What a DST file is
A DST file (.dst) is an embroidery machine file in the Tajima format. It contains the list of needle movements and machine commands that an embroidery machine follows to sew a design: where each stitch lands, when the frame travels without sewing, and when the machine should stop or change needles.
It is a production file, not artwork and not an editable design. Wilcom, the maker of EmbroideryStudio, describes machine files as containing the stitch coordinates, color changes, and machine commands required to stitch a design
, without the original design objects.[5] DST is the format Wilcom recommends for most Tajima machines.[3] Machines from other makers can read it too (Brother's manuals, for example, explain how their machines handle DST[13]), and embroidery software from Wilcom, Embrilliance and the open-source Ink/Stitch project works with it. That does not make it universal: a machine reads the formats its maker supports, as listed in its manual or added by a later update.
What is inside a DST file
We could not find a public DST specification from Tajima, so the detail below comes from the format's documented behavior in open-source embroidery libraries and format references, checked against Wilcom's software documentation.[1][2][6] A DST file has two parts.
The header
The first 512 bytes are a text header. Only a small part of it is normally used; the rest is padding.[1] The fields you are most likely to see in software are:
| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| LA | The design label (a short name, without a path or extension) |
| ST | The stitch count |
| CO | The number of color change records |
| +X, −X, +Y, −Y | The design extents in each direction from the start point, which gives the design's width and height |
| AX, AY | Meant to give the end point relative to the start, in 0.1 mm; often simply written as zero |
| MX, MY, PD | Legacy fields for multi-volume designs, almost always zero or blank |
The header describes the design, but it does not sew anything. Software writes these values when it saves the file, which is why a viewer can show a DST's size and stitch count without drawing it.
The body
After the header comes the design itself: a long series of records, each exactly 3 bytes.[1] Each record moves the frame by a small distance relative to the previous needle position, in units of 0.1 mm,[2] and carries a flag that says what kind of move it is:
- Stitch: move and put the needle down.
- Jump: move the frame without sewing.
- Color change or stop: in DST these are one and the same command.[1]
- End: the end of the design.
One record can move at most 121 units, or 12.1 mm, in each direction.[1][2] Wilcom's documentation ties the 12.1 mm limit to the "ternary" coding used by Tajima machines, and lists 12.7 mm for "binary" coding used by some other machine makers.[6] When the frame has to travel farther than one record allows, the move is written as several jumps in a row.
What happens when a machine reads a DST file
The machine works through the records in order. It moves the frame by each stitch distance and sews, moves without sewing on each jump, and stops or changes needle when it reaches a color change record. Three parts of that process depend on the machine and the operator rather than the file.
Which needle sews which color
A DST file only says "change now". It does not say which needle to change to or which thread is on it. Wilcom states that DST does not support thread colors or needle assignment
, and that for Tajima DST the needle sequence is set on the machine's control panel by the operator.[3][8] If two color blocks should sew with the same thread, the operator assigns the same needle to both. Tajima's richer TBF format does carry needle addressing,[3] but plain DST does not.
Trims
DST has no dedicated trim command. Instead, a machine treats a run of consecutive jump records as an instruction to trim.[1][12] How many jumps make a trim is a setting, not part of the format. Brother's support page for its PR1050X multi-needle machine, for example, explains that the machine converts a set number of consecutive DST jump codes into a trim (any value from 1 to 8, with 3 as the factory setting), and warns that if the number does not match the one used when the file was created, you get either unexpected trims or no trim where one was expected.[14] Digitizing software has a matching setting for how trims are written.[7]
Stops
Because stop and color change are the same command, a pause for something other than a thread change, such as placing appliqué fabric or 3D puff foam, is written the same way as a color change. Whether the machine pauses or keeps going depends on how the operator sets the needle sequence.
Does a DST file store thread colors?
No, not in standard DST. Wilcom's documentation says machine files such as DST contain only stitch coordinates and STOP codes
, with no color information, and that operators must assign needle and thread colors at the machine.[4] Software still has to show you something on screen, so it applies a default palette. Wilcom's preview system cycles through 15 preset colors,[4] and Brother's operation manual explains that because Tajima data has no thread color information, the machine displays it with Brother's default color sequence and you should check the preview and change the colors.[13]
That is why a DST can look bright green and purple on one screen and red and yellow on another while sewing exactly the same. The colors on screen are placeholders.
