• Your shopping cart is empty!

Tips on Embroidery

Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Modern embroidery techniques involve an embroidery machine. The garment to be embroidered must be clamped. Garments such as shirts or tracksuit tops can be clamped all around the area to be embroidered, using a clamping ring and then placed on a flat bed machine. This will produce the best results as the garment has less chance of moving during the embroidery process. The needle penetrates the garment, depositing thread as it does so, at a rate of 700+ times a minute.The speed of this is quite astonishing. 

Caps can only be embroidered on a single head machine. Similar processes apply, however caps can only be clamped by a clamping ring just above the peak. It is quite important to appreciate that caps cannot be clamped above the area to be embroidered. Because of this the material (especially wool) is being pushed and pulled quite vigorously as the needle penetrates the cap, again at a rate of 700+ times per minute. Thought should be given as to what is necessary at the top of an embroidered badge, particularly on caps and sun hats. A slight mis-match may be witnessed due to the aforementioned movement, eg. in detail stiched over a colour. When a cap is embroidered, the machine is moving in the 'X' and 'Y' axis as the needle penetrates it at speed. The clamping attachment is also rotating in the 'Z' axis, so it can be quite a complicated process. Embroidery is not a science and will not replicate exactly, a badge, which can easily be printed on a lazer printer, for example. Remember, the best looking designs are nearly always the simplest.

Is text required on caps? I always think that caps should be used to compliment playing shirts and sweaters. Shirts and sweaters can be embroidered on flat bed machines and text can be achieved much easier than on caps. Is it necessary to repeat the club name or motto again on the cap? No 1st Class Cricket Counties have the Club name on their playing caps. Remember the approximate area which can be embroidered on caps is around 60mm in height. If you start adding additional text, such as dates or '100' etc; then the room left for the badge will become smaller, making the embroidery more difficult and potentially losing detail in the badge. Also small text will run the risk of thread 'filling in' the centres of letters such as 'A', 'B', 'D', 'O' etc: 

If you have a dst file (embroidery file) that works well, then we are happy to use it but remember a dst file that produces a badge say, 100mm in height is no good when the embroidery area only allows for a badge 60mm in height (as is the case with most caps). If you don't have a dst file then we will have to get one professionally digitized from a good quality .jpeg or .png file suppled by you. 

So to summarise:

  • Keep your design simple. The best embroidered badges come from the simplest designs
  • Try not to add extra text. 1 line of extra text plus 1 space will reduce the height of the badge considerably
  • Can you remove the club name without it distracting from the badge? The name will appear on the shirts most probably
  • Don't use computer aided shading. An embroidery machine is not a printer!
  • Always view your badge printed at approx 60mm in height (and not 200mm). That way you will see it the same size as the embroidered badge  
  • Be realistic what you want to achieve. If the badge has a knight holding a shield for example and that shield is split in to quarters and each quarter has detailed images of say 3 lions, you will see dots and not lions when it is embroidered, even if it prints OK on your lazer printer
  • Our stock caps are 8 panel caps but 'Made to Order' 6 panel caps provide a larger embroidery area and the panels can be embroidered flat before being stitched together

Caps look top draw when the above advice is followed and can add something to the clubs identity. Two identical plain caps but with different embroidered badges can look completely different. Make yours stand out and look the best! KEEP IT SIMPLE.

If you have any questions or need any advice do not hesitate to get in touch at sales@cricketcap.co.uk