Machine Embroidery Glossary: Terms Explained

Plain-English definitions of the machine embroidery terms used across Stitch Tuner. Each entry links to the guide that covers it in depth.

Applique: A technique where a piece of fabric is stitched onto the base fabric, usually with a placement line, a tack-down stitch, trimming, and a covering satin or blanket stitch. It covers large areas with far fewer stitches than a fill. Learn more.
Backing: Stabilizer placed under the fabric (as opposed to a topper on the surface). Usually cutaway, tearaway or washaway. Learn more.
Bean stitch: A run stitch that travels forward, back and forward again over each stitch, building a bold three-pass line. Also called triple stitch. Learn more.
Bird nest: A tangle of top thread that builds up under the needle plate or on the back of the hoop. It almost always means the top thread is not under tension, usually because it is out of the tension discs or the take-up lever. Learn more.
Bobbin: The small spool of thread under the needle plate that forms the underside of every lockstitch. Embroidery normally uses a fine bobbin thread, commonly around 60 to 90 wt, in white or black. Learn more.
Bobbin case: The holder that carries the bobbin and applies bobbin tension through a small flat spring adjusted by a screw. Drop-in machines often have a fixed case; front-loading and multi-needle machines use a removable case. Learn more.
Cap frame: A curved hoop system for multi-needle machines that holds a cap on a cap driver so the embroidery field rotates with the cap's curve. Learn more.
Color change: A stop in the design file where the machine changes thread. Single-needle machines stop for a manual rethread; multi-needle machines switch needles automatically. Learn more.
Cutaway: A permanent stabilizer that stays behind the design and is trimmed around it. The standard choice for knits and anything that stretches, because it keeps supporting the stitches through wear and washing. Learn more.
Density: How closely stitches are spaced, usually given as the distance between stitch rows in millimeters or points. Smaller spacing means a denser, heavier stitch-out. Learn more.
Digitizing: Creating an embroidery design file by deciding stitch types, directions, density, underlay, compensation and sequence. It is not the same as converting a picture. Learn more.
DST: The Tajima stitch file format, widely read by commercial and many home machines. It stores stitches, jumps and trims but not real thread colors. Learn more.
EXP: A stitch file format associated with Melco and also used by Bernina machines. Learn more.
Fill stitch: Rows of stitches laid side by side to cover a large area, with stitch penetrations offset to form a pattern. Tatami is the most common fill. Learn more.
Flagging: Fabric bouncing up and down with the needle because it is not held firmly enough. It causes skipped stitches, loops and poor registration. Learn more.
Floating: Hooping only the stabilizer, then laying or sticking the fabric on top instead of clamping it in the hoop. Used for items that mark easily, are too thick to hoop, or are too small. Learn more.
Heat-away: A stabilizer that is removed with heat (usually a dry iron) rather than water, for fabrics that cannot be washed. Learn more.
Hook: The rotating (or oscillating) part under the needle plate that catches the loop of top thread and carries it around the bobbin to form a lockstitch. Learn more.
Hook timing: The relationship between the hook point and the needle. If the hook arrives at the needle too early or too late, it misses the loop and stitches skip or thread breaks. Learn more.
Hoop burn: A ring of crushed or shiny fibers left on fabric by a tight hoop. It often steams out of natural fibers but can be permanent on velvet, suede and some synthetics. Learn more.
I-test: A tension check: stitch a satin column and look at the back. A balanced stitch shows bobbin thread in roughly the center third with top thread on each side. Learn more.
JEF: Janome's native stitch file format. Learn more.
Jump stitch: A movement from one part of the design to another without stitching. Long jumps are usually trimmed; untrimmed jumps leave threads to cut by hand. Learn more.
Lock stitch (tie-in and tie-off): A few tiny stitches at the start and end of a color or before a trim that stop the thread from unraveling. Not to be confused with the lockstitch, the basic two-thread stitch every machine forms. Learn more.
Multi-needle machine: An embroidery machine with several needles, each threaded with its own color, that changes colors automatically. Usually uses tubular, free-arm style hoops and can embroider caps. Learn more.
Needle plate: The metal plate under the presser foot with the hole the needle passes through. Burrs or scratches on it can cut and shred thread. Learn more.
Object file: A working design file from digitizing software that stores editable shapes and settings, so it can be resized and recalculated. Machines cannot stitch it directly. Learn more.
PES: Brother's and Baby Lock's native stitch file format, also readable by many other machines and programs. Learn more.
Presser foot height: On embroidery machines, the clearance between the embroidery foot and the fabric. Too high causes flagging and skips; too low drags on thick items. Learn more.
Pull compensation: Extra width added to stitched shapes in the file to offset the way stitches pull fabric inward across their direction. Without it, satin columns stitch narrow and outlines leave gaps. Learn more.
Push effect: The tendency of stitches to push fabric outward at the ends of stitch rows, making shapes grow in the stitch direction. The partner of pull. Learn more.
Registration: How accurately different parts of a design line up with each other, for example an outline sitting exactly on the edge of its fill. Learn more.
Run stitch: A single line of stitches used for outlines, detail and travel. Also called a running or walking stitch. Learn more.
Satin stitch: Long zigzag stitches laid closely side by side to make a smooth, shiny column. Used for borders and lettering; too wide and it snags or loosens. Learn more.
Sewing field: The largest area a machine can embroider in one hooping. Often smaller than the hoop's outer size. Learn more.
SPM (stitches per minute): The speed of an embroidery machine. Rated maximum speed is rarely the best speed for quality. Learn more.
Stabilizer: Material hooped with the fabric to support stitches, prevent puckering and keep registration. The main types are cutaway, tearaway, washaway and heat-away. Learn more.
Stitch file: A machine-ready file (PES, DST, JEF and others) that stores individual stitch coordinates. Resizing it far changes density because the stitch count does not recalculate correctly. Learn more.
Take-up lever: The arm that rises and falls above the needle, pulling up slack thread after each stitch. If the thread misses it, the machine nests almost immediately. Learn more.
Tatami: The standard fill stitch: rows of stitches with penetrations offset row to row so no visible lines form. Learn more.
Tearaway: A temporary stabilizer torn away after stitching. Best on stable woven fabrics; not suited to knits, which need ongoing support. Learn more.
Tension discs: Pairs of discs that squeeze the top thread to set top tension. Lint between them, or thread sitting outside them, causes loops and nests. Learn more.
Tex: A thread sizing system: the weight in grams of 1,000 meters of thread. Higher Tex means thicker thread, the opposite direction from weight (wt) numbers. Learn more.
Thread weight (wt): A sizing number for thread where a higher number means finer thread. 40 wt is the standard embroidery thread; 60 wt is finer for small detail. Learn more.
Topper: A film or stabilizer laid on top of the fabric, typically water-soluble, to keep stitches from sinking into pile on towels, fleece and knits. Learn more.
Trims: Automatic thread cuts commanded by the design file. Too many slow the stitch-out; too few leave jump threads. Learn more.
Underlay: Light stitching laid down before the top stitches to anchor fabric to stabilizer, raise the top stitches and reduce shifting. Learn more.
VP3: The stitch file format used by Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machines. Learn more.
Washaway: A water-soluble stabilizer that dissolves completely. Used for freestanding lace, sheers and as a topper. Learn more.