“How long will it take?” matters twice: for the delivery date and for the price, because machine time is the base of your cost.
The formula
Each part, with the starting values our tools use:
- Stitches per minute: what the machine actually runs at. Wilcom says multi-needle machines usually run at 700–800 in production, so we start at 750. Home single-needle machines like the Brother PE900 top out at 650.
- Efficiency: the share of time the machine is actually stitching at that speed. Thread breaks, slowdowns on dense areas and restarts eat into it. We start at 75%; your own measurements are better.
- Color changes: on a multi-needle machine, a few seconds (we use 4). On a single-needle machine you rethread by hand, so we use 60 seconds; measure yours, because it depends a lot on the operator.
- Trims: Wilcom says each trim takes 3–4 seconds; we use 4.
All of these are starting points: change them for your machine.
Examples
Three example designs (the stitch counts, color changes and trims are assumed, not measured), calculated with the same formula and values as our stitch counter:
| Design | Multi-needle | Single-needle |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 stitches, 3 color changes, 6 trims | 9 min | 14 min |
| 10,000 stitches, 6 color changes, 15 trims | 19 min | 28 min |
| 20,000 stitches, 10 color changes, 30 trims | 38 min | 53 min |
The difference between machines comes almost entirely from color changes. On a multi-needle machine they barely count; on a single-needle machine each one is a minute of your time.
What the estimate doesn’t include
- Hooping and unhooping, which on caps or small items can take as long as the stitching.
- Trimming threads and finishing after the machine stops.
- Fixes: thread breaks that need attention, bobbin changes, a test sew-out.
Add your own average for these on top, or include them in your cost per hour. Then use the time to price: our guide on how to price embroidery by stitch count shows how.
Get the real numbers from the file
The stitch counter reads a DST, PES or JEF file and gives you the stitch count, color changes, an estimate of trims and the machine time, without uploading the file.