Digitize every logo in-house, checked before the needle moves.

Every logo you send to a digitizer costs from US$7.50 and a wait. Motifab makes the machine file at your desk, checks every stitch against the artwork and shows you what to fix. Each feature below is shown on a real file, with the numbers Motifab sets and measures.

Try Motifab free for 15 days See every tool, one line each

No card, nothing charged when it ends · then €149 a year

Founding price: €99 your first year, then €149 a year for as long as you stay subscribed. Ends 31 January 2027.

10 machine formats written, 40 opened
69 hoops in 13 machine families
10 garments, each with its own values
151 Motifab Fonts for lettering

New DTF prints that look embroidered

Macro photo illustration of the Bridge Bakery sample, made from Motifab’s file: the serif B and r in black satin that turns with every stroke, on cream twill — The B and r of the Bridge Bakery sample: 540 needle points across 23 mm, in satin that turns with every stroke. Photo illustration made from Motifab’s file.Point at the thread to look closer.Tap the photo to look closer.

Digitize

From the customer’s logo to stitches you can change, at your own desk.

Auto Digitizer

The logo in, a machine file out, usually in under half a minute.

No fee per logo and no waiting for a digitizer. Open the logo and answer what a digitizer would ask: where it goes, the garment, the colours, how the lettering should be embroidered. Motifab grades the file first, traces it, picks satin or fill for each part, sets underlay, density and pull compensation for the garment, then runs Fix all and Quality before the design opens.

Motifab’s editor: the parts list, the tool palette and the Alto Coffee sample embroidered on the canvas.

93/ 105real logos came out acceptable for a branding shop: 51 as they were, 42 after a small edit.
62/ 105were done in under 30 seconds, on a laptop busy with other work.
3photos and screenshots were refused in under a second, each with the reason.

Our test of 16 October 2026: 105 real logos at 90 mm on a white T-shirt, Fix all applied, no hand edits, each judged by eye from Motifab’s simulated stitches, not from stitch-outs.

Stitch types and tools

When the first pass isn’t the last, the fix is one key away.

The Auto Digitizer uses the same stitches you draw by hand, with the garment’s values. Change any part with the tools on the left; each has its key.

Macro photo illustration of the Alto Coffee sample: the outer ring in satin, its stitches across the column, and tatami fill inside, dark brown on beige twill — **Satin.** The ring of the Alto Coffee sample on twill, with tatami inside it: 765 needle points in 25 mm. Satin runs from 0.8 mm wide to the garment’s limit; wider, its stitches split and scatter. Photo illustration made from Motifab’s file.

Macro photo illustration of tatami fill from the FC Aurora sample: red rows at an angle, the needle points staggered from row to row — **Fill.** Tatami of the FC Aurora sample on woven sportswear: rows 0.40 mm apart, stitches up to 4.0 mm, the needle points staggered from row to row. Photo illustration made from Motifab’s file.

Motifab’s tool palette: Select, Edit, Stitches, Vectorize, Knife, Fill, Satin, Block, Run, Text, Monogram and Patch.

The tools, with their keys

S Satin: Columns with rails; satin, E, S or zig-zag.
F Fill: Tatami by default; contour, circular, meander and more, at any angle.
B Block: Auto block proposes the pairs, the order, entry and exit; nothing changes until you accept.
R Run: 1.5 mm stitches; bean for a heavier line.
K Knife: Cuts straight or on an arc, suggests where, and overlaps the seam so no fabric shows.
⇧W Vectorize: Traces every shape of the logo at once, then proposes the cuts a master digitizer would make.
Y Magic Wand: Click one shape of the logo or photo to trace just that shape.
D Stitch direction: A dial turns only the stitches inside a part; ⇧ for 15° steps.
⇧S Edit stitches: Move, delete or add single stitches: to fix a customer’s DST or PES.

Segment stitches every possible construction of a part, compares them with Quality and proposes the simplest that stitches best. Every tool keeps the original: Restore original takes you back.

Underlay and pull compensation

The same logo stays sharp on a T-shirt, a towel and a cap.

Thread pulls the fabric in as it is stitched, and soft fabric moves under the needle. Motifab sets the underlay and widens each satin for the garment: more on a knit, a heavier base on pile, fewer holes in leather. Ten garments, each with its own values.

Macro photo illustration of the letters FC of the FC Aurora sample, left as fabric inside the red fill — 25 mm round the letters FC of the FC Aurora sample. Drag the line: on its left, the runs along each edge and the tatami underlay that hold the fabric before the red fill lands. Photo illustration made from Motifab’s file.