Color information vs stitch instructions
It helps to separate what the file knows from what has to come from somewhere else:
| Information | Where it lives with a DST | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Where every stitch and jump goes | The DST file | The digitizer |
| Where the machine stops or changes color (the color-change records; the CO field counts them) | The DST file | The digitizer |
| Which thread color each color block uses | A color sheet or production worksheet | The digitizer, as a separate document |
| Which needle holds that thread | The machine's needle sequence | The operator |
| How many jumps count as a trim | Machine and software settings, which must match | The operator and the digitizer together |
Illustrative example (hypothetical): a logo sews navy, then white, then navy again. That is three color blocks separated by two color-change records, so the DST header counts two color changes (CO = 2), and the file says nothing about which colors they are. The color sheet says block 1 is navy, block 2 white, block 3 navy. The operator puts navy on one needle and white on another, then sets the needle sequence so blocks 1 and 3 both use the navy needle. Without the color sheet, the operator would only know that the design has three color blocks.
A few programs write extra, non-standard information such as thread colors into the unused part of the header, but format references describe such files as rare.[1] Do not rely on it. The dependable way to get the right colors is a color sheet or production worksheet listing the thread for each color block in order; Wilcom's instructions for reassigning colors to a machine file say to consult exactly that.[9]
DST files are not images
An image file, whether a JPG, PNG or a vector logo, describes what something looks like: colored pixels or shapes. A DST describes how to make it with a needle: a sequence of moves and commands. Embrilliance puts it simply when describing pixels and vectors: None of that is understood by an embroidery robot arm.
[11]
That has three practical consequences:
- A DST will not open in a photo viewer or design program like Photoshop. It needs embroidery software or a machine.
- Renaming
logo.pngtologo.dstdoes not create an embroidery file. The content is still an image. - Turning artwork into a DST is not a conversion. Someone has to decide the stitch types, angles, underlay, density and sewing order. That is digitizing, and it is what our image to embroidery file service covers.
Design size, stitch count and resizing
The extents in the header give the design's width and height, and the ST field gives the stitch count. Those two numbers, along with the number of color changes, are the first things to check when a file arrives: is it the size you ordered, and will it fit the hoop or sewing field on your machine?
Resizing is where DST's simplicity shows. A DST holds finished stitches, not the shapes they were calculated from. If you scale it, the stitches simply spread apart or squeeze together: Hatch explains that the existing stitches only get closer together or further apart
, so detail is lost or the design becomes too dense.[10] Both Wilcom and Hatch recommend resizing stitch-only files by no more than about 10%.[5][10] Some software tries to rebuild objects from the stitches so it can resize more intelligently, but Wilcom notes that reconstructed objects may not exactly match the original design.[5]
For a bigger size change, the design should be resized in its editable working file (for Wilcom software, EMB), where density and compensation are recalculated, or re-digitized at the new size.
Limitations of the DST format
| Limitation | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| No thread colors | Colors on screen are defaults. Thread from a color sheet. |
| No needle assignment | The operator sets the needle for each color block. |
| No trim command | Trims depend on the jump-count setting matching how the file was written. |
| Stop and color change are one command | Pauses for appliqué or foam look like color changes. |
| No design objects | No satin columns, fills or lettering to edit, only stitches. |
| 12.1 mm per record | Longer stitches and travels are split into several records or jumps. |
| No thumbnail image | Previews are drawn by the software from the stitches.[1] |
None of these make DST a bad format. It is a lean format, and all of the software and machines covered in this guide can work with it. They do mean a DST should travel with a color sheet and, ideally, with the working file kept on record.
DST vs PES
PES is the format used by Brother and Baby Lock machines, and it is the one people most often compare with DST. Format references describe PES as a hybrid: a design section used by software, plus a PEC section with the machine commands, colors and a small preview image for the machine.[15]
| Feature | DST | PES |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Tajima | Brother |
| Typical machines | Tajima machines, and other machines whose manuals list DST | Brother and Baby Lock machines |
| Stitch data | Yes | Yes |
| Thread colors | No (standard DST) | Yes; real thread colors from PES version 5 onward[12] |
| Trims | A run of jumps, read according to a machine setting | Its machine section (PEC) has its own trim command[19] |
| Preview image for the machine | No | Yes, in the PEC section |
| Versions | Essentially one | Several, from version 1 to 6 (including 2.5, 5.5 and 5.6); the PEC section is kept the same across versions[15] |
| Editable objects | No | No (machine use); edit in the working file |
The stitches are the same kind of data in both. A well-digitized design should sew the same way from either file on a machine that reads it, provided the machine's settings, such as its DST trim setting, match how the file was written. The main difference is what surrounds the stitches. Brother machines can read DST too (Brother's manual and support pages cover how its machines display it and handle its trims[13][14]), but you lose the stored colors and need to set them yourself.
