FAQ: 2stitchOrganizer

You can try 2stitchOrganizer for 7 days completely free — no credit card required. After the trial, you can subscribe to keep using the full feature set.

Our goal is to deliver high-quality software at a price that everybody can afford.

2stitchOrganizer supports the following embroidery file formats:

• DST — Tajima
• EMD — Elna
• EXP — Melco
• HUS — Husqvarna/Viking
• JEF — Janome, Elna, Kenmore
• PCS — Pfaff
• PEC — Babylock, Brother, Deco
• PES — Babylock, Brother, Deco
• SEW — Janome, Elna, Kenmore
• SHV — Husqvarna Viking
• VIP — Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff
• VP3 — Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff
• XXX — Compucon, Singer

Some embroidery formats don’t store thread colors in the file itself — DST (Tajima) and EXP (Melco) are the main ones. Instead, digitizing software drops a small “sidecar” file next to the design with the palette.

2stitchOrganizer reads all the common sidecar color formats automatically:

• .edr — raw binary, 4 bytes per thread (RGB + padding) — Embird’s palette
• .rgb — same binary layout as .edr
• .col — plain text, count on line 1 then index,R,G,B per line
• .inf — binary with a small header followed by per-thread RGB records

Keep the sidecar file in the same folder as the design, with a matching name (e.g. design.dst + design.edr). When you open the design, the colors appear automatically.

If your DST or EXP came bare with no sidecar (common with free or bargain designs), there’s nothing the viewer can do — the colors simply aren’t there. You’ll see the design in a neutral gray.

We support current versions of Windows (10, 11) and macOS (starting with 13).

No. I really like my tablet, but I can’t imagine working on embroidery designs on such a device. The screen is simply too small for this.

Drag the folder that holds your designs onto the left side panel of 2stitchOrganizer, or click Add folder in the toolbar. Your files stay right where they are — 2stitchOrganizer only reads them, never moves, copies, or changes anything.

See the tutorial for a full walk-through.

2stitchOrganizer is available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese. It picks your computer’s language by default, but you can change it anytime in the preferences:

• Windows: File → Preferences
• Mac: 2stitchOrganizer → Settings

The new language takes effect once you restart the app.

More in the tutorial.

No. 2stitchOrganizer doesn’t convert between embroidery formats — it copies files to your USB stick exactly as they are. Make sure your designs are already in a format your machine can read (PES for Brother, DST for many commercial machines, JEF for Janome, and so on).

Most design packs include several formats — use the file-type filter to find the one that works for your machine.

You can find your data folder in Settings (or Preferences on macOS) — just click Open to see where everything is stored.

To create a backup or transfer your data to another computer:

• File → Create Backup — saves your catalog data to a file
• File → Restore Backup — restores from a previously created backup

This is also the easiest way to move your data to a new computer.

No. 2stitchOrganizer indexes your design folders — it does not copy, move, or modify your files in any way. Your embroidery designs stay exactly where they are on your computer.

This means you are responsible for backing up your design files yourself. If you delete or move the original files, 2stitchOrganizer will no longer be able to find them.

You can manage your subscription, update payment details, or download invoices from the License Manager . Just log in with the email address you used when subscribing.

You can use 2stitchOrganizer on up to 2 computers. The user names on both computers should be the same. If that’s not the case, please send us an email at support-trash@codeandweb.com .

We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee — no questions asked. If you’re not satisfied, just contact us at support-trash@codeandweb.com and we’ll process a full refund.

We released 2stitchOrganizer in 2019 as a free app. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to deliver updates afterwards because we lacked the necessary resources.

We faced a choice: discontinue the Organizer entirely — or introduce a fee that allows us to continue developing the app and deliver regular updates. We chose the latter, so you can continue to benefit from new features and improvements in the future.

Our website only offers downloads starting from version 2.0.0. The old 1.x versions are unfortunately no longer available for download.

All payments are handled by Paddle.com, our Merchant of Record. This means Paddle — not us — processes your credit card and billing information. We never see or store your credit card data. Paddle does give us limited access to purchase records (enough to help with support, refunds, and license management), but never your card details.

Paddle is a trusted payment provider used by thousands of software companies worldwide. Your payment data is safe with them.

For more details, see our license terms .

Unfortunately, no. A downgrade to version 1.x is not possible. We clearly stated in the update dialog that there is no going back to the free version after installation — as shown in the screenshot below.

If you have any questions or need help, you can reach us anytime at support-trash@codeandweb.com .

You can find our End-User License Agreement (EULA) on the license terms page .

My name is Andreas Löw, I am the CEO of a small software company called CodeAndWeb, located in Germany. We develop tools for web and game developers.

My daughter bought an embroidery machine, and I was really disappointed with the software available on the net. It seems that all affordable tools to manage and create embroidery designs are outdated and/or awkward to work with.

All other tools which delivered the functionality I wanted were way out of budget for my daughter - aimed at professional designers.

