1. Skim for unfamiliar terms
Read through once — anywhere you go huh?, pause and read carefully. Most terms appear in multiple tutorials, so the early effort pays off.
StitchPilot.aiReference · Glossary
Embroidery 101 — The Beginner Glossary
Embroidery vocabulary is dense. Forums and tutorials assume you know what satin stitch underlay means or what a pull compensation value does. This glossary defines every term a beginner needs — files, stitches, machine parts, supplies, and processes — in plain English with no jargon-on-jargon.
How to use this glossary
2. Bookmark and come back
Refer back whenever a tutorial uses a term you do not recognize. Within a month, most terms will be second nature.
3. Pair with hands-on practice
Reading definitions only goes so far — running a few projects makes terms like registration and pull compensation click instantly.
4. Ignore terms not relevant to you
Commercial digitizing has hundreds of obscure terms. Beginners only need ~40 of them. We have prioritized the essentials here.
Files and formats
Embroidery file vocabulary
Common file-related terms:
- Embroidery file: a digital design containing stitches, colors, and machine instructions
- PES, DST, JEF, VP3, EXP, HUS: machine-specific file formats (Brother, Tajima, Janome, Husqvarna, Melco, Husqvarna respectively)
- Digitizing: converting an image or vector into an embroidery file — the manual or AI process
- Stitch count: total number of stitches in a design — directly affects time and thread usage
- Color stops: points where the machine pauses for you to change thread
Stitches and structure
Stitch vocabulary
How embroidery is built:
- Running stitch: a single line of stitches — used for outlines and travel
- Satin stitch: tightly packed zigzag stitches — for borders, lettering, narrow shapes
- Fill stitch (tatami): rows of stitching that fill an area — for backgrounds and large shapes
- Underlay: light stitches stabilizing fabric before the visible top stitches
- Pull compensation: extending shapes slightly to counteract fabric pulling
- Density: how close together stitches are packed (higher = more coverage, more thread)
Machine and supplies
Equipment vocabulary
Physical things in the embroidery room:
- Hoop: the rectangular/round frame holding fabric tight during stitching
- Stabilizer: backing material added to fabric for support (cut-away, tear-away, water-soluble)
- Bobbin: the spool of thread in the lower compartment forming the underside of stitches
- Tension: the force on top and bobbin threads — affects stitch quality
- Needle: embroidery-specific needles in various sizes (11, 14, 16, 18)
- Multi-needle machine: commercial machine with 4-15 needles, eliminating manual color changes
Embroidery 101 glossary — common questions
What is digitizing in embroidery?
Digitizing is the process of converting an image, logo, or vector into a machine-readable embroidery file (PES, DST, JEF, VP3). Traditional digitizing uses software like Wilcom Hatch; AI digitizing (StitchPilot.ai, others) does it automatically from any image.
What is a satin stitch?
A satin stitch is tightly packed zigzag stitches creating a smooth shiny surface. Used for borders, lettering, narrow shapes. Most embroidery look comes from well-executed satin stitches.
What does underlay mean in embroidery?
Underlay is light preliminary stitching that stabilizes the fabric before the visible top stitches. It anchors the fabric, prevents distortion, and produces cleaner top coverage. All quality digitizing includes proper underlay.
What is stitch density?
Stitch density is how closely stitches are packed. Higher density = more coverage and thread use but risks fabric distortion. Lower density = lighter look and fabric showing through. Density is one of the main knobs in digitizing.
What is the difference between embroidery and quilting?
Embroidery decorates fabric with thread designs (logos, monograms, art). Quilting joins multiple fabric layers with stitched patterns — usually decorative but structural. Both can be done on the same machine for some quilting embroidery machines, but they are different crafts.
See digitizing happen
Watch your image become an embroidery file
The fastest way to understand digitizing is to see it work — upload an image to StitchPilot.ai and watch the file appear.
Try AI digitizing →