Description
You bought a home embroidery machine to stitch your own artwork, then found the digitizing software is either absurdly expensive or looks like it is from 2008, and Windows-only. ZigZag is an open-source embroidery editor written in Rust that turns SVG artwork into stitches, lets you tweak them visually, and exports files your machine can read.
Draw in Illustrator and import, or draw right in ZigZag. Pick a stitch type per shape and the stitches update live as you edit, even on large designs. A built-in MCP server lets an AI agent draw and edit in the same window you are working in.
Eleven stitch types: Tatami fill, satin, run, contour, cross-stitch, blanket, appliqué and more, per shape, with underlay and pull compensation.
Machine formats: Export PES, DST, EXP, JEF or VP3, or send a design straight to a Brother Skitch PP1 over Bluetooth.
SVG import: Reads fills, strokes, transforms and text, saves stitch settings back into the SVG, and works with shapes traced from images.
Digitizing checks: Flags sizes, widths, lettering and hoop limits before you stitch.
Works with AI agents: A built-in MCP server lets an agent draw and edit inside the editor.
Command line: The
Free everywhere: macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon and Intel, signed and notarized, Homebrew), 64-bit Windows 10/11 and x86-64 Linux, Apache-2.0.
Draw in Illustrator and import, or draw right in ZigZag. Pick a stitch type per shape and the stitches update live as you edit, even on large designs. A built-in MCP server lets an AI agent draw and edit in the same window you are working in.
Features
Eleven stitch types: Tatami fill, satin, run, contour, cross-stitch, blanket, appliqué and more, per shape, with underlay and pull compensation.
Machine formats: Export PES, DST, EXP, JEF or VP3, or send a design straight to a Brother Skitch PP1 over Bluetooth.
SVG import: Reads fills, strokes, transforms and text, saves stitch settings back into the SVG, and works with shapes traced from images.
Digitizing checks: Flags sizes, widths, lettering and hoop limits before you stitch.
Works with AI agents: A built-in MCP server lets an agent draw and edit inside the editor.
Command line: The
zigzag CLI runs the same pipeline without the editor.Free everywhere: macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon and Intel, signed and notarized, Homebrew), 64-bit Windows 10/11 and x86-64 Linux, Apache-2.0.
