Learn / Formats / PEC

Format guide · Brother PEC

Open PEC embroidery files on a Mac

PEC is Brother's machine stitch format. Every PES file contains a PEC section, and that section is what the machine sews; a PEC file on its own holds just those stitches, Brother palette colors and small preview thumbnails.

Commonly used with: Brother, Baby Lock and Bernina Deco machines, usually inside a PES file.

What Satinsmith does with PEC

Open and preview PEC files free. Save a design as PEC with any export: the free plan includes five exports a month, and paid plans are unlimited. Converting many files at once needs Studio.

  • If your machine reads PES, save PES: it carries the same PEC stitches plus thread names and colors for software.
  • Satinsmith draws PEC's small preview thumbnails from the design itself: one for the whole design and one for each color.

Satinsmith runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later. Download it free.

What the format stores

  • Extensions: .pec. Maker: Brother.
  • Stores thread colors: yes.
  • Trims: yes. Stops: yes.

Try your own file

Add a folder with your PEC files to the free Satinsmith library to preview them before you rely on a workflow. The library lesson shows the steps with practice files.

Before you sew

Check your machine's manual for the formats and versions it accepts. Satinsmith checks files in software, reports what an export changes, and does not test files on machines. Known limits.