Your Embroidered Logo: Quick Tips

 Planning on having your new business logo set-up for embroidered button down shirts? Think you might want embroidered caps in the future? Have your logo set-up for hats if it has a horizontal orientation. Then, the same embroidery set-up can be used for both your shirts and caps.

Do the colors in an embroidered design need to match the colors in the artwork? No, the colors can be changed but it’s wise to see a proof showing the new colors against the right background color so you can see how the colors work together and how they contrast against the background.

Can T-shirts be embroidered? It depends on the size and amount of detail in the design. Left chest-sized logos are usually fine unless you embroider a very detailed design on a very thin T-shirt. Larger back designs generally won’t work. The embroidery may look good initially but may not lie flat after it’s washed. Keep the design small (under 6” wide) and locate it just below the collar if you must embroider the back of a T-shirt.

Your Embroidered Logo: Shirt and Hat Designs - Can They Be the Same?

If you have a logo thats already been designed for embroidered shirts will it work for embroidered hats? Maybe.

Many logos, especially if they have a horizontal orientation, can be used for hats without needing any design changes. But, if your logo is vertically orientated, is detailed or contains small text, it may need modifications. Implementing changes like rearranging design elements and enlarging or eliminating small text can make a design work for caps. 

But, if rearranging your logo isn’t an option or you’d like to try something different, focus on one element within your design (most likely the image) and size it to approximately 1.5” x 1.5” so it fits well when located on the side of a front hat panel. This will give you a distinctly different logo that works for caps.

Your Embroidered Logo: Sleeve Design Sizing

What size logo works best for an embroidered sleeve design? A design that's approximately 3” wide that can be easily read from a 3' distance. 

What type of design doesn’t work well for a sleeve design? A left chest-sized logo that becomes too small to be readable when downsized. 

How can you fix a design that's too small? Eliminate unnecessary parts of the design so the primary elements, your business name and possibly an image or secondary text, can be enlarged so they are readable.

Your Embroidered Logo: Hat Logo Sizing

When does a logo work well for embroidered hats? When it fills the front area (4" wide x 2.25” high) and the business name is clearly readable and has the primary focus.

When doesn’t a logo work well for hats? 

• When its vertically orientated so it doesn’t fit well into the horizontally-orientated space 
• When there’s too much text or the text is too small 
• When the design is too detailed to be embroidered on a curved surface  

How can a vertically-orientated design be adjusted so it works well for hats?

• If the logo consists of stacked text and an image, place the image to one side of the text
• Modify the proportions of the design
• Eliminate part of the design

Sometimes the best you can do with a logo is to simplify it and just use the business name. If that isn’t acceptable then consider having a logo designed just for hats.