It is not possible to create embroidery design files with some common graphics editor, you will need a specialized software for that.
Using bitmap sources it's not always optimal, because embroidery designs are vector based, however not impossible. An experienced graphics designer might be able to create embroidery design from any image, but a special digitizer software will be required.
Some embroidery software can also possess basic digitizing function that can convert raster image to embroidery, but that's usually far from perfect.