25 mm round the letters FC of the FC Aurora sample. Drag the line: on its left, the runs along each edge and the tatami underlay that hold the fabric before the red fill lands. Photo illustration made from Motifab’s file.

Four underlays: centre walk, edge walk, zigzag, and tatami underlay under fills.
Lettering gets its underlay by letter height: none under 6 mm, a centre walk to 10 mm, an edge walk above.
Pull compensation rises with a satin’s width; lettering keeps a lighter range so text keeps its weight.
Change the garment later and Quality checks the parts again; Fix all adjusts them.

Where Motifab starts, garment by garment, in mm

Garment	Satin			Satin underlay starts at a column width of			Fill
Garment	Satin limit	Pull compensation per side	Lettering	Centre walk from	Edge walk from	Zigzag from	Fill row	Fill underlay
T-shirt cotton jersey	7	0.30–0.45	0.20–0.30	1.0	2.0	3.5	0.40	2 × 2.5 mm
Polo piqué	7	0.25–0.40	0.20–0.30	1.0	2.0	4.0	0.40	2 × 2.5 mm
Hoodie fleece	6	0.35–0.50	0.25–0.35	1.0	1.8	3.0	0.38	2 × 2.0 mm
Sport woven polyester	8	0.15–0.30	0.15–0.30	1.5	2.5	4.5	0.40	1 × 2.5 mm
Workwear twill	8	0.15–0.25	0.15–0.25	1.5	2.5	5.0	0.40	1 × 3.0 mm
Denim denim	8	0.15–0.25	0.15–0.25	1.5	2.5	5.0	0.40	1 × 3.0 mm
Cap cap	7	0.25–0.35	0.20–0.30	1.2	2.0	4.0	0.40	1 × 2.0 mm
Towel towel	6	0.40–0.50	0.30–0.40	1.0	1.8	3.0	0.37	2 × 1.8 mm
Jacket softshell	7	0.20–0.35	0.20–0.30	1.0	2.0	4.0	0.40	1 × 2.0 mm
Leather leather, vinyl	8	0.10–0.20	0.10–0.20	2.0	3.0	6.0	0.40	1 × 3.5 mm

Starting values from the trade’s published standards, not yet confirmed by stitch-outs on every fabric: on a new fabric, stitch out a test first. Fill underlay: layers × row spacing.

Lettering and Names

Lettering that stays readable, and a whole team’s names in one go.

Type in one of 151 Motifab Fonts, digitized by hand for embroidery, or in any font on your computer. Motifab stitches each stroke as its own satin column, straight, on an arc or along a path, from 2 to 300 mm tall.

Macro photo illustration of the letters G and E from the Pine Ridge Outdoor sample: each stroke a satin column in dark green, turning round the curves — G and E of the Pine Ridge Outdoor lettering on fleece: 528 needle points, each stroke its own satin column, turning with the letter. Photo illustration made from Motifab’s file.

Monogram: one to three initials, classic, stacked, round or block, in a frame, a laurel or a flourish.
It warns when letters are too small for the font and the fabric: on a knit, 5 mm for sans, 6 mm for serif, 8 mm for script.
Names: one list, one machine file for each name, in the text’s font, size and place.
Many commercial fonts don’t allow embroidery: check a font’s licence before you sell with it.

Patches and appliqué

Patches and appliqué to sell, with the machine’s stops in place.

Build a patch round any design, or stitch down a piece of fabric instead of a large fill, with under half the stitches of tatami.

Appliqué, as the machine embroiders it

1
Placement run
2
Stop: lay the fabric
3
Zigzag tack-down
4
Stop: trim
5
Satin cover, 3 mm

Pieces in one colour make one set: four letters stop twice, not eight times.

Patches: circle, oval, rectangle or shield, from 20 to 400 mm.
A satin edge of 2 to 8 mm, or a merrow edge: a run marks the cut line and the art stays 4 mm inside.
Cut files at 1:1: SVG for lasers, DXF for plotters.
Printed patches: the print runs 2 mm past the cut line, with registration marks.

Check

What a customer would reject, found before the machine starts.

Quality and Fix all

Catch what a customer would reject before the needle moves.

Quality draws every stitch as 0.4 mm thread over the original logo, for the garment and machine you chose, and looks for what a customer would see: bare fabric, lost details, closed openings, parts not stitched at all.

The Quality panel on the Lakeside sample.

On the FC Aurora sample

78 out of 100, with 8 notes. The two largest:

The counters inside both A’s and both R’s are 1.5–2.8 mm², one a fill only 0.82 mm thick, one a satin narrowing to 0.1 mm: right for the artwork, too fine for thread at 90 mm.
In both R’s the satin pivots on one needle hole, and the star’s points narrow to 0.38 mm: Motifab marks each one for a second look.

