Custom Embroidery on Hats, Bags, Shirts & More
Embroidery is the process of stitching thread into a garment or accessory. It’s one of the oldest forms of decorating clothing, with some examples dating back even 30,000 years! While the art of hand embroidery is still going strong, today’s commercial embroidery offers many customization options that can be quickly manufactured and produced at a large scale. With the convenience of modern production technology, embroidery can easily give your project a touch of professionalism and quality craftsmanship.
Embroidery is done in five steps:
- Digitize the design: We translate your design into a digital image that maps out each stitch. We provide you with a digital proof so you can see exactly how it will appear on garments.
- Thread and machine setup: We chose threads to match your design’s colors and load the digital file into the embroidery machine. This tells the machine exactly what to sew where.
- Prep garments: We prepare each individual garment for the machine with a process called “hooping.” This ensures that each piece is properly embroidered in the right place and position.
- Stitching: Once your design is properly digitized, the machine is threaded with the correct colors, and hooped garments are placed, it will begin stitching at the push of a button. Production times can vary based on the number of stitches and the complexity of the design.
- Trim and finish: Once the machine finishes its run, our technicians trim any stray threads and review each piece to ensure it meets our rigorous quality standards
Ideal for hats, polos, jackets, and other sturdy materials, embroidering a logo gives it a professional look with texture and depth. Most of all, it adds a touch of class and value, sending the message that your brand is worth it.
BENEFITS | LIMITATIONS |
---|---|
Low minimums | Requires fee for digitizing |
Ideal for hats, bags, jackets, and other sturdy materials | Not recommended for designs with fine detail or thin line work |
Higher perceived value | Cannot match 100% of PMS colors (limited to Madeira’s thread colors) |
Extremely durable | Large designs (high stitch count) can be expensive |
Embroidery Types
Whatever your needs are, we’re here to guide you through all the options and advise you on the choices that will meet your goals. Options include:
Standard Embroidery: Exactly what it sounds like, this is our go to method for embroidery. The majority of stitched logos you’ve seen would fall into this category. This is perfect for hats, flats, and everything in between. Curious if your design will be suitable? Just ask!
Puff Embroidery: If you’re looking to add even more depth and dimension to your design, consider trying puff embroidery. Best when used with block lettering or simple shapes. Puff embroidery is not recommended for designs with fine detail or small text.
Tackle Twill: Involves cutting a piece of material into a specific shape and applying it to the surface of another material with a nylon twill. This style is most well known from sports jerseys and athletic organizations. Best when used with solid text and numbers.
Patch Application: Head over to our accessories page and check out the many patch options we have available. Now imagine these on the garment of your choice. With a quick satin stitch, we can apply these to almost anything.
Turnaround
Our standard turnaround for embroidery orders is 15 business days (approx. 3 weeks, excluding holidays).
Expedited orders may be available for an additional fee, depending on our availability and the scope of your order. Please contact us directly if you need to meet a specific deadline.
Pricing
When it comes to pricing your embroidery job, we stick to the basics:
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- Quantity: How many pieces would you like to order? We have price breaks at quantities of 36, 72, 144, 216, 360, and 576. Have an order over 576 pieces? Contact us directly and we will determine special pricing.
- Embroidery Type: Specialty embroidery types (like puff or tackle twill, for example) will generally have a higher cost than standard embroidery.
- Stitch Count: The amount of stitches needed to embroider a design is known as the stitch count. This varies from design to design, depending on the design itself and the size at which it will be embroidered. The exact stitch count is not determined until the design is digitized, but our experienced team is great at estimating a general range for quoting purposes.
Artwork Specifications
The digitizing process for embroidery jobs requires vectored artwork. Vectors (.ai, .eps, .svg) allow your image to scale infinitely without taking a hit on quality. If your design isn’t in the vector format, no need to worry, our design team will happily assist you!
Things to Avoid
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- Small Fonts: Text should be no smaller than 0.25” or there may be quality loss
- Fine Lines/Details: Embroidered logos are typically small, so fine details and line work can be lost
- Gradients/Halftones: If your logo contains either, we can create a solid version or use an alternate decoration method