Embroidery and Illustrator

You can use cheap digitizing services like: Embroidery Digitizing 

You can use Illustrator to create the vector but you will still need an embroidery software,

5 Best Free embroidery software

5 Best Embroidery Software in 2022

Thank you, I am in search for a solution to convert illustrator design to embroidery format design and I got the solution of this problem. Thanks.

Hey folks, 
The easy way to do this using Processing with PEmbroider (to find the code online Google PEmbroider and Golan Levin, the developer). It's free! It saves out for almost all machines. You need minimal coding ability and the example files are really good. You can learn enough processing in a weekend to do it. If anyone is really desperate, you can find me on Twitter or YouTube. I will make a video very soon documenting my process.

If you use illustrator to create paths, you can use those paths, still as vectors, if you import them into inkscape and inkstitch. Thoe are free software tools to create stitch files for a lot of machines.

--- Mats ---

Several embroidery programs can import Illustrator files. However, you then have to "digitize" these, which implies sometimes doing changes in the vector art, e.g. make stuff overlap a bit or kill too tiny vectors. Also, vectors that are not polygons or lines (e.g. objects with holes), may not always work. I.e. I found out that SVG files from the Noun Project - Icons for Everything   are sometimes difficult to digitize despite their simple graphics.

Stitch Era imports Illustrator files nicely through its API, i.e. you must have Illustrator on the same machine. Personally, I rather use SVG since it's an open source format. Stitch Era can be rented for 2 month at about $36. From what I can tell it has all the features of a professional software. However, the program can hang if it encounters weird vectors, typically ones that are produced by tracing raster images like pictures. Clean these first before digitizing and save frequently.

- Daniel

PS: I am neither an expert nor related to Stitch Era, I am just updating some wiki pages and wanted to check if there was progress with converters, i.e. availability of a cheap Illustrator addon. The embroidery software situations is still bleak for people with low budgets. Computerized embroidery - EduTech Wiki .

All embroidery conversion software’s are poorly designed. You have to buy professional embroidery software (expensive) if you wanna digitize yourself.

Because it’s not a conversion process. Actually, embroidery file has commands of embroidery machine processing. That means machine operates according to the digitized instructions.

And I think it’s much better to get work done from a digitizer instead of buying expensive software.

I’m happy by using these guys https://zeedigitizing.com  for my embroidery need. May help

my digitized photo

Yes, you can do this!

i use illustrator to create or convert vector art and save as *.eps.  i have to use a CroelDRAW plug-in called DRAWings to import *.eps files in to for embroidery file creation.  DRAWings will assign base fabric, stitch color, and has tons of options for stitch type, stitch patterns, underlay (bleed), thread color selections, stitch density, and file export types.  Export as *.dst file and send to the embroidery machines.

upgrade pricing is $399, full version is $1799

i did find this illustrator plug in demo, but have not used it...

http://www.embroideryi2.com/adobe/media/videos/i2-vid-01.htm