You load a DST file and the screen shows a bright green logo that should be navy and gold. Or the machine stops for a "colour change" in the middle of what should be one colour. This is one of the most common questions we get, and the good news is that the file is almost never broken. The colours are wrong because of how the DST format works. Here's what's going on and how to get the right colours stitching every time.
Why DST files show the wrong colours
DST is the Tajima format, built for commercial multi-needle machines. It records needle positions plus a few commands: stitch, jump, colour change and end. What it does not record is which thread colour belongs to each section. A DST file knows when to change thread, but not what to change it to.
So when you open a DST in software or on a home machine, the program has to make something up. It fills each colour block from its own default palette, usually in a fixed order. That's why the same DST can look green and red in one program and blue and yellow in another. The stitches are identical; only the preview colours differ.
EXP (Melco) works the same way. Some EXP files come with a small .INF file alongside them that holds colour information; if that file gets separated, the colours are lost.
Formats that do store colours
Home-machine formats such as PES (Brother/Baby Lock), JEF (Janome), VP3 and HUS (Husqvarna Viking/Pfaff) and XXX (Singer) save thread colours inside the file, usually matched to that brand's thread chart. If your colours are right in a PES but wrong in the DST version of the same design, that's expected. For a full comparison, see our guide to DST vs PES vs JEF formats.
How commercial machines handle DST colours
On a multi-needle machine, the colour shown on screen doesn't matter much. The operator tells the machine which needle to use for each colour block (the "needle sequence"). If needle 3 holds navy and needle 7 holds gold, you enter something like 3, 7, 3 for a design with three colour blocks. The machine follows those needle numbers, not the colours in the file.
That's exactly why DST has never needed to store colours: in a production shop, the colour comes from the thread on the needle, set by the person running the job.
How to fix wrong colours in a DST file
- Find the colour chart. Most designs come with a colour sheet or worksheet (often a PDF or image) listing each colour block in order, sometimes with thread brand and number. This is your source of truth.
- Count the colour blocks. Open the file in your embroidery software or check the machine screen. The number of colour blocks should match the number of steps on the chart, not necessarily the number of colours in the logo (more on that below).
- Assign colours in software. In most editing programs you can click each colour block and choose a thread from a chart. Set them to match the colour sheet.
- Save in your machine's colour-aware format. If you have a home machine, save the corrected design as PES, JEF, VP3 or whatever your machine reads, so the colours travel with the file. Saving it back as DST will lose them again. Our post on converting DST to PES walks through the export step and the trim settings to check.
- On a multi-needle machine, just set the needle sequence. No editing needed. Load the DST, enter the needle number for each colour block using the chart, and stitch.
- Test-stitch once. Run the design on scrap fabric with the right stabilizer before stitching on a garment. It's the fastest way to catch a colour block assigned to the wrong thread.
"My logo has 3 colours but the file has 7 colour changes"
This confuses a lot of people, and it's usually a sign of careful digitizing rather than a mistake. A few common reasons:
- Colours repeat for good sequencing. A logo might stitch navy fill, then gold lettering, then navy outlines last so the outlines sit cleanly on top. That's three colour blocks with only two colours. Stitching the outline at the end helps it cover small gaps caused by fabric push and pull.
- Stops for applique or puff. DST has no separate "pause" command, so any stop where you need to place applique fabric, trim it, or lay down 3D puff foam is written as a colour change. The chart will show these as "stop" or repeat the same colour.
- Separate elements in the same colour. Sometimes a digitizer splits areas of the same colour to control the stitching order and reduce long jumps across the design.
On a multi-needle machine, give repeated colours the same needle number and the machine will run through those blocks without you rethreading. On a single-needle home machine, the machine will stop at each block; if the colour is the same, just press start again.
When the problem is the file, not the format
Most colour complaints are preview issues. But a few things do point to a file that needs fixing:
- Colour changes in the wrong place, so part of a letter stitches in the background colour.
- Far more colour changes than the design needs, with the same colour going back and forth many times, which slows production on every piece.
- No colour chart at all and no way to tell which block is which on a complex design.
If your file has these problems, it's usually faster to have it corrected or rebuilt than to fight it at the machine. Our logo digitizing service is done by hand (no auto-conversion): we build the file with a sensible colour sequence and send it with your chosen formats, including EMB, DST, PES, JEF, XXX, VP3, SEW and HUS, by email within 12 hours. Pricing is $10 for designs 6 inches or less and $20 for larger ones, size changes and tweaks after delivery are free, and if it doesn't stitch right we re-digitize it until it does. You can read how our digitizing service works for what to send with your order.
If you'd rather start from ready-made artwork, every design in our embroidery design collection is an instant download in the main machine formats, including DST, PES, JEF, EXP, VP3, HUS and XXX, so you can pick the format that suits your machine.
Quick FAQ
Can I add colours to a DST file?
You can assign colours in your software for viewing, but DST itself can't store them. Save as PES, JEF, VP3 or another colour-aware format if you want the colours to stay with the file.
Will converting DST to PES fix the colours?
Only if you assign the colours before or during conversion. A straight conversion fills each block with default colours, so set them from the colour chart first, then save as PES.
Why does my machine stop when the colour doesn't change?
Because a colour change in DST is also the only way to pause the machine. Stops for applique, puff foam or sequencing look like colour changes. Check the colour chart and press start if the thread stays the same.
Need a clean file with the right colour sequence? Order our custom embroidery digitizing service and get hand-digitized files in your machine's format within 12 hours.