Embroidery in Bendigo is the go-to for uniforms that get worn hard and washed every week. A stitched logo on a polo, cap or work shirt has nothing to crack or peel, and it makes a business look established before anyone says a word. This guide covers which garments suit embroidery, where the logo usually goes, how to get your logo ready and what changes the price.
Which garments suit embroidery
Embroidery works best on fabrics with some weight and structure. These are the ones Bendigo businesses order most:
Polos. The classic uniform: your logo on the left chest. Our Chad polo and pique polo both take a stitched logo well.
Caps. Caps take embroidery better than print. A logo on the front, and a small mark on the side if you like. See our stock cap and trucker cap.
Work shirts and hi-vis. Drill shirts, jackets and hi-vis with the logo where it stays visible on site. Our work shirts are a good place to start.
Hoodies and jackets. A left chest logo for winter uniforms and client gifts, such as our zip hoodie.
Aprons. Cafes, salons and kitchens: a stitched apron gets through the day and the wash.
Very thin or stretchy fabrics, like lightweight tees and sports singlets, do not always stitch well. For those, t-shirt printing is usually the better choice.
Where the logo goes
Left chest is the standard spot on polos, shirts, hoodies and jackets. A chest logo is usually about the width of a business card.
Cap front takes a logo that is wider than it is tall, kept clear of the seam that runs down the middle of many caps.
Sleeve or back of the neck works for a small second mark, such as a website, a flag or a submark.
Large backs are better printed. A big stitched design is heavy, stiff and costs a lot more than a print.
Plenty of uniforms use both: a stitched logo on the chest and a printed design on the back.
Getting your logo ready for stitching
An embroidery machine cannot read a JPG or a PDF. Your logo has to be turned into a stitch file first, which is called digitising: every shape becomes rows of thread with a direction, a density and an order for the needle to follow. It is why the same logo can look crisp on one shirt and messy on another.
Send a vector file if you have one (AI, EPS, SVG or PDF). A large PNG works too, and an old shirt with the logo on it is a starting point.
Watch the small text. Very fine lines and tiny lettering do not hold up in thread. A simpler version of the logo often stitches better at chest size.
Keep the colours sensible. Thread comes in solid colours, so gradients and photos do not embroider. Colours are matched to the closest thread.
If your logo is only a blurry image, it may need redrawing before it can be stitched. Our guide to what a logo should come with lists the files to ask for.
What changes the price of embroidery
Embroidery is priced per logo, per garment. Four things move it:
The garment. A cap and a work jacket start from different prices.
How many you order. The set-up is shared across the order, so the price per garment comes down as the quantity goes up. There is no minimum quantity, but a minimum order value applies.
How many spots. A chest logo plus a sleeve mark is two logos on each garment.
Your own garments. We can embroider uniforms you already have, with a handling charge per garment.
Digitising is included for most logos. Lettering in an unusual font can need extra set-up, and if yours does, it is listed on your quote before you approve anything. If you are still working out quantities, our guide on how many shirts to order for your team helps.
A Bendigo example: National Heating & Cooling
National Heating & Cooling's crew wear navy polos with red tipping and the flame logo stitched on the left chest. The same logo is on their utes, their showroom signs and their hoodies, so a technician at the door looks like part of the same business as the ad that brought the customer in.
You can read their story, or see how uniforms fit into the rest of a trade business on our tradie signs, ute signage and workwear page. For uniforms that work outdoors, workwear printing: what lasts on site covers the materials.
Looking after embroidered uniforms
Wash cold and inside out, and skip the bleach. Do not iron straight over the stitching: iron from the back or put a cloth over it. Cared for like this, embroidery lasts as long as the garment.
Your next step
Send us your logo, the garments you have in mind and a rough head count on our enquiry page, or drop in to 2/176 Lyttleton Terrace with a sample shirt. We look after teams across Bendigo and nearby towns like Epsom, and we will come back with the garments, the placement and a price.
