T-Shirts
Embroidery on t-shirts: what works, what doesn't
🧵 4 min readUpdated 2026-02
The short answer
A smooth, mid-weight face is what the needle wants. T-shirts 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 t-shirts is hi-vis, keep embroidery away from the reflective bands.
The t-shirts we'd start with
- adidas® Blank tee from £26.50
- Anthem Anthem Amplify heavyweight t-shirt from £14.00
- Anthem Anthem distortion washed t-shirt from £16.00
- Anthem Anthem headline heavy long sleeve t-shirt from £15.50
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.
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