VP3 format is a Pfaff format. Unlike most other embroidery formats. It's divided into stitchblocks. Conceptually it's typical to think of embroidery rather than the set of low level commands which control the machine but as sets of unbroken stitches in a particular color. While this is quite common at the level of embroidery software, most formats typically consist of large dumps of direct embroidery commands with some various cruft for the machines in question.

Hierarchy[edit | edit source]

Within VP3 there are several places where what appear to tags and locations. For example 010 is just before the stitch block and points to the end of the stitches excluding a zero. Outside of that, there's a 050 tag that also points to the end of the stitches, but outside of the trailing \0. There are two sections that appear to point to end of file. 020 points to the end of file and 030 points to end of current design. There is almost always just one design.

A PES2Card utility change-log includes some interesting changes like "Corrected positioning for VP3 multi hoop designs", and "Corrected out of bounds bitmap for positioned vp3 files" -- This document contains no documentation on multi-hoop or any bitmaps linked to or contained within the files. However, as with a lot of embroidery, everything tends to write out the bare minimum and reads the bare minimum.

1. Files
   1. File Data
   2. Design (Can be multiples)
      1. ColorBlock (Can be multiples)
         1. StitchBlock
      2. Additonal ColorBlocks*
   3. Addition Designs*

Few files have multiple designs. Most have multiple color blocks.

Header[edit | edit source]

VP3 consists of: a magic code, some hoop and design information, a number for the number of stitch blocks and stitch blocks.

File Data 020[edit | edit source]

Note, at the file level the notes data is usually the sum of all the other designs data text. The settings section data is prefixed "Settings:"

Extends Section[edit | edit source]

VP3 like most embroidery is y-flipped from common programming languages. Most models put the origin point in the upper-left point programming in quadrant III whereas embroidery is almost always Quadrant I with the origin point in the lower-left. Consequently most overt numbers within embroidery have to be y-flipped.

VP3 however stores all position information as multiplied by 100 as a conversion between the standard units of Embroidery 1/10th mm. This actually gives the units therefore in 1*10^-6 and are micron or (micrometers or micrometres).

File Count Information[edit | edit source]

Design Block 030[edit | edit source]

Color Blocks[edit | edit source]

Keep in mind the 050 flag ends here, after the 1 byte \x00. The 010 inside the stitch data ends within that block, without the 0. Some explanations miss this point.

VP3 Thread[edit | edit source]

In most typical use case of 1 color:

• 01 00 00 RR GG BB 00 00 00 05 28
• This reads: 1 thread, standard integration, RRGGBB, zero parts, for zero length, Rayon 40 weight.

Stitch Data[edit | edit source]

Stitch Encode[edit | edit source]

Jumps usually take the form \x80,\x01, x_highbits, x_lowbits, y_highbits, y_lowbits, \x80, \x02, however since there seems to be no way to force a trim (maybe jump away from the stitch location then jump back), threads less than 255 often get sewn.

Also See[edit | edit source]

• https://community.kde.org/Projects/Liberty/File_Formats/Viking_Pfaff
• http://www.jasonweiler.com/VP3FileFormatInfo.html
• https://github.com/Embroidermodder/Embroidermodder/blob/master/libembroidery/format-vp3.c