What it reports, in the app’s words

Geometry · MeasuredFabric shows inside a part: 4 mm² bare is critical.
Density · PredictedNeedle hits in 1 mm²: heavy at 14, critical at 22 on a T-shirt.
Settings · PredictedPull compensation 0.1 mm on a T-shirt: use 0.3 mm.
Small details · PredictedText 2.9 mm tall is small to embroider.
Machine · PredictedA stitch longer than the machine takes: 12.1 mm.

Measured: counted on the real stitches. Predicted: a risk judged from the settings.

A score out of 100 in six parts: Geometry, Settings, Density, Stitch order, Small details and Machine. Any critical problem keeps it under 60.
46 checks, from five written standards for satin, tatami, lettering, structure and block.
Fix all safe problems changes stitch settings and stitch order, never shapes, checks again up to four times, and is one undo step.
Export asks first when a design has a critical problem.

Quality is an estimate before production. In our grading its line at 60 was right for 91 of 102 designs, so a new customer’s logo still deserves a test stitch-out.

Simulator and preview

Watch it embroider before you spend a garment on it.

The simulator plays the stitches in the order the machine stitches them. Press Embroider, or drag through this file, to see how Motifab built it: the underlay first, then each colour, part by part.

The Lakeside Swim Club sample embroidered from Motifab’s file: 13,313 stitches in four colours on a towel.

Stitches: 13,313 / 13,313
Thread: 4 of 4
Run time: 16:38 / 16:38

Run time at 800 stitches a minute, as Motifab estimates it.

Space plays at 1×, 5×, 25× or 100×; ← and → step one stitch.
X-ray shows each stitch by its role: top, underlay, travel and lock.
Lines, Thread and Realistic looks; jumps, trims, the hoop and a grid on or off; rulers and guides that parts snap to.
The canvas is the garment: its fabric, its colour and the hoop with its embroidery field. Mockup shows the design on a T-shirt, polo, hoodie, jacket, cap or tote, to send the customer.

Hand off

The file for the machine, the print for DTF and the paperwork that gets the order signed.

Machine files

What you approved on screen is what the machine stitches.

After writing a file, Motifab reads it back with its own readers and compares it with the screen. If anything differs, the file isn’t saved and the old one stays.

Written for your machine

DST: Tajima, Ricoma, SWF, Happy and most commercial machines
U01: Barudan
PES: Brother PR
EXP: Melco, Bernina
JEF: Janome
VP3: Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff
XXX: Singer
DSB: Barudan, Ricoma, ZSK
TAP: Happy
PEC: Brother home machines and cards, Pfaff

What each format keeps Your machine, its hoops and its file

What the read-back compares

Every needle point, each within 0.06 mm of the screen
Every thread change and needle
Every trim and stop
The header the machine reads: stitch count, colours, extents and label
The thread names, where the format keeps them

In our release check, 77 of 77 machine files were read back right by independent readers.

And it opens these 40

10010obrodatdsbdstdszemdexpexyfxygthusinbjefjpxksmmaxmitnewpcdpcmpcqpcspecpesphbphcsewshvspxstcstxtaptbfu01vp3xxxzhszxy

Opens 40 machine-file formats as a design you can recolour, move or add a name to.
13 machine families, each with its needles and longest stitch, 12.1 mm.
69 hoops: round from 9 to 30 cm, rectangles up to 40 × 50 cm, cap frames, and your own.
The smallest hoop that fits is picked for you, or a 90° turn suggested. A design larger than the hoop is split into hoopings, each its own file, with alignment marks.

DTF printNew

Sell the embroidered look without an embroidery machine.

DTF print, beside Export, makes a print file for DTF that looks embroidered: Ultra realistic, a photo of real embroidery that Motifab AI makes from the logo, or Standard, drawn from the design’s own stitches. Only the logo, on a clear background: print it on film and press it like any transfer, no embroidery machine needed.

FC Aurora, a sample crest, in the Ultra realistic embroidery look on a clear background: an AI-generated example — FC Aurora, a sample crest, in the Ultra realistic look, on a checkerboard so what is clear shows: an example.

A PNG at 300 or 600 DPI with its size and DPI in the file, a CMYK TIFF with the ISO Coated v2 300 % profile, or a PDF at the exact size; a mockup JPG beside it for the customer.
Every pixel opaque or clear: the RIP lays the white exactly under the thread.
A gang sheet on film 30 to 60 cm wide, or a page of your own up to 5 m long, with cut marks in the margin.
Ultra realistic, an option with Motifab AI: the logo as a photo of real embroidery, checked against your artwork, paid with credits.

