What a HUS file contains
A HUS has a header (identifier, stitch and colour counts, extents, offsets) then three compressed streams (Huffman coding): the attributes of each stitch (stitch, jump, colour, end), the x moves and the y moves. Colours are indices into the Husqvarna palette. Compression makes the format harder to write than to read.
Which machines read HUS
Husqvarna Viking Designer I, II, SE, Diamond and pre-2010 Platinum; recent machines read HUS but prefer VP3. See Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff.
Opening a HUS file
Drop it above or open the viewer: the design appears in relief with colours, stitch count, size and estimated run time. A whole folder opens as thumbnails. The file is read in your browser and sent nowhere.
Producing a HUS file
Broderly reads compressed HUS without issue. It writes a variant whose streams are valid for the format decoder but uncompressed, re-read by pyembroidery and by our readers, but not yet verified on an old Designer: if your machine reads VP3, export VP3. If you own a Designer I or II and agree to test, write to us.
Technical details
- Extension .hus; header with identifier 0x00 0x5B 0xFD 0xC8, stitch and colour counts, extents, three offsets to the streams.
- Attribute, x and y streams compressed (Huffman with header table); the studio writes “uncompressed” blocks accepted by the decoder.
- Successors: VIP (Designer SE), then VP3.
Frequently asked questions
Should I still use HUS?
Only if your machine reads nothing else (original Designer I, II, SE). All others read VP3.
Does the HUS written by the studio work?
It is read correctly by the reference libraries but has not yet been stitched on an old Designer. We say so rather than promise.
Go further
The studio is free to draw, open and check designs. Your first machine file takes five minutes.
Updated 2026-09-24.