How do I prepare my design for embroidery?
Embroidery has unique design requirements because artwork is recreated with thread instead of ink. To make sure your design digitizes cleanly and stitches clearly on the final product, it’s important to prepare your file with embroidery limitations in mind. This guide walks you through size rules, color use, line requirements, and best practices to help you create embroidery-ready artwork that looks professional and stitches reliably.
Size requirements
To make sure your design elements and text are clearly visible once stitched, follow these size rules:
- Minimum text height: 0.25" (≈6.35 mm)
- Minimum line thickness: 0.05" (≈1.27 mm)
- Shape thickness range: 0.05"–0.5" (≈1.27–12.7 mm)
Smaller text, thin outlines, or fine details may be automatically enlarged or simplified during digitization to ensure proper stitching.
Do’s and don’ts for embroidery designs
To achieve clean, durable embroidery results, keep these design principles in mind. They’ll help you avoid common digitization issues and ensure your designs are approved quickly. The examples below show how small adjustments can make a big difference.
Color use
- Do: Use solid, contrasting colors. You can include up to 6 thread colors per design.
- Don’t: Use gradients, color blends, or subtle shading—these effects can’t be stitched accurately.
Learn more about embroidery colors
Negative space
- Do: Keep clear separations between elements.
- Don’t: Rely on tiny gaps or thin empty spaces to define details. These areas may fill in or merge during stitching.
Images
- Do: Use simple shapes and bold outlines.
- Don’t: Use photographs, complex illustrations, or thin repeating patterns—they don’t translate well to thread.
Text
- Do: Use fonts that are at least 0.25" (≈6 mm) tall and have medium-to-thick strokes.
- Don’t: Use very thin or small fonts—fine serifs and scripts may lose clarity once stitched.
Line thickness
- Do: Keep all lines at least 0.05" (≈1.3 mm) thick.
- Don’t: Use extremely fine lines or distressed textures. These can disappear or look uneven once embroidered.
Details
- Do: Simplify your artwork and remove background images with small decorative elements.
- Don’t: Include intricate details that won’t translate in thread.
Backgrounds
- Do: Upload your design with a transparent background.
- Don’t: Use solid, photographic, or patterned backgrounds—they can interfere with the stitching area.
Simplifying shapes, increasing line thickness, and removing backgrounds help preserve the main idea of your artwork while making it embroidery-ready.
Additional information
- Use high-resolution files (at least 1200 × 675 px or 300 DPI).
- Choose clear, bold fonts with sufficient spacing between letters.
- Order a sample to review how your design appears in thread before listing it in your store.