Embroidery on hoodies & sweatshirts: what works, what doesn't

The short answer

A smooth, mid-weight face is what the needle wants. Hoodies & sweatshirts with a tight weave and solid colour embroider cleanly; fleece, super-stretch and heavy textures fight the stitch.

What to check before you stitch

• Fabric weight — mid-weight holds a stitch without puckering.
• Colour contrast — the thread has to read against the garment.
• If the hoodies & sweatshirts is hi-vis, keep embroidery away from the reflective bands.

The hoodies & sweatshirts we'd start with

• adidas® Blank crew sweatshirt from £54.00
• adidas® Elevated ¼-zip from £67.50
• adidas® Fleece hoodie from £51.00
• adidas® Lightweight hoodie from £55.00

The finish

We run embroidery in-house — send the garments, we'll quote the run. A standard chest logo is the sweet spot for cost per unit on bulk.