Size & Stitch Count Limitations

All embroidery machines have limitations -- most notably size and stitch count limitations. If you're new to embroidery, you'll need to understand a couple of things before reviewing the chart below.

Size of embroidery area (aka "hoop size"): This is the maximum size that your machine can stitch. Imagine that you have a machine that has a 5 x 7 embroidery area. You should order designs that are 5 x 7 or smaller; a design that is 6 x 6 won't fit in your machine's hoop.

Some embroiderers will measure the hoop and think that's the size of the machine's embroidery area. But nope, that's not it. Hoops will always be larger than the actual embroidery area. This is because the machine needs extra room to maneuver the needle.

Stitch count limitations:  Some embroidery machines (most notably BabyLock and Janome brands) have a limit to the number of stitches that the machine can accept. For example, most Janome machines have a limit of 64,000 stitches. Try to load a design that has 65,00 stitches to the machine, and you'll get an error message.

Some embroidery machines only take embroidery cards. Embroidery cards have a limit to how many stitches they can hold. For Brother machines that take cards, the number is around 32,000 stitches. For BabyLock machines that take cards, the number is usually around 50,000 stitches.

Multi-Position Hoops:  The sizes listed below are for single-position hoops. You might have a Giga Hoop or a Macro Hoop  -- but in many cases, the those hoops require split designs, or designs that have been edited. The designs at Embroidery Library are not split for multi-position hoops.

Add the Size to Your User Profile:  Once you've found the size that your machine can stitch, please add that information to your user profile. After you've done that, if you add a design to your basket that is larger than what your machine can stitch, you'll get a warning message in your basket. That way you can switch it to a smaller size before completing your order.

Where There's a Will...: Keep in mind that you can stitch any design on your machine, no matter the size and stitch count. However, if you have designs that exceed your machine's limitations, you'll need to do something special (edit the design) in order to get it to load properly to your machine. You'll find more details about editing below this chart of machines, sizes, and stitch counts: