Custom Embroidery

We offer custom embroidery right here in Portland, Oregon. We can embroider on a variety of wearables such as hats, polo shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, uniforms, and other apparel as well as accessory items such as blankets, sport bags, towels, and more!

Give us a call and tell us about your project. We’ll assist you with finding exactly what you need at an affordable price! E-mail us or call: 503-347-9338

Many of our customers still aren’t completely familiar with how embroidery works. Here’s the scoop!

As with screen printing, embroidery is a process that’s very old, dating back to the fifth through third centuries BC in China. For many centuries, the embroidery process and techniques went virtually unchanged. There was a substrate (the fabric), and needle, and thread or yarn. In addition to this, other materials, such as beads, pearls, sequins, were also incorporated into designs.

Although there really isn’t much difference between the end result of embroidery now and embroidery from centuries past – the process has changed significantly in recent times. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the process became “industrialized”.

A combination of machine and operator created the ability for mass production. By the mid-twentieth century, machines became much larger with more heads, and faster sewing time. Depending on some of the variables, today sew times can range from 400 to 1500 stitches per minute!

Prior to the digital age, embroidery machines were programmed with a punch tape.

The sequence of punched holes was fed through a reader, giving the machine instructions regarding the design such as needle movement, stitch type, stitch length, and thread changes. All in all, it’s quite an amazing feat.

The digital age brought the preparation of sew files to a whole new level. Imagine working on the computer and seeing an enlarged version of the image complete with stitch types, and the ability to see how it will sew from start to finish.

Maybe an area should have a fill stitch instead of a satin stitch. These changes are much easier to make in the digital age.

The ultimate test is still producing the first sew out, but even then, editing is easy – clicking on a sew file is much less cumbersome than cutting and taping together a punch tape, and then reloading it into the reader.

There are different brands and styles of embroidery machines, but the general concept is the same for all of them.

An operator is needed to hoop the items to be embroidered, load and unload the machine, and ensure things are running smoothly.

Machines hold many colors of thread at once allowing a design to be sewn from start to finish without stopping.

Once the design has completed sewing and the item is removed from the machine, some finishing work may be needed.

Things you may wish to consider when placing your embroidery orders…

• Is your artwork conducive to the process? Sometimes it’s necessary to make slight modifications to detailed designs to achieve the end result desired. This is especially true for very small lettering, or fine detail.
• Can the item you wish to have embroidered be hooped properly? We can answer that for you. Also, many of our vendors offer items that have been modified specifically for embroidery. For example – jackets with an embroidery access that allows hooping through the top layer of fabric, but not the lining.
• Pricing – while screen print pricing is based on the number of colors/screen set ups per design, embroidery pricing is based on the number of stitches. So a 6000 stitch design is the same price whether it has one thread color or six.
• Reorders – embroidered orders can be more cost effective to reorder, particularly a multicolor design because there are no reset up charges to amortize over a small quantity.

At 1525, we have extensive embroidery knowledge, having owned and operated production facilities in the past. It’s part of our job to take all of these variables into consideration to maximize the quality and cost effectiveness of your projects.

Again, give us a call and tell us about your project. We’d love to assist you with finding exactly what you need at an affordable price!

E-mail us or call: 503-347-9338