PES versions can cause trouble with older equipment and software. Embrilliance explains that PES version 5 added real thread colors, and that older software simply cannot open those version 5 files
, which is why its software can save an older version.[12] If a machine rejects a PES, the version is one of the first things to check.
Which format should you ask for?
Ask for the format your machine's manual lists, not the one that seems more popular. DST is the natural choice for Tajima machines and for other machines that list it; PES is native to Brother and Baby Lock, so it keeps colors on their screens. Other machine brands have their own native formats, and the manual is the reliable reference. If you run a mixed shop, ask for each format from the same digitized source so they sew alike, and tell your digitizer the machine brand and model.
What file conversion can and cannot do
Because DST and the other machine formats all hold stitches, software can translate one into another. What survives depends on what each format can hold.
- Stitches: transfer, although a converter may split long stitches or travels to fit the target format's limits, such as DST's 12.1 mm per record.[2]
- Colors into DST: lost, because DST has nowhere to keep them. Embrilliance notes that after conversion
A human needs to adjust the colors in the new format.
[11] - Colors out of DST: invented. A PES made from a DST gets default colors until someone sets the real ones.
- Trims into DST: rewritten as runs of jumps. Converters let you choose how many, because machines differ in how many jumps they need before they trim.[12]
- Quality: can degrade. Hatch warns that a stitch file converted through several formats may have lost quality or had stitch types converted differently along the way.[10]
If a design sews badly, the problem is in the digitizing: density, underlay, pull compensation or sewing order. That needs editing or re-digitizing, not file conversion.
How to open or inspect a DST file
You need software that understands embroidery formats. The main options:
- Embroidery digitizing or editing software. Wilcom, for example, says its applications open many popular machine file formats,[5] and its documentation covers working with DST files specifically.[3][4] Such programs show the stitches, size and color changes.
- Ink/Stitch. This free, open-source extension for the Inkscape drawing program lists DST among the formats it can read and write. It opens embroidery files for point-by-point editing rather than as editable shapes.[16][17]
- The machine itself. If the machine lists DST as a supported format, it will show a preview and the design's size on its screen.
DST inspection checklist
Before a new DST goes into production, check:
| Check | Where to look | Warning sign | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width and height | The size shown by your software or machine (from the header extents) | Not the size you ordered, or larger than your hoop or sewing field | Ask for the file at the right size rather than scaling it |
| Stitch count | The software or machine readout | Above your machine's limit (for example 500,000 stitches per pattern on the Brother machine cited here[13]) | Ask for a lighter version, or split the design |
| Color blocks | The color-change list (blocks = color changes + 1) | The number of blocks does not match the color sheet | Match each block to a thread, and ask which color changes are pauses rather than thread changes |
| Thread colors | The color sheet | No color sheet was supplied | Ask for one; the file cannot tell you |
| File history | Ask where the file came from | It has been converted through several formats | Ask for a file exported from the original working file[10] |
DST delivery checklist
A DST leaves a lot to the machine and the operator, so the information that travels with it matters as much as the file. A practical split:
| The customer or decorator tells the digitizer | The digitizer supplies with the DST |
|---|---|
| Machine brand and model, and the format it reads | The DST (and any other format agreed) |
| Finished size, placement and garment or fabric | The finished size the file was built for |
| Thread colors or color references | A color sheet listing the thread for each color block, in order |
| The machine's DST trim setting, if known | The trim setting used when the file was exported |
| Any planned extras, such as appliqué or 3D puff | Which color changes are pauses, not thread changes (placement, foam) |
| Whether other sizes may be needed later | Confirmation that the working file is kept on record |
Common DST compatibility problems
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| The machine does not show the file | The machine does not support DST, or it cannot read the file name, folder or USB drive | The manual's list of supported formats and its USB rules. Brother's manual for one model, for example, specifies FAT32 drives and recommends file and folder names using only letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores[13] |
| Missing or unexpected trims | The machine's jump-to-trim setting does not match how the file was written | The machine's DST trim setting and the digitizer's export setting[14] |
| Thin, gappy or very dense stitching after resizing | A stitch-only file scaled too far | Get the design resized in the working file or re-digitized |
| A converted PES will not open on an older machine | PES version too new for the machine or software | Save to an older PES version, or ask for one |
Worked example: diagnosing a problem DST (hypothetical)
This example is illustrative. It was not sewn on a machine, and the numbers are assumptions chosen to show the reasoning.
