The StitchPencil stick — send over Bluetooth

What is the StitchPencil stick?

A small stick with a display that sits in the USB port of your embroidery machine. StitchPencil sends a design to it over Bluetooth, and the machine reads it like any USB stick — no carrying a stick between iPad and machine. The stick runs the StitchPencil firmware on one of two small Waveshare boards: the ESP32-S3-GEEK, which comes in a case and is the one we recommend, or the ESP32-S3-LCD-1.47, a bare board with a larger display and an RGB light. Both do exactly the same things; the firmware tells at start-up which one it is on.

The light on the LCD-1.47 says what the stick is doing: blue while it is open for pairing, green when an iPad or a Mac is connected, amber while a design arrives, red when something went wrong (the display says what).

Sending needs the Export Unlock, like every other way out of the app. Looking at the files on the stick and deleting them does not.

Files you already have can also reach the stick from a computer: see StitchPencil Stick for Mac and Send from the browser.

How do I pair the stick?

Once per iPad:

1. Plug the stick into the machine and switch the machine on.
2. In a design, open Export, pick one machine format and tap Send to StitchPencil stick via Bluetooth.
3. The first time, iPadOS asks whether StitchPencil may use Bluetooth: allow it.
4. Pick your stick under Sticks nearby. Its display shows a six-digit code, and iPadOS asks for it: enter exactly that code.
5. The stick shows its name on its display. Look at the stick in your machine: only if that display shows the name, tap Yes, send to this stick (from the gallery: Yes, this is my stick).

From then on the iPad finds its stick by itself — no search, no code, no question.

A stick with no pairing takes the first iPad straight away. For a second iPad, hold the stick’s button for 3 seconds until the display says so: for two minutes it takes a new iPad.

How do I send a design?

In Export, pick one machine format and tap Send to StitchPencil stick via Bluetooth, then Send. A bar shows the progress. Before the app says Verified: the stick read it back unchanged., the stick has saved the file and read it back from its memory, so what the machine gets is exactly what left the iPad.

Then the stick briefly disconnects from the machine and connects again. Many machines read a USB stick only when it is plugged in, and this way they see the new design without you touching the stick.

If a file of the same name is already on the stick, the app asks before it replaces it.

EXP + INF (Bernina) sends both files, the colour file first: the machine never sees the design without its colours.

Where do I see what is on the stick?

The stick button in the top bar of the gallery opens the stick without a design. The export sheet shows the same list after sending.

• Files with the same name are one design: Herz.exp and Herz.inf show as one row, Herz, with EXP + INF.
• A design this iPad sent shows its picture. The picture is kept only in the app on this iPad, never on the stick, so designs from the machine or another iPad show their file type instead.
• Tap a design to see its files, sizes and dates.
• The stick’s memory, free space, and whether the machine is reading right now are shown at the top — after a send too.
• Leaving StitchPencil ends the connection to the stick; when you come back, the sheet connects again by itself.

How do I delete designs from the stick?

Swipe a design to the left, or open it, and choose Delete design. The app asks once and names every file that goes.

• Deleting the stitch file (for example Herz.exp) also deletes its colour file (Herz.inf).
• Deleting only the colour file keeps the stitch file. The machine then sews it in its own colours.
• Touch and hold a design to pick a single file.

Can I add more space?

Insert a microSD card formatted as FAT32. While a card is in, the machine and the app see the card. When you insert one, the designs from the stick’s own memory move onto the card: each is copied, read back, and only then removed from the stick. If the card fills up, the rest stays on the stick and comes back when you remove the card.

Most cards come formatted as exFAT; the stick does not read those and says so on its display. Format the card as FAT32 first — on a Mac, in Disk Utility as MS-DOS (FAT) with Master Boot Record.

How do I update the stick’s firmware?

The stick screen shows the firmware the stick runs, and says when a newer one is available. Firmware and instructions opens the page with the download and the steps. An iPad cannot install firmware itself: you need a computer with Chrome or Edge for two minutes, and — since the stick has a USB-A plug — a USB-C to USB-A adapter if the computer only has USB-C. The page installs with one button, without erasing the designs on the stick.

The button on the stick

• Press once: the stick shows its name.
• Press twice: the display switches between German and English.
• Press three times: the picture turns round by 180°, for a machine whose port faces the other way. The stick remembers it.
• Hold for 3 seconds: the stick takes a new iPad for two minutes.
• Hold for 10 seconds: the stick forgets every pairing.

Something does not work

• No stick found: plug the stick into the machine, switch the machine on and keep the iPad close.
• Pairing did not work: if the stick showed no code, it was not ready to pair. Hold its button for 3 seconds, then try again.
• The stick no longer knows this iPad: after its pairings were erased or its firmware was installed fresh. On the iPad, open Settings › Bluetooth, forget the stick, then pair again.
• The machine is reading from the stick: wait a moment and send again. The stick never changes a file while the machine reads.