Can you walk me through the process in general terms?

Hello -- I'm trying to educate myself on the process from having a photo to turning it into a design that can be embroidered on an item.

Is there software (and suggestions are welcome) that can take a jpg and use that, or does it need to be turned into a vector graphic first?

I apologize for the obviously newbie question. I'm having a hard time finding the information on what the process involves. I don't need actual instructions, just a rough list of what happens.