to change to the thread already loaded.
  • Trim before jumps over 12 mm: a trim command is inserted so the machine cuts instead of dragging thread across the fabric.
  • Collapse runs of jumps: several jumps in a row become one move.
  • Centre: the design is moved so its centre sits on the origin, which is where most machines start.

What cleanup will not fix

Density. A design that is too dense needs the digitiser or a resize from the original size; removing short stitches from it does not thin it. Cleanup also does not reorder colour blocks or change stitch types.

Preview free, download with Pro

The report and the before-and-after numbers are free. The download is a Pro feature.

How to use it

  1. 1

    Drop the file

    The pre-flight findings are listed so you can see what cleanup will touch.

  2. 2

    Choose the fixes

    Each fix is a checkbox with the threshold it uses and what it changes; leave off any you want to keep.

  3. 3

    Read the report

    Counts of stitches removed or split, blocks merged, trims added and jumps collapsed, with the stitch count before and after.

  4. 4

    Download

    Pro downloads the cleaned file in any of eight formats.

Questions

Why do files have stitches under 0.3 mm?

Downscaling in software that does not remove them, auto-digitisers that trace every pixel, and conversions between formats with different resolutions. The needle goes back into the same hole, which is where thread shreds.

What happens to a removed stitch?

The point is dropped and the path continues to the next point. Nothing visible changes at 0.3 mm; the thread simply spans the gap.

Why would a file have two blocks of the same colour in a row?

Object-based software exports each object as its own block; when two adjacent objects use the same thread you get a colour change that stops the machine for nothing. Merging replaces it with a trim.

Can it reorder colours to reduce changes?

Not automatically. Reordering changes what lies on top of what, which is a design decision. Merging only touches blocks that are already adjacent.

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