Embroidered text animation in After Effects: sew any text or logo on in thread

DISKO Stitch, one of the DISKO Motion disks: $7.99, or the box set for $59.99.

DISKO Stitch is an embroidery effect for After Effects and Premiere Pro. Put it on any live text, shape or logo and it sews it on in thread, stitch by stitch, in the order a hand would: satin columns, a running stitch, or cross stitch on a fabric grid. Every thread is shaded and twisted and casts a little shadow, on a transparent background or on linen, denim or felt.

Endless Coast sewn on in gold satin, letter by letter in pen order, on denim.

The problem: embroidery is a look, not a filter

The embroidered look turns up everywhere: merch, patches, craft channels, the title card of a cozy documentary. Faking it usually means a stitch texture laid over the letters, which looks right until anything moves, or a template that only spells what the template spells. Animating it by hand, stitch by stitch, is the training montage where the hero learns a craft in ninety seconds, except it takes you a week.

How Stitch sews

Stitch reads the outline of the layer it sits on, so it works on live text you can still edit, on shapes and on logos alike. Satin lays columns of thread across each stroke and trims them to the letter's exact outline, over a flat underlay fill sewn just before, so even bold letters show thread everywhere and never the cloth underneath. Running stitch follows every stroke with a line of thread. Cross stitch fills each letter with little crosses on a fabric grid.

It sews in pen order, the order DISKO Typetrace writes in, with a pause between strokes you can set. Keyframe Stitch On and the thread goes on as fast or as slow as the edit wants. The thread comes in the layer's own colors or one color you pick, with sheen, puff for a padded look, jitter for a hand-sewn wobble and a cast shadow. Add a backing of linen, denim or felt and you get the needle holes too.

The controls

• Stitch On: how much of the design is sewn so far. Keyframe it from 0 to 100.
• Stitch Type: satin, running stitch or cross stitch.
• Density: how close the stitches sit.
• Thread Color and Color: the layer's own colors, or one you pick.
• Sheen, Puff and Shadow: how the thread catches the light.
• Jitter: a little hand-sewn irregularity.
• Fabric: transparent, linen, denim or felt.
• Stroke Pause and Start Direction: how the needle moves between strokes.

Good for

• Logo reveals for apparel, merch and patch brands
• Titles and lower thirds for craft, sewing and DIY channels
• Cozy title cards and chapter cards
• Badges, varsity letters and team names
• Social posts that need a handmade feel

Requirements and price

DISKO Stitch runs in After Effects 2024 or later and Premiere Pro 2024 or later, on macOS 12 or later (Apple silicon and Intel) or Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. It runs on the CPU, no GPU needed, at 8, 16 and 32 bpc, with Multi-Frame Rendering.

Stitch is $7.99, once. It's also one of the disks in the DISKO Motion V1 box set, $59.99 for the whole set. There's no subscription, every 1.x update is free, and when V2 arrives it will be a paid upgrade you can skip, because V1 keeps working.

The trial is the whole effect, every control included. Renders carry a DISKO MOTION TRIAL watermark until you enter a license code in Effect Controls > Options (in After Effects, Window > DISKO Motion License.jsx works too). Codes work offline, on up to three computers you use.

Hand embroidery, minus the pricked fingers.