--- title: "Embroidery Sequencing, Branching and Trims: Making Files Sew Faster" description: "How to plan the sewing order of a design, group colours, branch same-colour objects into one pass with hidden travel, set the trim distance and lock stitches, and read entry and exit points." url: https://easydigitizer.com/blog/embroidery-sequencing-branching-trims published: 2026-10-14 updated: 2026-10-14 section: Hand digitizing publisher: EasyDigitizer (https://easydigitizer.com/) --- # Embroidery Sequencing, Branching and Trims: Making Files Sew Faster How to plan the sewing order of a design, group colours, branch same-colour objects into one pass with hidden travel, set the trim distance and lock stitches, and read entry and exit points. > **Short answer:** sew each colour in one block, back to front, and within a colour go from each object to its nearest neighbour. Branch same-colour objects that sit close together so the needle travels hidden under stitching still to come instead of trimming. Let short moves travel (under about 2 mm) and trim the long ones, with lock stitches at every trim. A well-sequenced file averages roughly one and a half trims per 1,000 stitches. Two files with identical objects can sew in very different times. The one with the better sequence has fewer colour changes, fewer trims and less travel. Each trim costs a few seconds and leaves a tail. Each colour change stops the machine. On a 50-piece order, that adds up to real money. ## The basic rules of sequencing 1. **Background to foreground.** Sew shapes that sit underneath first, and details and outlines last. 2. **One block per colour.** Finish everything in a thread colour before changing, unless layering forces you back. 3. **Nearest next.** Within a colour, go to the closest object, starting where the last one ended. 4. **Lettering in reading order**, letter by letter, each starting near where the last ended. 5. **Caps: centre-out, bottom-up.** See [How to digitize for caps](/blog/how-to-digitize-for-caps). ## The sequence panel EasyDigitizer's Sequence panel lists every object, grouped into numbered colour blocks: - **Drag** an object onto another to move it, or use ↑ *Sew earlier* and ↓ *Sew later*. - **Auto-sequence** groups by colour (in order of first use) and orders each colour by closest join. - **Click a colour header** to select everything in that colour. - **Hide** an object or a whole colour with its eye icon. Hidden items don't sew or export. - **Merge…** moves everything in one thread onto another. This is useful when two near-identical blues should be one needle. - Each row shows the object's stitch count, so you can see where the stitches are. Select an object in Stitches or Realistic view (or with the Stitches overlay on) to see its **entry point** (green) and **exit point** (red). EasyDigitizer aims each object's exit at the next object of the same colour, so connecting moves stay short. To choose an entry point yourself, pick the **Start** tool (P) and click where the object should begin. It's marked with a green ◆, and you can clear it in Properties. ## Branching: one pass, hidden travel Branching joins several objects of the same colour into a single sewing pass: 1. Select two or more same-colour objects. 2. Press **B** (or click ⑂ *Branch*). EasyDigitizer re-orders them for the shortest hops and routes the travel between them **under stitching still to come**, so the connecting stitches are covered instead of trimmed. Lock stitches go only at the start and end of the whole pass. Press **Shift+B** to un-branch. **Auto-branch** in the Sequence panel does this for the whole design: it branches every run of neighbouring same-colour objects, keeps only the branches that actually save trims, and reports how many trims it saved. Branching works best on clusters: letters of one word in a fill-type font, petals of a flower, the parts of a badge background. Running lines, manual stitches, stitch fonts and appliqués can't hide travel under themselves, but they can still be part of a branch. ## Trims and travel The **Trim jumps over** setting (Design tab → Machine, default 2 mm) decides what happens between objects: - **Moves shorter than the setting** are sewn directly as a stitch. - **Longer moves** travel hidden inside the object when possible, otherwise they trim. Raise it if your machine trims too often on small gaps. Lower it if short travel stitches show on the finished piece. ## Lock stitches *Lock stitches at trims & colour changes* (on by default) adds tiny back-and-forth stitches (0.7 mm, four needle drops) where the thread is tied in and before every trim, so the thread can't pull out. Leave them on for production. The only reason to turn them off is a machine that adds its own. ## Minimum stitch *Min stitch* (default 0.3 mm) removes stitches shorter than that. Very short stitches hammer the same hole and cause thread breaks and birdnests. ## Checking a sequence - Play the **sew simulator** (Slow, Normal or Fast) and watch for jumps across the design. - Turn on **Jumps** to see every travel line. - Watch the status bar: stitches, colours, trims and an estimated run time. The run time is stitches ÷ speed, plus about 10 s per colour change and 3 s per trim. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is branching in embroidery digitizing? Joining several objects of the same colour into one sewing pass, with the travel between them hidden under later stitching, so the machine doesn't trim between them. ### How do I reduce trims in an embroidery design? Sequence each colour by nearest neighbour, branch nearby same-colour objects, and set the trim distance so short moves travel instead of trimming. ### What are lock stitches? Small back-and-forth stitches that tie the thread in at the start and off before a trim, so it doesn't unravel. ### What is a good number of trims? Production files typically run about one to two trims per 1,000 stitches. Many more than that suggests the sequence could be improved. --- EasyDigitizer is browser-based embroidery digitizing software: auto-digitize artwork or digitize by hand, then export DST, TAP, PES, EXP, JEF or VP3. Design and preview free; pay per design or subscribe to export. App: https://app.easydigitizer.com/ · More guides: https://easydigitizer.com/blog/ · Product summary: https://easydigitizer.com/llms.txt