The DTF embroidery look, in full

Sheets

Get the customer’s signature before the first stitch.

Every design prints what the customer and the operator need, under your shop’s name and logo: an A4 or Letter PDF each, under 1 MB, named by customer, order and date.

Motifab’s production worksheet for FC Aurora: its size, 11,360 stitches, 3 colours, 14 trims, the DST file, the hoop and the colour sequence by needle — The production worksheet Motifab printed for the FC Aurora sample, every number taken from its stitches.

Approval sheetThe real stitches on the garment’s colour, the size with dimension lines, the threads, your terms and a line to sign.
Production worksheetHoop, needles in stitch order, trims, jumps, stops, run time, fabric, machine file and where to start.
1:1 templatePrint at 100 %, with a cross where the machine starts and a 50 mm ruler to check the scale.
Stitch imageThe real stitches as a transparent PNG at 300 DPI, for mock-ups and quotes.

Around the work

Work that survives a crash, in your operators’ language, with AI only when you ask.

Saving and recovery

A crash never costs you a design.

A shop can’t lose a design at five to closing. A crash, a full disk or a power cut never leaves a half-written file.

What happens when you press Save

1
Written to a temporary file in the same folder
2
Flushed to the disk
3
Moved over the old file
4
The save before kept as .qepe.bak

Unsaved changes are kept as drafts a moment after each change and come back after a crash; drafts stay 30 days.
If the file changed on disk since you opened it, Save asks first.
Several designs open at once in tabs, each with its own 200 steps of undo.

Languages

In the language your operators speak.

Every screen, menu, message and explanation: more than 4,700 texts in each of eight languages. Motifab starts in your computer’s language, and the shop can change any wording to its own.

English
Deutsch
Français
Italiano
Shqip
Türkçe
Srpski
Español

Motifab AI

An assistant on the design, if you want one.

Ask for a change in your own words, or ask for a review: how the design is digitized and what a professional would change. Motifab does everything else on this page without it.

Every AI change goes through Quality and is rolled back when quality would drop; one undo step per run.
Keep the original artwork on this computer, and no picture of the logo is sent.
An add-on paid in AI credits: 1,000 come with each licence year, 300 with the 15-day trial.

What the AI does, and how credits work

Everything else, one line each.

Align and distribute, entry and exit points, several stitch angles in one fill, 75 thread charts and the rest: 138 tools and features on one page.

See all tools

Auto digitizing, in short

How to digitize a logo, step by step

What is auto digitizing?: Auto digitizing turns a logo into embroidery stitches by itself: it traces each shape, chooses satin or fill, sets underlay, density and pull compensation, and orders the stitches. Motifab’s Auto Digitizer does that, then checks the result against the artwork before the design opens.
Is auto digitizing good enough for customers?: In our October 2026 test, 93 of 105 real logos came out acceptable for a branding shop: 51 as they were, 42 after a small edit. Quality shows what to look at, and every part stays editable for the rest.
What makes auto digitizing software good?: Files that stitch out as the screen shows. Motifab scores every design against the artwork, fixes what is safe to fix and reads every machine file back before it is saved, on a Mac or a Windows PC, for €149 a year.
Can I edit what the Auto Digitizer made?: Yes. The result is ordinary satin, fill and lettering parts for every hand tool: satin, fill, block, run, knife, segment, the stitch-direction dial and stitch editing.
Can I try it on real orders before I pay?: Yes. The trial runs 15 days with every tool on and export included, and needs no card. Embroider Motifab’s files on your own machine, deliver the order and get paid before you pay anything. Nothing is charged when the trial ends, and the files you made stay yours.
Is it cheaper than sending logos out?: A digitizing service charges from US$7.50 a logo, most left-chest logos US$7.50 to US$15, and you wait for each one. Motifab is €149 a year for every logo you digitize: about what ten to twenty logos cost sent out.

Embroider your next order before you pay anything.

For 15 days every tool is on and export is included: digitize the logos your customers send, embroider them and get paid. Then €149 a year, the price of 5 hoodies at €30.

Try Motifab free for 15 days See pricing

No card, nothing charged when it ends · then €149 a year

Founding price: €99 your first year, then €149 a year for as long as you stay subscribed. Ends 31 January 2027.

No card needed: Download Motifab and sign in with your e-mail. Nothing is charged when the 15 days end.
Export included: Embroider Motifab’s files on your own machine before you pay; the files you make stay yours. The trial has 300 AI credits.
Mac and Windows: A Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 13 Ventura or later, or a PC with Windows 10 (64-bit) or later.