Embroidery: Everything You Need to Know

Everything you need to about adding embroidered products to your store!
PY
Written by Print Your Cause
Updated 2 weeks ago

What is Embroidery? 

Embroidery is a popular decoration method where a machine uses a needle and thread to stitch designs and logos onto hats, polos, jackets, and more! Embroidery is a great option for giving your products a more elevated look.

Best For:

  • Thicker Garments: Embroidery works best on thicker materials like polos, fleece, or canvas. We do not recommend it for lightweight t-shirts.

  • Structured Products: Embroidery is a great option for structured items like hats and bags, which may not be suitable for other decoration methods.

  • Smaller Print Locations: Embroidery is ideal for smaller areas like left chest, sleeve prints, or hats and bags. We do not recommend full-front embroidery due to the higher stitch count and stiffer feel.

Considerations:

  • A .DST file is Required: Your logo must be converted to this file format for the embroidery machine to read it. We offer this service, called digitization, for a fee of $30 per logo. Read more about getting your file digitized for embroidery here.

  • Small Details Maybe Lost: Intricate logos or logos with small details may not convert well into an embroidery file and may need to be simplified. Our design team can assist with adjusting your design as needed.

  • Priced by Stitch Count: Unlike other decoration methods, the base price for embroidered products depends on the number of stitches in the design. The more stitches in the embroidery file, the higher the base price. We limit all embroidery designs to a maximum of 20,000 stitches.

  • Thread Color May Not Match Logo Color: Available thread colors may not match your brand colors exactly. We recommend selecting the closest matching thread color for your embroidery items. Want to see how your selected embroidery thread colors will turn out? Ask about our discounted sample pricing!

  • Embroidery Files Cannot Be Resized: Unlike other decoration methods, embroidery files cannot be resized in the product builder. If you need to resize your embroidery file, please reach out to us. There is no additional cost for resizing the same logo if we handled the conversion.

  • Separate File for Different Products: Not all products will stitch out the same way. For example, hats will stitch differently than polos. Using the wrong file type on an item will result in poor embroidery quality. When requesting an embroidery file, please specify which product(s) you wish to embroider.

Products Available for Embroidery:

Embroidery is available for a variety of fabrics and products from t-shirts to jackets to hats and more! Check out our available Embroidery products here!

Artwork Requirements:

  • All lines must have a minimum line weight of 1 point for garments. Hats & textured items must have a minimum line weight of 2 points. Lines less than 1 point will not adhere to the garment, causing gaps to be printed in the artwork. 

  • All negative spaces need to be a minimum thickness equivalent to 2 points. Negative spaces less than 2 points will not allow enough clearance between printed lines, causing those lines to bleed together.

  • All text should be converted to outlines, if uploading a vector file. Live fonts will not be recognized as objects to print. Exporting your file as a PNG will also fix this problem. 

 

File Requirements:

  • Your file must have a transparent background. Our digitizing partners will convert exactly what is uploaded. If your PNG file contains a white background, your embroidery file will also have a white background. 

  • When sending your logo to be digitized, your file should be formatted as either a PNG or vector file (.png .svg .ai .eps .pdf .psd, .tif, .tiff).  

 

Checklist: 

  • Does your artwork have a transparent background?

  • Do all lines meet the minimum line weight of 1 point?
  • Do all negative spaces meet the minimum spacing of 2 points?

  • Is your file formatted in one of the following formats: .png .svg .ai .eps .pdf .psd, .tif, .tiff

  • Did you request separate files for each product? (For example, a polo file, a hat file, a bag file, etc.)

After receiving your embroidery file, you'll need to upload into your account and select thread colors. Read more about that process here!

Want to learn more? Read more about our artwork requirements and decoration methods!



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