Embroidery Design Tips - How Do I Create a Great Design for Embroidery?

Embroidery is a great option for custom apparel such as polos, jackets, and hats. It offers an elevated look to logos because the thread is sewn directly onto each product. To make sure your embroidered apparel looks its best, Custom Ink has compiled a list of embroidery design tips to keep in mind:

Custom Ink’s Top 5 Embroidery Design Tips

1. Keep your design simple
   Overly complicated designs and logos will appear crowded, or even overly simplistic once translated for stitching within the product's design area. Consider removing extra words, dates, phone numbers, and even colors to clean up your design

2. Select the right product to embroider
   Some fabrics take to thread better than others, like a polo or a vest. Keep in mind that embroidered products require a backing to stabilize and maintain the life of your product. Think of it like this: the sturdier the fabric, the thinner the backing will be, the thinner the fabric, the thicker the backing. (Want products you know will look great embroidered? Get started here.)

3. Your font choice matters
   Make sure the font you choose is embroidery-friendly like sans-serif fonts are known to be. (Learn all about Custom Ink’s favorite fonts for embroidery on the blog!)

4. Avoid halftones and gradients
   Unlike ink, thread comes in strands of individual colors and can’t be mixed. Instead of gradients, solid edges best help your embroidery pop and give it a crisp, more polished look. If halftones or gradients are integral to your design, opt for screen printing instead.

5. Don’t go too big
   When you think of embroidery, you might think of the classic chest pocket design, and that’s for a reason—it’s the perfect size for embroidery. The bigger a design is, the less likely it is to achieve the polished look embroidered products are known for. Large embroidered sections also weigh down apparel and impact the comfort and fit. So when thinking embroidery, remember, less is more.