What happens to your PES file
Moving Brother designs to a Singer machine. The stitches do not change, and colours from a PES thread list carry over as real values. XXX cannot hold thread names, so the run sheet is the place to keep them.
| Stitch positions | Identical, to 0.1 mm |
|---|---|
| Colour stops | Same number, same order |
| Thread colours | Carried exactly |
| Size and density | Unchanged |
Thread colours
PES holds a slot in a fixed chart, and XXX stores real colour values. The chart colour is carried across as an exact value, so the XXX file looks the same as the PES preview.
Long moves
XXX moves at most 12.3 mm per record, against 204.7 mm in PES. Longer moves are split into a chain of jumps, and a stitch longer than 12.3 mm becomes jumps followed by one stitch. Every needle point stays in the same place.
Trims
XXX has a real trim command, so cuts carry across as cuts.
Before you stitch
- Open the .pes file above and watch it sew, so you know the file is sound and in the order you expect.
- Choose your hoop under Hoop fit. The check uses the design's real size, not the file's header.
- Download the .xxx file, and stitch a test piece on matching fabric and stabiliser.
Converting doesn't resize a design or change its density. If a design needs to be much bigger or smaller, use digitising software, as stretching stitches without recalculating them can leave gaps or heavy spots.
About PES
PES is the Brother and Baby Lock format and probably the most common home embroidery file. Inside it is a PEC block, which is the part the machine actually sews, and in newer versions a list of exact thread colours for design software.
On the machine itself, anything beyond the Brother chart: its screen shows the nearest of those 64 colours.
About XXX
XXX is the Singer format. It has a 256 byte header, then stitch records, then a table of real colours after the end marker.
The XXX file is for Singer machines and the software that shipped with them. Singer machines that read XXX.
Singer home machines have long, narrow hoops on several models, so check both the width and height.