Your embroidery journey begins here
Embroidery offers a timeless and durable way to add a premium touch to your products. It’s a versatile method that creates high-quality, long-lasting designs. However, achieving the best results with embroidery requires careful planning and design choices.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key aspects of creating embroidery designs with Printify, selecting the right products, and making sure the final result meets professional standards.
When to use embroidery?
Embroidery is a popular choice for creating high-quality, signature items that enhance a brand’s credibility. It works best on thicker fabrics and lighter shades, making it ideal for hats, jackets, polos, and button-down shirts.
One of embroidery’s biggest advantages is its durability. Polyester or rayon threads hold up well over time, making embroidery far more resilient than other methods and perfect for simple designs with few colors.
Since embroidery offers a premium, long-lasting finish, it is generally more expensive – especially for detailed or multicolored designs. Embroidery remains the best choice for a high-end, durable product. However, for projects with intricate details or a tight budget, options like screen printing or direct-to-garment (DTG) printing might be more suitable.
Discover how to sell high-profit embroidery designs with Printify on our YouTube channel.
Embroidery design requirements
Creating the perfect embroidery design requires attention to detail and an understanding of the method’s limitations.
Follow these important guidelines so your designs translate well onto garments. From thread color choices to design simplicity, keeping these key points in mind will help you achieve high-quality, professional results.
Check our article on how to make embroidery designs for Print on Demand and our Help Center guide on embroidery design requirements.
Embroidery design do’s
- Choose from 15 available thread colors
We offer 15 rich thread colors and select the closest match for your design if exact shades are unavailable. Note that you can only use six colors per design.
Embroidery thread colors
| Needle | Color | HEX Code | Madeira Color Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | #FFFFFF | 1801 |
| 2 | Black | #000000 | 6800 |
| 3 | Grey | #96A1A8 | 1718 |
| 4 | Navy | #333366 | 1966 |
| 5 | Aqua/Teal | #3399FF | 1695 |
| 6 | Purple | #6B5294 | 1832 |
| 7 | Maroon | #660000 | 1784 |
| 8 | Red | #CC3333 | 1839 |
| 9 | Flamingo | #CC3366 | 1910 |
| 10 | Orange | #E25C27 | 1987 |
| 11 | Gold | #FFCC00 | 1951 |
| 12 | Old Gold | #A67843 | 1672 |
| 13 | Kiwi Green | #7BA35A | 1848 |
| 14 | Kelly Green | #01784E | 1751 |
| 15 | Royal | #005397 | 1842 |
- Use high-resolution images
Upload a PNG (with a transparent background) or a JPEG file with a resolution of at least 1200 × 720 pixels (for hats) or 1200 × 1200 pixels (for other products) for the best results. - Keep your design simple
Simple designs work best to maintain detail and clarity. Overly complex designs can lose their sharpness during embroidery. - Use the correct text size
Lowercase text should start at 0.25” (6.4 mm or 18pt) and uppercase at 0.3” (7.6 mm). Measure text with varying thickness at its thinnest point to meet these guidelines. Avoid using small letters – we will resize or omit text smaller than 0.18” (4.57 mm). - Consider the embroidery area
The embroidery area varies by product, so make sure your design fits within these boundaries for optimal results.
See examples of suitable embroidery designs.
Embroidery design dont’s
- Avoid small details and thin lines
Don’t use thin lines in your artwork – the minimum line thickness should be 0.05” (1.27 mm) for optimal clarity. Shapes should have a thickness between 0.05” (1.3 mm) and 0.5” (12.7 mm) to maintain detail and consistency.
- Don’t use gradients
Gradients don’t translate well in embroidery. Stick to bold, solid colors with clear lines between elements.
- No photos, please
Photographs do not convert well during digitization and often result in unclear designs. Stick to clean graphics with no gradients.
- Be aware of small gaps and negative spaces
The digitization process may fill small gaps in your design, which is especially important to consider when adding text. To prevent unwanted filling, use a transparent background or fill any small gaps yourself with a color that complements your design for a clean result.
Explore our embroidery catalog now
Embroidery design areas
It’s important to consider the size and placement of your artwork. Different products have specific embroidery areas, and simple, bold designs tend to work best.
Here are the recommended dimensions for caps and apparel to help you create standout embroidery designs.
Embroidery area for caps
The maximum design area for caps is 4 × 2.5 inches (101.6 × 63.5 mm). For optimal quality, use a resolution of 1200 × 720 pixels at 300 dpi.
Embroidery area for apparel
For apparel items, the embroidery area is 4 × 4 inches (106.6 × 106.6 mm). A resolution of 1200 × 1200 pixels at 300 dpi works best for these products.
The digitization process
Digitization is the process of converting your artwork into a stitch file that the embroidery machine can read. It’s an essential step in embroidery before any design can be applied to a garment.
It’s important to note that digitization is a separate step in the order process. Only after digitizing the artwork can your order be sent to the chosen Print Provider for production.The digitization process begins after you place an order and takes up to 36 hours. It’s a detailed, manual task that requires optimizing the design, ensuring it meets embroidery specifications to stitch perfectly onto the fabric.
Check out our Help Center article to learn more about Printify’s embroidery digitization.
Must-have quality check
Always order samples to see how the design holds up on the garment – look for clean stitching, accurate colors, and precise details. Embroidery is more intricate than printing, so small tweaks can make a big difference.
Watch our detailed guide on how to order samples on our YouTube channel.
Make sure the final result is high-quality and meets your standards before selling embroidered products to customers.