What is a PES file? Brother's embroidery format explained

A PES file is a machine embroidery design in Brother’s format. Brother and Baby Lock machines read it, it’s the format most home embroiderers use, and nearly every design you buy comes with a PES file in the download. Unlike some formats, it keeps the design’s thread colors.

The short answer

	PES
Made by	Brother
Read by	Brother and Baby Lock machines, and all major embroidery programs
Stores	Stitches, jumps, trims, color changes, thread colors and names, a preview, the design’s name
Comes in	Several versions, from 1 to 10
File ending	.pes

To look inside a file right now, open it in the free PES file viewer. It runs in your browser and never uploads the file.

What’s inside a PES file

A PES file is really two files in one.

The PES part comes first and describes the design. It starts with a version mark, such as #PES0001 for version 1 or #PES0060 for version 6. Newer versions store more here:

• the design’s name, and sometimes its category, author and notes
• from version 5: a thread list with each thread’s color, name, catalog number and brand
• from version 9: the name of the hoop the design was made for

The PEC part follows and holds what the machine actually sews:

• every stitch, jump, trim and color change
• a short name, with room for 8 characters, for the machine’s screen
• the colors as positions in Brother’s built-in thread palette
• small black-and-white preview pictures for the machine’s screen

Older machines skip the PES part and read only the PEC part, which is why even a recent PES file usually still opens on an older Brother.

PES versions

Brother’s software has saved PES in many versions over the years, from version 1 up to version 10. The stitches are stored the same way in all of them. What changes is the design information in the PES part, such as the thread list in version 5 and later.

That’s why a newer PES file sometimes doesn’t open on an old machine or in old software, while an older version works everywhere. Embroidery programs let you choose the version when you save. The free embroidery file converter on this site writes PES version 6.

How thread colors work in PES

PES files store colors twice:

• in the PES part (version 5 and later), as the exact colors and thread names the designer chose, for example “Rose pink” from a particular thread range
• in the PEC part, as the nearest colors from Brother’s palette, which is all an older machine knows

So a viewer or newer machine shows the designer’s colors, while an older machine may show something close. Either way, the color sequence is right, and the thread names tell you what to load. The thread color converter finds the closest Brother palette color for any color, and the matching Janome and Husqvarna Viking threads.

What is a PEC file?

A PEC file is the PEC part of a PES file on its own. Older Brother machines and embroidery cards used it. It has the stitches and Brother palette colors, but not the thread list. The viewer and converter open PEC files too.

PES compared with DST and JEF

	PES	DST	JEF
Made for	Brother, Baby Lock	Tajima and commercial machines	Janome, Elna
Thread colors	Yes, with names (version 5 and later)	No, color stops only	Yes, from Janome’s thread range
Trims	Trim command	As a run of jumps	Trim command
Preview on the machine	Yes	No	No

The stitches themselves convert between all three without changing. More on that in what is a DST file and which embroidery file format your machine uses.

How to open a PES file

You don’t need Brother software to look at a PES file:

1. Open the PES file viewer in your browser.
2. Drop the PES file on the page, or choose it from your device. A ZIP works too.
3. Check the size, the thread colors and the stitch count, and choose your hoop to see if it fits.
4. Use the sew-out slider to watch the stitching order, or print a production sheet with the color sequence.

How to convert a PES file

Use the embroidery file converter to turn PES into DST, JEF, VP3, EXP or XXX. Every stitch is kept and the new file is checked against the PES before you download it. Colors can change: DST and EXP store none, and JEF only allows Janome’s thread colors, so the nearest ones are used. How to convert PES to DST, JEF and other embroidery files explains what to expect.

Starting from a vector logo or drawing instead? The SVG to PES converter stitches it automatically and saves a PES file with your drawing’s colors.

PES file not showing on your machine?

• It’s too big. Brother machines hide designs bigger than the largest hoop they take. Check the size in the viewer.
• It’s in the wrong place. Many machines only look at the top level of a USB stick, or in one folder. Check your manual.
• The name is too long or has unusual characters. Rename it to something short and plain.
• It’s still zipped. Unzip the download first and copy the .pes file itself.
• It’s a newer version than the machine knows. Save it again as PES from the converter or your software.