Dev builds free embroidery app to avoid subscription
Original: Show HN: My $300 embroidery machine needed a subscription, so I built my own app
Why This Matters
Shows MCP expanding into physical hardware tooling beyond pure software workflows.
A developer built ZigZag, a free open-source embroidery app for Mac and Windows, after their $300 Brother Skitch machine required a paid subscription. It converts SVG art to stitches and supports AI design via MCP.
After buying a $300 Brother Skitch (PP1) embroidery machine and finding it locked behind a subscription, developer simpsoka built ZigZag — a visual embroidery editor written in Rust — and released it on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license. The app converts SVG artwork into machine embroidery, lets users edit stitches visually, and exports to five formats: PES, DST, EXP, JEF, and VP3, covering broad machine compatibility. It can also send designs directly to a Brother Skitch over Bluetooth. What sets ZigZag apart is its built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) support, letting AI agents create and edit embroidery designs alongside the user. The same Rust engine powers a command-line tool for scripted workflows outside the GUI. The project has picked up 327 stars and 19 forks since launching. Downloads are available for Mac and Windows at zigzag.diy.