The VP3 embroidery file format
A VP3 file is the embroidery format of Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machines. Unlike DST and EXP, it keeps each thread's color, and its name, catalog number and brand when the program that wrote it filled them in.
By Levente, who builds BobbinBot. Published .
What is inside a VP3 file
VP3 groups the stitches by color. Each block starts with its thread: the color, then up to three pieces of text, the catalog number, a description and the brand. That is why a VP3 keeps the color names a PES had, as the table below shows.
Moves are stored with more room than DST or JEF allow, so long jumps need fewer records.
One design, five formats
Our own 69.6 × 69.6 mm test design, 5,822 stitches, saved in five formats and read back. Every file has the same stitches; what differs is the size of the file and what it says about color.
| Format | File size | Thread colors in the file |
|---|---|---|
| EXP | 11,692 bytes | None, only the color stops |
| JEF | 11,842 bytes | Gray, Green, Sola Blue, Honey Dew |
| VP3 | 12,143 bytes | Gray, Emerald Green, Blue, Tangerine |
| DST | 18,017 bytes | None, only the color stops |
| PES | 36,850 bytes | Gray, Emerald Green, Blue, Tangerine |
Who uses VP3
Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff embroidery machines read VP3. Older Husqvarna Viking machines used HUS and VIP: pyembroidery reads HUS but cannot write it, and it does not read VIP at all, so our free tools open neither.
On our list, from the makers' or dealers' published specs:
- Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 50
- Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade 35
- Pfaff creative 1.5
- Pfaff creative icon 2
How to open a VP3 file
In a browser, drop the file into the free VP3 viewer for the stitches, the thread names and the size.
On a computer, Inkscape with Ink/Stitch opens VP3 with File › Open, and Wilcom's Truesizer lists it for Husqvarna, Viking and Pfaff.
Open a VP3 file in the free viewerHow to convert a VP3 file
The stitches carry over to any format. To PES or JEF, each thread becomes the nearest one in Brother's or Janome's chart; to DST or EXP, colors are dropped and only the stops remain.
Convert VP3 to another format, freeCommon problems with VP3 files
My machine wants HUS or VIP
Those are the older Husqvarna Viking formats. Our tools cannot write them. Ink/Stitch can read HUS; for VIP, use the machine maker's software.
The thread names are blank
The names in a VP3 are optional text. A file written by a program that leaves them out shows colors with no names, and nothing is wrong with the stitches.
It does not fit the hoop
Check the size in the viewer and compare it with your hoops in the machine finder.
Questions
Do Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking use the same file?
Yes. Both read VP3, and Wilcom lists the format for Husqvarna, Viking and Pfaff.
Does VP3 keep my thread colors?
Yes, with their names when they were given. That makes it one of the better formats to send someone when the colors matter.
Can BobbinBot make a VP3?
Yes. Every BobbinBot design comes in VP3 along with the other formats.
Make a VP3 file from a picture
BobbinBot turns a logo, a drawing or a name into PES, DST, JEF, EXP, VP3 and four more formats in one download. You see the stitches and a green, yellow or red verdict before you pay, and the first design is free. Or do it yourself in free software, step by step.