DST File Viewer & Embroidery File Opener.
Your embroidery file, finally visible. Open a DST file and watch the design appear thread by thread — every color, every outline, exactly as the machine will sew it. Check the size, the stitch count, and the color changes before you hoop, and convert the design to the format your machine actually reads.
DST · PES · JEF · VP3 · EXP · XXX | Stitch-by-stitch preview | Size, stitch count, colors, trims | Convert between machine formats | On-device
A DST file is the instruction sheet an embroidery machine reads: every stitch, every jump, every color change, written out in order. It is also the file that arrives by email as an attachment nothing on your phone will open. You can see the name, the size on disk, and nothing else — so you hoop the fabric and find out what the design actually is while the machine is already running.
DST Viewer opens it. The design is drawn stitch by stitch in its own thread colors on a clean deck, at full size, so you see the outline, the fill, and the color order before you commit anything. Playback runs the file like a sewing preview, from the first stitch to the last, which is how you catch a design that starts in the wrong place or carries a color change you were not expecting.
The numbers that decide whether a design is worth sewing are all in the header, and this DST file reader puts them in front of you: finished width and height, total stitch count, the number of colors, and how many trims the file calls for. Fabric, stabilizer, and thread cost money, and a bad file costs an evening — this is the check that saves both.
It is not only a DST file viewer. The same stitch deck opens PES, JEF, VP3, EXP, and XXX, so a design that arrived in one machine's format can be converted to the one your machine reads. And when you have a logo, lettering, or a piece of artwork instead of a stitch file, it can be turned into a ready-to-sew design without leaving your device.
Every machine format, one stitch deck.
Open the file you were sent, then hand it on in the format the next machine needs — a DST file converter and viewer in the same place.
DST — Tajima format
The embroidery format almost every digitizer sends, opened and drawn stitch by stitch in full thread color.
PES, JEF, VP3, EXP, XXX
The other machine formats, on the same deck — so PES to DST and DST to PES are a tap, not a trip to a desktop.
Artwork to stitch file
Turn a logo, lettering, or a PNG or JPG image into a ready-to-sew embroidery design.
Nothing leaves the device
No upload, no account. An online DST viewer wants your client's design on its server; this one does not.
How to open a DST file on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Open the embroidery file
Tap a .dst, .pes, .jef, .vp3, .exp, or .xxx file from the Files app, Mail, a download, AirDrop, or any app that hands you a design.
See every stitch
The design is drawn in its own thread colors at full size, so you can read the outline, the fill, and the color order at a glance.
Play it back before you hoop
Run the design like a sewing preview from the first stitch to the last, and read the size, stitch count, colors, and trims.
Convert to your machine's format
Send the design out in the format your machine reads, or turn a logo or image into a stitch file and take that to the hoop instead.
The DST file format, and the ones beside it.
The Tajima stitch file format — the DST embroidery file digitizers and design shops send most often.
A common home-machine format, opened on the same deck and convertible to DST or back again.
Another home-machine stitch format, drawn in full color with its stitch count and size.
A machine design format opened and converted alongside the rest.
Two more machine formats, so a design you were sent opens whichever way it was saved.
Artwork, a logo, or lettering turned into a ready-to-sew stitch file instead of a picture.
Built for the moment before you hoop.
Stitch-by-Stitch Preview
Watch the design build the way the machine will sew it, from the first stitch to the last, instead of guessing from a thumbnail.
Real Thread Colors
Every color block is drawn in its own thread color, so the color order and the color count are obvious before you thread anything.
The Numbers That Matter
Finished size, total stitch count, number of colors, and trims — the figures that tell you whether a design fits the hoop and the deadline.
Open Any Machine Format
DST, PES, JEF, VP3, EXP, and XXX all open on the same stitch deck, so a design opens whichever machine it was saved for.
Convert Between Formats
Send a design out in the format your machine reads — PES to DST, DST to PES, and the rest — without a desktop digitizing suite.
Artwork to Stitch File
Turn a logo, lettering, or a PNG or JPG image into a stitch file you can take straight to the hoop.
Opens From Anywhere
Files, Mail, AirDrop, a download, or any app that hands you a design — the file opens where it lands, with no export dance first.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac
The same DST file viewer on all three, so the design is readable at the machine, on the sofa, and at the desk.
The design is read and drawn on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Nothing is uploaded, which matters when the file belongs to a client.
No sign-up and no sign-in. Open the embroidery file you were sent and get on with the job.
The original design is never overwritten. Conversions are written out separately, so what the digitizer sent you stays intact.
- Opening a DST embroidery file that arrived by email, on a phone, with no desktop software nearby.
- Checking stitch count and finished size before hooping fabric and stabilizer that cost real money.
- Reading the color order and trims so the thread is ready before the machine starts.
- Converting a design from PES to DST, or DST to PES, for whichever machine is free.
- Turning a customer's logo or lettering into a stitch file without a digitizing suite.
- Checking a design a digitizer sent before paying for it or putting it into production.
- Working out what an unlabelled stitch file actually contains before running it.
Open your first design straight after installing. Everything runs on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac — no account to create, no upload, and nothing about your work leaves the device.
Frequently asked questions about DST files.
What is a DST file?
A DST file is an embroidery stitch file — the Tajima format that tells a machine where to put every stitch, where to jump, and when to change color. It is the DST embroidery file format most digitizers and design shops send.
How do I open a DST file?
Open it with DST Viewer from the Files app, Mail, AirDrop, or a download on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The design is drawn stitch by stitch in full thread color, with its size, stitch count, and colors listed.
What program opens DST files?
On a desktop it usually takes a digitizing suite. On iPhone, iPad, and Mac, DST Viewer opens the file directly — it is a DST file reader and opener rather than a full design studio.
Can I view a DST file without an embroidery machine?
Yes. The whole point is to see the design before it reaches a machine: the outline, the fill, the color order, and the stitch count, at full size on screen.
Which embroidery formats does it open?
DST, PES, JEF, VP3, EXP, and XXX all open on the same stitch deck, so a design opens whichever machine format it was saved in.
Can it convert DST to PES, or PES to DST?
Yes. A design can be converted between the machine formats it supports, so the file you were sent can go to the machine you actually have.
Can I convert a PNG or JPG image to a DST file?
Yes. A logo, lettering, or artwork can be turned into a ready-to-sew stitch file on the device, so an image becomes a design you can hoop.
Is there an online DST file viewer?
Online DST viewers ask you to upload the design to someone else's server. This one reads the file on your own device, which matters when the design belongs to a client.
Does it show the stitch count and size?
Yes. Finished width and height, total stitch count, the number of thread colors, and the trims the file calls for are all shown before you hoop.
Does it work on a Mac?
Yes. DST Viewer runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so the same design is readable at the machine and at the desk.
Open your DST file and see the design.
Every stitch, every thread color, and every number you need before you hoop — plus conversion to the machine format you actually use, on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
DST Viewer is an independent utility from Rush Tools. Embroidery file format names are referenced only to describe file compatibility; this app is not affiliated with or endorsed by any machine or software manufacturer.