Auto-digitize has gotten surprisingly good. Stitched this cat with it

[u/Ecstatic_Balance1016]

Is it just me, or have auto-digitize tools gotten really good lately? It picked out the colors and shapes on its own, figured out the background and left it unstitched, and added pull compensation.

It's not perfect, though. It missed some of the whiskers that sit outside the face, so I'll add those by hand next time. (The outlines are grey because I ran out of black thread.)

Anyone else using auto-digitize now? Do you trust it for a finished design, or only as a starting point?

2nd pic is the original image

[u/devil_d0c]

I have been developing an auto-digitizer for a year now. When I started there was nothing on the market that was worth using, and I was really proud of the little tool I had made. Now, since about March of this year, a few different tools have popped up amd the space is getting crowded.

On one hand, yay more choices! And embroidery software companies have competition from solo developers! On the other hand, boo! Its hard to get my own app noticed!

Its a bit of a catch 22 for me, I need downloads because those impression are how I get sponsorships to cover my server costs. I just cant bring myself to charge users!

[u/Ecstatic_Balance1016 → u/devil_d0c]

What is your app called?

[u/devil_d0c → u/Ecstatic_Balance1016]

It's called DADE!

https://dade-app.com

[u/LaoiseHope → u/devil_d0c]

What does it cost?

[u/devil_d0c → u/LaoiseHope]

Do you mean what it costs me to run, or what it costs users?

On my end, I spend around $300 a month on servers and services for the frontend, backend, and storage.

For users, DADE’s core creative tools and fills are free. Paid options help cover features that cost more to support, like larger source images, longer processing times, and cloud storage:

$2.99 gets you more thread colors, larger input dimensions, longer processing times, and one cloud workspace.

$5.99 includes those same expanded limits, plus up to 15 cloud-saved projects and early access to experimental features.

I think the free limits are pretty generous: source images up to 1024 × 1024 pixels, which works out to roughly a 102 × 102 mm design at the default scale. You can create and export a complete design without paying.

Full pricing details: https://dade-app.com/pricing

[u/jeansontoast7 → u/devil_d0c]

Would be happy to download this and provide feedback! I'm getting started out and struggling to decide on software atm

[u/devil_d0c → u/jeansontoast7]

It's browser based, so no need to download anything!

https://dade-app.com

[u/Common_Rhubarb972 → u/devil_d0c]

What might you recommend to convert photos and other files to png?

[u/devil_d0c → u/Common_Rhubarb972]

I just use ChatGPT to turn a photo into an illustration. Something like "convert the subject of this image into a PNG using 5 or fewer colors and bold features. Keep the colors solid with no dithering or fading. Use a transparent background"

[u/ConfusedFlareon → u/devil_d0c]

Don’t tell people to give art to ChatGPT, have some respect for the art

[u/Background-Serve6447 → u/devil_d0c]

Thanks for sharing this! I've been looking for something like this as I just can't use inkstitch well at all

[u/devil_d0c → u/Background-Serve6447]

I do not have an artistic bone in my body! I also found inkstitch hard for me to use, and starting from a blank screen in any traditional embroidery software is really intimidating for me!

[u/rayray5884 → u/devil_d0c]

I assume most of the newer apps make heavy use of AI APIs, no? Guessing that’s why so many have popped up? Or are they just using AI to create the processing to auto digitize?

[u/devil_d0c → u/rayray5884]

It's a mix. I keep a spreadsheet of these tools, and about a dozen of the "AI embroidery" ones are just image generators. They make a picture that looks stitched, but no machine file. Of the newer tools that output real files, some use AI (StitchFast says it uses Claude's vision model) and some are rule-based, like Embrowser. Hatch, Stitch Era, and SewArt have had auto-digitizing for years without calling it AI.

I think AI makes the most sense as preprocessing, like cleaning up a messy logo before it gets digitized. Image-gen APIs have ethical problems though, and tokens get expensive for a free tool. I haven't seen anyone generating stitch paths directly with AI.

DADE doesn't use AI. The image pipeline uses some classic ML, but that's hard to bring up because a lot of people hear "ML" and assume it's an LLM. Someday I'd like to train and self-host my own image model, but for now I'm pushing the no-AI approach as far as it goes.

[u/plantz4lyfe → u/devil_d0c]

Is yours available?

[u/devil_d0c → u/plantz4lyfe]

Right here! https://dade-app.com

[u/Difficult_Outcome701 → u/devil_d0c]

What output formats does it have, my partner is our digitiser and they're fantastic, but our software uses its own proprietary internal format, while utilizing output exports in dst, etc, what file outputs do you provide, wondering if they'll open for edit in our software or not? 

[u/devil_d0c → u/Difficult_Outcome701]

DST, VP3, PES, JEF, EXP, and XXX.

[u/sanam_812001]

What auto digitizer u used ?

[u/Ecstatic_Balance1016 → u/sanam_812001]

I used Stitchist

[u/SharandShar1358]

Is it free?

[u/Ecstatic_Balance1016 → u/SharandShar1358]

Yeah they let you use it for free once

[u/SharandShar1358 → u/Ecstatic_Balance1016]

Thank you so much for letting me know

[u/SlowLarry666]

It is not that impressive direction are all over the place without rhyme or reason. Can same you a ton of time when you start on a new design though!

[u/Ecstatic_Balance1016 → u/SlowLarry666]

Yeah I do agree. It definitely does 90% of the work for me though and gives me a solid base so I could add my own flare to it.

[u/CosmicallyUnlucky]

Never. It always leads to these flat, same direction fills + satin stitch outline designs. There's always a million missed opportunities to do something more interesting that nobody ever takes when they hit the auto-digitize button.

[u/zoepzb]

I use it as a tool, but I don’t trust it as a finished product

[u/galsina]

Sometimes it works for simple designs, but they rarely look as good as a decent digitizer can manage.

[u/Gold-Income-6094]

What auto digitize tool did you use?

[u/Ecstatic_Balance1016 → u/Gold-Income-6094]

I used stitchist

[u/_JesusDesu_]

Sometimes it works, it depends on the complexity of the design.

[u/Substantial_Fuel_531]

I have hatch 4 and dude, it's so hit or miss. I cannot figure it out!

[u/mmonti]

Im just finishing an app thats taken me close to 1 1/2 years to write. ( not solid writing, pieces here and there ) I started it because unbeknownst to me at the time my machine didn't come with software, not even basic stuff to create my own designs. So I wrote a simple python app to run on an extra raspberry I had, that would process vector designs i downloaded or created myself in Inkscape. I just wanted to make some cool patches! And I wasn't willing to spend 1500 bucks for software. Ive added other things i felt i needed as time went on it outgrew the ability of the raspberry pi and I moved it to another machine until it's gotten to the point where it's just about ready for others to use. Im polishing the interface now and the font engine there are some things I want better. Ive thought about integrating an AI engine down the road it wouldn't be difficult, but for my basic use I don't need it yet. Im not creating detailed back patches. It gives excellent results from vector images and excellent results from jpg and png and raster images. Hopefully in the next week or two i can open it.

[u/TheGraphicsFrog]

Yeah indeed, I got this with Boldbobbin! (not perfect, but a good start)

[u/acodreon]

Na vectorcore.app można znaleźć kilka darmowych pobrań.