.vipSoftware file, not a machine file

VIP embroidery file format

A VIP file is an older embroidery format of Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking machines, from the years before both brands settled on VP3. Hatch lists it as a "Husqvarna/Viking/Pfaff production file". Unlike most formats on these pages, VIP can't be opened by free tools at all, including our viewer and converter: the way out is a program that reads it and saves VP3.

Updated October 3, 2026

At a glance

Made for: Older Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking embroidery machines
Successor: VP3, read by every current Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machine
Read by: The 15-format flagships (DESIGNER EPIC 3, TOPAZ 65, creative icon 2 and 3) and bernette's b70 DECO and b79
Software: Commercial programs such as Hatch read and write VIP; free tools, ours included, can't open it
What to do: Open the file in such a program and save it as VP3
On Embroidly: Explained here only: our viewer and converter can't open VIP

Why VIP is hard to open

The open-source library pyembroidery, which reverse-engineered most home embroidery formats and powers many free converters, has no reader for VIP, so nothing built on it can show or convert a VIP file. That includes Ink/Stitch and our own tools.

Commercial embroidery software is the way in. Hatch, for example, reads and writes VIP; before you buy any program for this, check that its format list names VIP.

Which machines read VIP

VIP lives on in the multi-format machines. The Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 3 and TOPAZ 65, and the Pfaff creative icon 2 and 3, list VIP among their 15 formats, and bernette's b70 DECO and b79 read it as one of eight. Machines that load VP3 only, such as the Pfaff creative ambition 640 or the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER JADE 35, can't open a VIP file.

That makes VIP a format to convert away from rather than to keep: a VP3 works on every current Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machine, the multi-format ones included.

How to turn a VIP into a VP3

Ask the seller first. If you bought the design, the shop very likely offers VP3 as well. That avoids any conversion.
Use a program that reads VIP. Open the file in commercial embroidery software that lists VIP, such as Hatch, then save or export it as VP3.
Check the result. Open the new VP3 in the free embroidery file viewer to confirm the size, stitch count and colours before you transfer it.

Once the design is a VP3, everything else is free: the converter turns it into PES, JEF, DST or any other format we write.

VIP, HUS and PCS

Three older formats come from the same corner of embroidery history. HUS, Husqvarna Viking's earlier format, is the friendliest: free tools can read it, so our converter turns HUS into VP3 directly. PCS, Pfaff's older format, can be read for free too. VIP is the only one of the three that needs commercial software.

VIP and Embroidly

We don't ship VIP files, and our viewer and converter can't open them. Every library design comes as VP3, the format every current Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machine reads, together with PES, JEF, EXP, DST, XXX, U01 and PEC.

Convert VIP files

VIP can't be converted by free tools: open the file in the software that made it and export a machine format such as PES, DST or EXP.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't free embroidery converters open VIP files?

The open-source library behind most free converters, pyembroidery, has no reader for VIP. Our viewer and converter use the same library, so they can't open VIP either. Commercial programs such as Hatch can read and write it; check the format list of any program before you rely on it.

How do I convert VIP to VP3?

Open the VIP in a program that reads it, such as Hatch, and save or export it as VP3. If you bought the design, ask the seller for a VP3 version first: shops that sell for Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff machines usually offer VP3, which every current model reads.

Can my new Pfaff or Husqvarna Viking machine read VIP?

The flagships with 15 formats, such as the Pfaff creative icon 2 and 3 and the DESIGNER EPIC 3, list VIP. VP3-only models, such as the Pfaff creative ambition 640, can't open it. Saving the design as VP3 makes it work on both.

Sources

Supported embroidery files, Hatch Embroidery (Wilcom) (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
DESIGNER EPIC 3 user's guide, Husqvarna Viking (SVP) (accessed Oct 2, 2026)
bernette 70 series brochure, bernette (accessed Oct 2, 2026)
pyembroidery (supported formats), EmbroidePy (open source) (accessed Oct 3, 2026)