He built his own app to unlock a $300 embroidery machine

Buying an embroidery machine no longer guarantees you can use it. According to a Show HN post on Hacker News, a developer decided to write his own software after learning that his $300 machine required a subscription. The result, ZigZag, is a visual embroidery editor built in Rust with performance in mind.

The editor's job is turning artwork into stitches. According to the report, SVG files are converted into stitches, refined in the interface, and then exported in formats such as PES, DST, EXP, JEF or VP3. Those formats mean broad compatibility with machines on the market. The app can also send designs directly to some Brother models over Bluetooth.

The most striking part is the AI angle. The article says ZigZag includes MCP support, letting AI agents create and edit designs alongside the user. That means you can draw in Illustrator, work directly in ZigZag, or hand the task to an agent. The same engine is also available from the command line.

The app runs on macOS 11 or later, with a signed and notarized installer for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. On Windows it supports 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, with a note that SmartScreen may warn on first launch. Linux requires the usual X11/Wayland and OpenGL development libraries. The story is a concrete example of users building their own tools when the hardware they bought is locked behind software they cannot reach.