Design Catalog
The design catalog is your central library of embroidery designs. From here you upload files, organize them with categories and tags, set pricing, and control what customers see on your storefront.
Uploading a Design
- In the StitchIQ admin, click Designs in the left sidebar.
- Click Upload Design.
- Select your embroidery file. Supported formats:
.pes,.dst,.emb,.jef,.vp3 - Fill in the design details (see fields below).
- Click Save.
The design is immediately live on your storefront once saved.
Design Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | ✅ | The display name shown to customers in the catalog |
| File | ✅ | The embroidery design file |
| Category | — | Groups designs (e.g. "Logos", "Sports", "Holiday") — used by the filter bar and deep links |
| Tags | — | Additional labels for filtering (e.g. "floral", "christmas") — multiple allowed |
| Thumbnail | — | Preview image shown on the catalog card. If omitted, the design is shown with a default icon |
| Stitch Count | — | Auto-detected from the file where possible. Used for per-stitch pricing |
| Price Override | — | Sets a fixed price for this design, ignoring your global pricing settings |
Use categories consistently
Categories and tags power the Gallery & Deep Links feature. Names are case-sensitive — decide on a naming convention early and stick to it (e.g. always capitalize: "Sports" not "sports").
Organizing Your Library
Categories
Categories are the primary grouping used by the filter bar on your storefront. Think of them like sections:
LogosSportsHolidayAnimalsMonograms
A design can only belong to one category.
Tags
Tags provide secondary filtering and can be stacked. A single design can have multiple tags:
floral,vintage,christmas,small
Tags are most useful for cross-category filtering — for example, tagging designs across different categories as small lets customers filter by size, not just type.
Searching in the Admin
The admin design list has a search bar and filter controls. You can filter by category or sort by date, name, or stitch count to find specific designs quickly.
Managing Existing Designs
Click any design in the list to open it for editing. You can:
- Update the name, category, or tags
- Replace the thumbnail
- Change or remove the price override
- Delete the design — this removes it from the catalog immediately. Active orders referencing this design are not affected.
Thumbnail Images
Thumbnails are optional but strongly recommended — designs with thumbnails have significantly higher click-through rates in the catalog.
Best practices:
- Use a square image (1:1 aspect ratio), minimum 400×400px
- PNG with a light or transparent background works best
- Show the design against fabric or a clean white background for the most realistic preview
Stitch Count & Pricing
The stitch count field is used by the per-stitch pricing calculator. If StitchIQ can detect it automatically from your file, it will be pre-filled.
If pricing is set to flat rate, stitch count is displayed informally to customers but doesn't affect the price.
See Pricing Setup for full pricing configuration details.
Plan Limits
The number of designs you can upload depends on your current plan:
| Plan | Design Limit |
|---|---|
| Starter | 25 |
| Pro | 100 |
| Business | Unlimited |
When you reach your limit, existing designs remain active but new uploads are blocked until you upgrade. See Billing & Plans.