Whether you’re looking to create personalized items for yourself or want to attract more eCommerce customers, our embroidery ideas can help you bring your designs to life.
Custom embroidery allows you to stitch unique patterns onto fabric, adding a distinctive and professional touch to clothing and accessories. Embroidered products are known for their high quality, durability, and eco-friendly appeal. But first, you’ll need to create your designs.
In this article, we’ll list some cool things to embroider on clothes. Let’s take a look.
Where to find embroidery design ideas?
Before searching for embroidery ideas online, narrow your focus. Consider your niche, whether it’s a specific theme, apparel type, or market. This helps you find designs that resonate with your style or target audience.
Here are some great places to find design inspiration:
- Dribbble: A popular platform for designers to showcase their portfolios. Find a wide range of creative embroidery designs and trends.
- Adobe Stock: Offers a vast library of high-quality stock images and vector designs that can be adapted for embroidery.
- Pinterest: A treasure trove of design inspiration. Search for embroidery ideas and browse boards dedicated to different themes and styles.
Additionally, explore popular Etsy and Shopify stores to see what’s trending or use search engines to find popular keywords and products.
Let’s continue with 25 unique embroidery ideas to inspire your personal projects or design bestselling custom merchandise.
25 creative embroidery ideas for your designs
There are numerous creative ways to add a personal touch to your custom embroidered products. Go for a nature-themed design, have text stitched on apparel, create a more minimalistic pattern, or try different sorts of designs to see what works best.
Check out the list of ideas we’ve compiled below and try them out on your next projects.
Embroidery ideas with nature elements
- Flowers, trees, and plants
- Mushrooms and berries
- Bees, beetles, and birds
- Celestial objects
- Rainbows and clouds
Nature is a fun theme in embroidered art and clothing. Natural elements bring color and calm to designs and offer a straightforward place to inspire your creativity with cute things to embroider.
Try adding flowers, green plants, or mushrooms for a fresh or psychedelic look. Beetles and insects, with their unique shapes, make exciting design elements for beautiful patterns.
For celestial inspiration, embrace planets, stars, rainbows, or the sun and moon, using different stitch types to enhance colorful details.
Cute embroidery ideas
- Adorable animals
- Silly smiley faces
- Cute puns
Cute and fun embroidery ideas are great for friends and family. That said, they also cover a large demographic of customers who appreciate more sentimental elements in their wardrobes.
Use animals like puppies, cats, or even wild ones like lions and elephants. Smiley faces are simple yet effective on items that don’t have a face – like food and beverages. And, of course, there are silly puns. combined with visual elements, they can add a cheeky twist to your cute embroidery designs.
Embroidery designs with text
- Quotes, mottos, and slogans
- Names and initials
- Jokes and puns
- Affirmations
Machine embroidery techniques make text designs easy to create, and even beginners can find that crafting embroidery letters is a simple way to add depth and distinction to clothes and accessories.
Use quotes, sayings, or mottos to fill small spaces with something short and sweet. Names and initials add a personal touch – offer this option to buyers for personalization as custom embroidery ideas. Jokes, whether friendly or sarcastic, work well for hats or t-shirts.
Minimalistic and simple embroidery ideas
- Line art
- Silly doodles
- Cartoons
- Origami designs
Simple and easy embroidery ideas work well with stitching techniques.
Line art, with its clean lines and curves, is ideal for minimalistic embroidery. Cartoons and doodles, whether holiday-themed or general, add charm to clothing. Origami designs, like animals and plants, bring a unique touch to apparel and bags.
Cool embroidery ideas for hats
- Food items
- Vehicles and boats
- Flags
- Map shapes
- Symbols
- Music notes
- Animals
Hats are great for embroidery, with designs that are easy to spot.
Embroider food items with big and tasty outlines. Try designs of vehicles and boats that cater to enthusiasts, while straightforward flags and map shapes can appeal to travelers and patriots. Don’t forget stitches of symbols, music notes, and more – find some inspired niches for your embroidery project.
T-shirt embroidery ideas
- Company logos
- Sports team logos
- Monograms
- Holiday themes
T-shirts offer a variety of creative and fun things to embroider. Customized shirts are the bestselling product category for dropshipping – a practical choice for your next embroidery project.
Embroider company logos or sports team logos for brand visibility. Monograms add a personalized feel, and you can ask customers for their own custom initials. Holiday themes, from Christmas to Halloween, are always popular and can make your designs stand out.
What to know when making custom embroidery products
A well-thought-out embroidery design is the most important thing when creating an embroidered jacket, t-shirt, hat, sweatshirt, tote bag, etc. If you get it wrong, the apparel won’t look good.
Here are some of the main aspects to keep in mind when working on your embroidery design:
- Keep the design simple. Use clean lines, and don’t use multiple layers.
- Check embroidery limitations. Don’t have tiny details in your design.
- Use large lettering. Small text will be increased or omitted from the graphic.
- Add transparency. Fill small areas of negative space to prevent them from being automatically filled.
Experiment with thread colors, adjust the hoop for different fabrics, and enjoy the process as you see your ideas come to life. If you need inspiration, photos and videos of other projects can provide that extra bit of guidance.
Reasons to sell embroidered products
Custom embroidery is a profitable option for growing your business and selling apparel of a higher perceived quality. The global embroidery market is projected to expand from $3.2 billion in 2023 to $6.2 billion by 2032. The industry growth adds to already existing benefits, including:
- Premium pricing potential: the intricate craftsmanship and durability of embroidery let you charge higher prices, turning each sale into a more profitable transaction.
- Sustainable luxury: embroidered products are not only long-lasting but also eco-friendly, attracting customers who value sustainability and are willing to invest in it.
- Distinctive aesthetic: embroidery adds a rich, textured dimension to designs, making them visually striking and offering a tactile experience that printed products simply can’t.
Ready to get started?
1. Sign up
Create a free account with Printify. Our quick and easy registration will give beginners and professionals access to all the tools you need to start designing and listing your embroidery products online.You can also subscribe to Printify Premium for a production discount if you’re working on larger embroidery projects.
2. Pick a product
Explore Printify’s extensive Product Catalog to find the perfect item to showcase your embroidery design. Choose from a wide range of apparel and accessories. Use the filters to find embroidered products faster.
3. Apply your design
Use the Printify Product Creator to upload your embroidery design and see how it will look on your chosen product. Customize and perfect your artwork before proceeding.
4. Sell or order for yourself
Integrate Printify with your online store to start selling or order your custom embroidered products for personal use. Connect your store seamlessly with Printify.
5. Let Printify do the rest
Once your designs are ready, Printify’s network takes care of production, packaging, and shipping, so you can focus on growing your business.
Summing up
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, a great embroidery idea can give your online sales a new lease on life. Modern embroidery machines handle the stitching, allowing you to relax and brainstorm embroidery ideas for clothing and accessories that your audience will love.
Use the ideas shared here to start your projects. Experiment with different designs, learn from your experiences, and don’t forget to share your success stories. Let your creativity loose to decorate and stitch your designs to perfection.
