Hatch Embroidery vs PEmbroider

Hatch Embroidery is machine embroidery software for hobbyists and home embroiderers. It provides manual digitizing tools to build designs from scratch and control stitches, then exports work to more than 35 embroidery machine formats. Composer and higher levels can auto-digitize photos and artwork; Composer also includes multi-hooping and CorelDRAW integration. Digitizer adds manual digitizing, Color PhotoStitch and advanced appliqué. Hatch 4 supports native DXF import without CorelDRAW and wireless transfer to supported Brother machines. Stitch simulation and appliqué tools are included. The software runs on Windows 11 64-bit; paid licenses can run on Mac using Parallels. Internet is needed for sign-in and license checks, though offline use can continue for up to 30 days before reconnecting. Purchases include Hatch Academy access, with over 500 lessons described. Organizer costs $199, paid once, Personalizer $299, paid once, Composer $699, paid once and Digitizer $1,199, paid once. Composer FlexPay and Digitizer FlexPay each cost $99 a month. A 30-day trial and 30-day money-back guarantee for direct purchases are listed.

PEmbroider is a Java library for generating computational embroidery designs in Processing. Its drawing functions handle lines, shapes, and typography, while shape tools support overlap, cropping, merging, and a range of embroidery fills. Designs can start from SVG files or black-and-white PNG and GIF images. The library generates DST, EXP, JEF, PEC, PES, VP3, and XXX files for consumer CNC embroidery machines. It also exports PDF, SVG, TSV, and GCODE for other 2D output devices, including CNC routers and AxiDraw pen plotters. A modified Traveling Salesperson Problem solver creates shorter paths intended to reduce embroidery time and material use. PEmbroider can visualize files it generates, but cannot load or preview existing embroidery files. It integrates with Processing and can be installed through its Contribution Manager or from a ZIP library. The instructions require Processing 4.0a6 or later, with a separate download for Processing 3 users. It is free under GPLv3 and ACSL 1.4 and was developed during Endless March 2020 at Carnegie Mellon University's Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry.