ESA Embroidery Fonts for Hatch & Wilcom Software | Beginners Guide

Have you heard about ESA embroidery fonts but are unsure about what they are or do? Well then keep reading! This article will teach you everything you need to know about ESA embroidery fonts.

Before we get started, if you’re looking for new ESA fonts, be sure to check out our giant collection (in fact, the world’s largest collection) of close to 1,000 ESA fonts. Click here to browse our ESA fonts now.

If you’re new to ESA font technology, it can be confusing knowing what they are and what sets them apart from traditional digitized letters. ESA stands for “Embroidery Specific Alphabets,” and to put it simply:

ESA fonts are a native embroidery font file format specific to Hatch & Wilcom embroidery software. Given they are native file formats, these keyboard fonts can be easily adjusted, resized, and reshaped, all while giving you professional results. Want to learn more about what makes native file format fonts so powerful? Read our full article explaining machine embroidery fonts.

ESA fonts are only compatible with Hatch, Wilcom E series & Janome V5 and can be loaded directly into your software. Wicom E series software for the commercial embroidery industry, while Hatch is made for home embroiderers

Please note that ESA fonts are downloaded as a zip file, meaning you’ll need to unzip them before you can install them into your embroidery software. For directions on how to install your ESA fonts into your embroidery software, click here.

When creating your personalized embroidery creations, choosing the perfect font can help set the perfect tone for what you’re trying to say. Your font choice can ultimately tie a project together or break it apart. The more embroidery font options available, the more creative potential you possess. When it comes to ESA fonts, there is no shortage of fonts and possibilities. When choosing where to purchase your ESA embroidery fonts, ensure they’re from a reputable source.

We offer the world’s largest selection of ESA fonts at the industry’s most affordable prices. 

All of our ESA fonts available are carefully tested before listing and are created and inspected by John Deer, the world’s most awarded embroidery digitizer. We guarantee all of our fonts are digitized properly for perfect and professional results.  

Check out all of our huge collection of 1000 ESA fonts.

We offer many different font categories, such as foam, applique, glyphs, fancy, monograms, to name a few.

You might have noticed numbers beside each font name. These numbers indicate the letter size measurement to help you indicate what your minimum design sizing is. Which, as you learned above, is essential when resizing!

A common question I get asked is can you modify ESA letters? Yes, you can! 

ESA fonts are object-based. You may wonder what that means. Think of it like vector art. You can easily change certain parts of an image when using CorelDraw. Modifying ESA fonts is similar. Say you wanted to stitch out the word “Free,” but you want to adjust the letter “r” to make the font flow better. You would be able to change this as you can modify the original shape or “objects” it was created using nodes.

Nodes are little “points” in the design that you can click and drag to adjust the outline/shape of a specific letter. No fancy programming or computer knowledge needed. Just click, drag and adjust any letter to the shape you want it!

“Free” letters using ESA font.

“Free” ESA font letters modified.

With ESA fonts, you have the versatility to change many factors such as properties, stitch types, and density. Within Hatch, you can break apart every object within your letters, and you can alter or add certain elements to your letters to create the look you desire. To decrease your trims and nodes, you can also rearrange your sequence to allow particular objects to be digitized first. You can then branch and remove unneeded jumps and trims to allow your object to flow.  

Check out our Youtube video below as I go into more detail regarding how to modify your ESA letters to get the exact look you want to achieve. 

Do you really want your embroidery to stand out? ESA file formats and their node based technology go beyond just lettering! ESA flexi shapes, glyphs, and flexi fills are the perfect way to add that extra personalization and flair.

ESA Flexi Shapes

ESA Flexi shapes are an easy way to create unique shapes in your Hatch software. They can create outlines or simply basic shapes. Flexi shape objects are assigned a keystroke. You use the insert character to bring them into your work area and then use the break apart tool to customize these shapes. 

Check out our Flexi-Shape collection by clicking here.

To check out more ESA Flexi shape magic, check out our Youtube video below on how to use ESA Flexi shapes yourself within Hatch embroidery software.

ESA Glyphs

ESA Glyphs help embellish your embroidery project perfectly. The difference between ESA Glyphs and ESA fonts is using a shape or symbol rather than a letter. They allow you to create shapes and objects for your embroidery projects easily. ESA Glyphs are design objects that have been assigned a keystroke and are resizable and customizable. When working with Glyphs, you must use the insert character. 

Check out our ESA Glyphs collection and how to use them by clicking here.

To check out more ESA glyph magic, check out our Youtube video below on how to use ESA Glyphs yourself within Hatch embroidery software.

ESA Flexi Fill

ESA Flexi Fill fonts go above and beyond traditional ESA fonts as they allow you to be more flexible and customizable, therefore allowing you to create beautifully dramatic effects.

Check out our collection of Flexi-Fill fonts by click here.

To check out more ESA Flexi font magic, check out our Youtube video below on how to create ESA Flexi Fills yourself within Hatch embroidery software.

Subscribe to our Embroidery Legacy Youtube channel above, for everything you need to know about ESA fonts.

If you own Hatch or Wilcom E series software, ESA fonts are a great solution to getting great stitched-out results. Although ESA fonts may have previously seemed confusing, you now know they’re much easier than you think. With many font options available, ESA fonts provide you with countless creative possibilities. Happy stitching!