Free · no account to convert · nothing to install

DST to EXP converter

Turn a Tajima DST into a Melco-ready EXP. Lossless, free, and it shows you the design before you download.

Drop your DST here, or browse

How it works

DST to EXP, and what actually happens

Both of these are stitch files: they already hold finished needle positions. Converting between them rewrites the container rather than re-digitizing anything, so the stitches, their order and the colour stops come out exactly as they went in.

DST is the industrial standard. It stores stitches but not colours — the machine works from a thread chart rather than from the file — which is exactly why almost everything can read it. EXP is the Melco and Bernina format: a lean stitch-and-command file that leaves colour to the accompanying chart.

It also means a conversion cannot repair a design. If it stitches badly in one format it will stitch badly in the other — the density, underlay and sequencing are baked into the stitches themselves.

The EXP written here is a real machine file for Melco and Bernina machines. As with any digitized design, test-stitch on scrap with the same stabilizer before you commit to the final piece.

Does converting DST to EXP change the design?
No. Both formats store finished stitches, so this rewrites the file container and leaves every needle position, colour stop and trim exactly where it was.
Is it free?
Converting and previewing are free and need no account. Downloading the converted file needs a free account, which also costs nothing.
Will the EXP keep my thread colours?
EXP is the Melco and Bernina format: a lean stitch-and-command file that leaves colour to the accompanying chart. Colours carried by the source file come through with it.
Why does my machine reject a file that converted fine?
Usually hoop size rather than format: the design may simply be larger than the hoop you have selected. Check the design's dimensions against your hoop before blaming the file.

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