Most embroidery briefs start the same way: a logo gets WhatsApped over with the message "can you do this on 20 polos for next week?" Sometimes that's enough. Often it isn't. The difference between a clean, premium-looking badge and a fuzzy, pulled mess usually comes down to information shared at brief stage — not skill on the machine.
Here's what actually helps an embroiderer turn your logo into something you'll be proud of.
1. Send the highest-quality file you have
Vector files (AI, EPS, PDF, SVG) are best because they describe shapes, not pixels — we can scale them, separate the colours, and trace clean stitch paths from them. A high-resolution PNG or JPG works too, especially if it's at least 1500 px on the longest edge with sharp edges.
What doesn't work well: a 300 px logo lifted off your website, a screenshot of a screenshot, or a photograph of a printed business card. They can be redrawn, but you'll pay for the redraw and you'll wait longer. If a vector exists somewhere — a designer's archive, a brand pack, a previous supplier — it's worth chasing it down before you brief us.
2. Tell us the largest size you'll embroider it at
This is the single most useful piece of information you can give. A logo at 7 cm wide on a cap front is a fundamentally different stitch file to the same logo at 25 cm on a jacket back. Smaller sizes need thinner outlines, simpler text, and elements removed; larger sizes can carry detail that would turn into mush at chest size.
If you brief at the wrong size, two things happen: either we digitise for the largest size and the small version looks blocky, or we digitise for the small size and the large version looks thin and underwhelming. A quick line — "7 cm on caps, 9 cm on chest, 22 cm on jacket back" — saves a redo.
3. Tell us the fabric and the placement
Fabric choice changes everything underneath the stitches. Polo cotton sits flat and takes detail well. Technical mesh moves under the needle and needs lighter density. Beanie knit stretches in every direction. Fleece sinks the stitches and needs taller satin columns to read well. We tune the underlay, density, and pull compensation per fabric — but we need to know what we're stitching on.
Placement matters too. Cap fronts curve, so the design has to be split for the cap frame. Sleeves are narrow and round. Back placements have more room but need stable hooping. The same logo briefed for "wherever looks good" gets a generic file; the same logo briefed for "left chest on a fleece-lined softshell" gets a file built for that exact job.
4. Send the brand colours, not just the file
Embroidery thread colours don't map perfectly to print colours. We work from Madeira and Robison-Anton thread charts, and we'll match your logo as close as we can — but if you have a Pantone reference (e.g. "this navy must match Pantone 282 C") it makes the colour conversation faster. If brand colours don't matter much, just say so. The worst-case scenario is matching close, sending a sample, and being told "actually our blue is much brighter" after we've stitched 50 shirts.
5. Flag any text or fine detail
Tiny text is the most common reason embroidered logos look bad. Anything below about 4 mm letter height starts to lose readability — strokes blur into each other, counters fill in, and lowercase letters become mystery shapes. If your logo includes a tagline or registration mark, tell us up front whether it has to be readable or whether it can be dropped at small sizes. We'd rather have that conversation before digitising than after.
6. Tell us the deadline — honestly
Most embroidery jobs run on a 5–10 working day turnaround once the digitising is approved and stock is in our hands. New logos add 1–2 days for digitising and a sample stitch. Public holidays, large existing queues, and stock that needs to be ordered all shift the timeline.
If your deadline is tight, say so at brief — there are often things we can do (queue priority, parallel digitising, courier on collection) that we can't do once the order is already mid-flow. If your deadline is genuinely flexible, that helps us slot you into the most efficient production day.
The minimum useful brief
If you only have time for a short message, the most useful brief looks like this:
- Logo file (vector if possible)
- Largest size you'll embroider at
- Garment(s) and fabric
- Quantity and deadline
That's it. Send those four things on WhatsApp and we can usually come back with a quote and a realistic delivery date the same day.
If you want to brief a logo for embroidery, WhatsApp Louise or read more about our logo digitising process.