DST Maker · EMB Pros

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Drop a logo to make a cap DST

PNG, JPG or PDF · or paste with ⌘V · or a .DST file to view and edit

Choose logo

Size on the cap

Area

Width Height in

The logo's own size: change the width and the height follows, in the logo's proportions (and the other way round). An area fits the logo inside it.

Crown

Measured up the front seam from the brim. The design keeps about ½ in clear at the top and bottom, so a 2.5 in crown takes a design about 1.5 in tall.

Turn

For a side logo: turning it 10–15° counters the slope of the cap's side, so it looks straight when worn. Which way depends on the cap and the side: sew one and check.

Sewing starts

Where the first stitches go. At the centre (the cap rule): line by line, the line at the middle of the design first; in each line the middle part, then outwards to the right, then to the left, so the cap is pushed away from the centre seam, not bunched at it. At the bottom: the lowest row first, its middle, then right and left.

Machine start

Where the needle sits when the file starts (the point you set over the cap), and where it returns at the end.

Embroidery

Flat 3D puff

Tack-down underlay

A light grid under the whole design, sewn first: holds a stiff or slippery cap (performance fabric) to its backing.

Fewer stitches

Sparser underlay and fill, for thick caps: "less is more" on a cap.

Threads, in sewing order

Chart

A DST has no colours: each colour block gets a colour here. Pick its thread from the palette, or click the block on the design to move, resize, turn, recolour or delete it.

Each logo colour gets the nearest thread; pick another from the list, or "Don't stitch" to let the cap show through. The arrows change the sewing order (puff colours always sew last).

Stitches

Density

Pull comp.

File

How it is digitized for a cap: sewn from the centre outwards (right and left) and from the bottom up, so the fabric is pushed away from the middle; edge-run and tatami underlay hold the thick fabric; satin only where stitches stay under 5 mm, fill everywhere wider; travel runs under stitches still to come, else the thread is trimmed. Tajima DST, read by Tajima and Happy machines.

Auto-digitized: good for simple logos and text, not as refined as a professional digitizer. Very small text (under 0.25 in) and fine detail need manual digitizing. Sew one cap first, before a full run.