Free online WMF to PEC converter

A WMF artwork file may need conversion when a Brother or Baby Lock embroidery machine requires a PEC stitch design. The conversion is a digitizing operation: vector outlines must become machine instructions for stitches, colors, trims, and jumps.

What the WMF format is

In machine embroidery workflows, WMF usually means Windows Metafile, a vector graphics format used as source artwork rather than as a native stitch format. WMF files can contain lines, curves, fills, and text, so they are useful for logos, lettering layouts, and simple motifs that will be digitized.

Microsoft Office, CorelDRAW, older Windows graphics programs, and some embroidery design applications can create or export WMF files. You may encounter one when receiving a logo from a customer or importing artwork into digitizing software. A WMF does not normally contain stitch density, underlay, needle order, thread changes, or hoop information.

What the PEC format is

PEC is a machine-embroidery stitch format associated with Brother-compatible and many Baby Lock-compatible embroidery machines. It stores stitch coordinates, thread-change information, color references, jumps, and stops in a form the machine can sew.

PEC is useful when the target machine or embroidery editor specifically accepts .pec. Its compact structure is convenient for transferring finished designs, but it is not a good editing master: stitch-level data is less flexible than the editable project format used by digitizing software.

How to actually convert WMF to PEC

Use the built-in online converter

1. Open the WMF-to-PEC converter on 101convert.com; it can be used free without installing software.
2. Upload design.wmf and select PEC as the output format.
3. Set the available hoop size, design scale, thread colors, and any stitch settings shown by the converter.
4. Start the conversion and download the resulting design.pec.
5. Open the PEC file in embroidery editing software and inspect its stitch simulation before sending it to the machine.

Automatic conversion is suitable mainly for uncomplicated artwork. If the service exposes no control over stitch direction, density, underlay, or trims, treat its output as a draft rather than a production-ready design.

Digitize with desktop software

1. Open the WMF in Inkscape with File → Import, or open it directly in embroidery software such as Embird, Brother PE-Design, or Wilcom if that application supports WMF input.
2. Clean the artwork: remove hidden objects, convert text to paths, close broken outlines, separate overlapping color regions, and set the intended finished dimensions.
3. In an embroidery digitizing application, assign each region a stitch type such as fill, satin column, or running stitch. Set stitch angle, density, underlay, pull compensation, trims, and color order.
4. Check the design against the machine’s hoop limits and reduce excessive jumps or tiny details that cannot sew reliably.
5. Export through the software’s machine-format menu, such as File → Export → PEC, and save the result as design.pec.
6. Load the file into the machine or its transfer software only after checking the simulated stitch count, color sequence, placement, and hoop orientation.

Quality and compatibility limits

WMF outlines do not specify how artwork should be embroidered, so two digitizers can produce different PEC files from the same source. Small lettering, narrow gaps, sharp corners, and overlapping fills often need manual redesign rather than direct tracing.

PEC color information is a limited machine-format representation, not a guaranteed thread-brand specification. Confirm the displayed color sequence and substitute the actual thread shades available for the machine. Keep the original WMF and the editable digitizing project because PEC exports are difficult to revise accurately.

Test the design on fabric similar to the final item. Density, underlay, pull compensation, stabilizer, fabric stretch, needle size, and thread tension affect puckering and registration even when the PEC file is technically valid.