From corporate apparel to team jerseys, custom embroidery offers a beautiful, long-lasting way to personalize a variety of materials. Unlike screen printing, embroidery directly weaves thick strands of thread into the garment, creating a distinguished, textured design that won’t fade over time. A few key considerations can help you create an incredible custom design.

Do:

Keep it simple.

It’s important to remember that embroidery creates thicker lines, making small details hard to read or see on certain materials, like a shirt. Simple shapes and contrasting colors will help your custom embroidery design pop, even with a limited amount of space.

Think about placement.

Consider the garment you want to personalize, the size of your design, and the placement that will give you the most visual impact. For instance, if you’re placing your design on the front of a T-shirt, the top of the design should be centered between the left and right seams. On the back of a jacket, designs are generally placed between the shoulder blades. A custom apparel professional can help you select the best placement for your embroidery.

Don't:

Be afraid to be unique.

Although you’re working with a few limitations, you have room to express yourself and be unique with custom embroidery. For example, you can easily experiment with different color combinations and contrasts, or use fun (but legible) fonts.

Use a font with heavy serifs.

If you embroider text, your best bet is to use a clean sans serif font with a decent amount of space between each letter. While some distressed or heavily styled fonts look impressive, they don’t always translate well with thick embroidery thread.

Embroidery can easily fit your branding needs and reflect your personal vision. Reach out to a local apparel service to create your perfect design. With over 40 years of experience serving the local community of Hilo, HI, Creative Arts Hawaii is an acclaimed full-service shop for everything from custom embroidery to logo design. Whether you need screen printing, graphic design, promotional products, or banner printing services, this team believes that the only limit is your imagination. To speak with a friendly representative, call (808) 935-7393, or visit them online to learn more about their work.