This is why I decided to create 2stitchOrganizer.

Share. Share. Share.

Please tell your friends about 2stitchOrganizer, post about it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your blog,… whatever you have.

We need a decent community to continue with the work on the tool.

Please contact us at support-trash@codeandweb.com and we’ll do our best to help you.

Make sure you’re on version 2.0.4 or newer — it’s much faster and smoother than earlier 2.x releases, especially on larger libraries. Download the latest version and reinstall; your tags, notes and favorites stay intact.

If it’s still slow after updating, please let us know.

Select the designs you want to copy, plug in your USB stick, then click Transfer to machine in the toolbar. Pick your stick from the list and press Copy.

All designs go to the root of the stick (no subfolders), and file formats aren’t converted — so make sure the files are already in a format your machine reads.

Full walk-through in the tutorial.

The most common cause is the filesystem on the stick. 2stitchOrganizer only lists USB sticks formatted with a filesystem your embroidery machine can also read — specifically FAT, MS-DOS (FAT), or FAT32. exFAT usually works as well.

USB sticks formatted with macOS-only filesystems (APFS, HFS+) or Windows-only filesystems (NTFS) are hidden from the list — embroidery machines can’t read those, so the app won’t offer them.

How to fix it

1. Plug the USB stick into your computer.
2. Back up anything you want to keep — reformatting erases the stick.
3. Reformat the stick as FAT32 (or MS-DOS (FAT) on macOS).
   • macOS: Disk Utility → select the stick → Erase → Format: “MS-DOS (FAT)” → Erase.
   • Windows: File Explorer → right-click the stick → Format → File system: “FAT32” → Start.
4. Plug it back in — it should now appear in the Transfer dialog.

Also check

• The stick is fully plugged in and recognized by your operating system (visible in Finder or File Explorer).
• You haven’t “ejected” the stick from the OS while leaving it plugged in.
• The stick isn’t write-protected (some have a small physical switch).

If none of the above helps, get in touch and we’ll take a look.

Save the new files into a folder 2stitchOrganizer already knows about, then click the Rescan button in the toolbar. 2stitchOrganizer picks up anything new automatically. You only ever add the folder itself once.

More in the tutorial.

Embroidery design packs usually bundle several file formats for the same design — a .pes, .dst, .jef, .exp, and so on — so the pack works across different machine brands. 2stitchOrganizer shows every file by default, which makes it look like duplicates.

Use the file-type filter in the filter bar to show only the format your own machine reads. Nothing gets deleted — the other files stay safely on your computer, just out of view.

See Filtering by file type in the tutorial.

When you change a tag on a design, the center view doesn’t refresh automatically — you’ll still see the designs that were there before. Click the refresh icon in the filter bar to bring it back in sync.

Worth remembering especially when you’re tidying up while filtering by tag. More in the tutorial.

Not right now — 2stitchOrganizer filters by a single tag at a time. Click any tag in the left sidebar to see only the designs that carry it.

If you need a “Christmas and Vintage” style search, a workaround is to combine tags with the text search, or give your most important combinations a dedicated tag of their own.

More about tags in the tutorial.

No — since 2stitchOrganizer never touches your original files, any folder renaming, creating or moving has to happen in Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows). Once you’ve tidied things up there, click Rescan in the toolbar and 2stitchOrganizer will pick up the new structure.

See the Folders section of the tutorial for details.

Not if you do it in the right order. Don’t just remove the old folder and add the new one — that breaks the connection to your tags and notes.

The safe way:

1. Make a backup first (File → Create backup).
2. Add the new folder — drag it onto the left panel, or use Add folder.
3. Wait while 2stitchOrganizer reads the files. It’ll recognize the designs and reconnect your tags and notes.
4. Only then remove the old folder entry.

Full step-by-step in the tutorial.

Three steps:

1. On the old computer, choose File → Create backup and save the .tsb file somewhere you can move it over (USB stick, cloud drive, email — whatever works).
2. Copy your design files to the new computer too. If they’re on an external drive, just plug it in.
3. On the new computer, install 2stitchOrganizer, choose File → Restore backup, open the .tsb file, and add your design folder. Your tags, notes and favorites come along.

.tsb files work on both Mac and Windows, so it doesn’t matter which you’re coming from or going to. More in the tutorial.

Yes. Choose File → Save as PDF… from the menu. You can include your whole library, only what’s currently visible (handy when you’ve filtered by tag or folder), or just your selection. Pick A4 or US Letter and you’re done.

Each page is a neat grid showing the preview, filename and size of every design. There’s also File → Print catalog… if you’d rather print straight to paper.

More in the tutorial.

2stitchOrganizer itself only runs on Windows and Mac — there’s no tablet app. But if you’d like to browse your designs on your iPad or tablet while you’re away from the computer, export your library as a PDF catalog (File → Save as PDF…) and open it on your device. The catalog shows a preview, filename and size for every design.

See Saving your library as a PDF catalog in the tutorial.