Assumptions: a shop receives a lettering logo as a DST with a color sheet listing three threads. The digitizer's software wrote each trim as 2 jumps. The shop's Brother multi-needle machine is at its factory setting of 3 jumps per trim.
- The screen shows four color blocks in odd colors. The odd colors are expected: DST stores no colors, so the machine shows its defaults.[13] Four blocks against three threads means one thread is used twice, or one color change is a pause rather than a thread change. The color sheet's block order settles it.
- The sew-out has loose threads running between the letters. The file signals trims with 2 jumps, but the machine only trims after 3, and Brother says a shorter run is sewn as a jump stitch instead of a trim.[14] Setting the machine to match the file, or asking for the file to be exported to match the machine, fixes it.
- The lettering looks fine otherwise. Nothing here needs re-digitizing. Both problems come from information that a DST does not carry.
When a design needs digitizing instead of conversion
Conversion is the right job when you already have a good stitch file and only need it in another format your machine reads. Work through these questions in order; the first "yes" decides it.
If you are not sure which you need, send the file and tell us your machine. Our file conversion service reviews the file first and says whether conversion is enough or the design needs digitizing.
DST file FAQs
Can every embroidery machine read DST files?
No. Tajima machines read DST, and machines from other makers, such as Brother, list it too, but each machine reads only the formats its maker supports. Check the manual or the formats the machine shows when you browse a USB drive.
Can I convert a JPG or PNG to DST?
Not by conversion. An image has to be digitized: someone plans the stitch types, directions, density and sewing order for the size and fabric. Automatic tools exist, but they still need those decisions made or checked for a file to sew well.
Why are the colors wrong when I open a DST?
Because standard DST stores no thread colors. The software or machine fills in its own default colors. Use the color sheet that came with the file.
Can I edit a DST file?
You can move, delete or edit individual stitches in embroidery software, and some programs try to rebuild objects from the stitches. For real edits, such as changing lettering, resizing a lot or changing density, the working file or re-digitizing gives much better results.
What is the difference between DST and TBF?
Both are Tajima formats. Wilcom describes TBF as a more intelligent format that holds needle addressing information, which plain DST does not.[3] Use TBF only if your machine and workflow are set up for it.
Is a DST file the same as an AutoCAD DST file?
No. AutoCAD uses .dst for sheet set files, which have nothing to do with embroidery.[18] If a .dst file came from an architect or engineer, it is likely the AutoCAD kind.
Need a DST in another format?
Send the file with your machine brand and model. We check it before converting and tell you if it needs digitizing instead.
Sources
Technical statements in this article were checked against these sources on November 12, 2026. Recommendations from different makers vary; where they disagree, the article says so.
- Embroidery format DST — EduTech Wiki, University of Geneva. Header fields, 3-byte records, 121-unit limit, stop/color change, trims, no colors or thumbnails
- pyembroidery (README) — EmbroidePy, open-source embroidery library. 0.1 mm units; 12.1 mm maximum stitch length for DST
- Working with Tajima embroidery machines — Wilcom. DST has no thread colors or needle assignment; TBF holds needle addressing
- Colors in machine files — Wilcom Help Center
- Understanding embroidery files — Wilcom Help Center. Machine files vs EMB; about ±10% resizing limit
- Stitch & jump length settings — Wilcom EmbroideryStudio online help. Ternary 12.1 mm vs binary 12.7 mm
- Trim functions — Wilcom EmbroideryStudio online help
- Boring output — Wilcom EmbroideryStudio online help. DST needle bar sequence set by the operator
- Reassigning colors to machine files — Wilcom EmbroideryStudio online help
- What to do when stitch files do not resize correctly — Hatch Embroidery Help
- Machine embroidery software basics — Embrilliance
- File Conversion (Embrilliance Platform help) — Embrilliance. PES version 5 colors; DST jump-to-trim translation
- Operation Manual: Specifications — Brother (support.brother.com). One Brother model: DST display colors, file names, FAT32, stitch limit
- Specifying jumpstitch trimming or DST jump codes for trimming (PR1050X) — Brother support, FAQ faqh00100561_000. DST jump codes converted to trims; 1–8, default 3; mismatch causes wrong trims
- Embroidery format PES — EduTech Wiki, University of Geneva
- File formats — Ink/Stitch documentation
- Import and export files — Ink/Stitch documentation
- .DST file extension — FileInfo.com. Other uses of the .dst extension (AutoCAD sheet sets)
- Embroidery format PEC — EduTech Wiki, University of Geneva. PEC jump, trim, color change and end commands
