Custom Embroidery in Santa Fe Springs & Los Angeles

Custom embroidery is the art of decorating fabric with needle and thread using computerized embroidery machines. The process starts with "digitizing" — converting your artwork into a stitch file (.DST format) that tells the machine exactly where to place each stitch, what type of stitch to use (satin, fill, running, chain), what color thread to load, and in what order to sew. This stitch file is the blueprint for your design, and the quality of the digitizing directly determines how cleanly your logo stitches out. That is why we digitize in-house with experienced technicians — not with automated software — ensuring proper density, underlay stitching, pull compensation, and pathing for every design.

Modern commercial embroidery machines have multiple "heads" — each head is a complete embroidery unit with its own set of needles (up to 15 per head) that can stitch the same design onto a garment simultaneously. A 6-head machine embroiders 6 garments at once; a 12-head embroiders 12 at once. This multi-head architecture is what makes commercial embroidery efficient for large orders — a 200-piece polo order can be completed in a single day on a 6-head machine running at 1,000 stitches per minute per head.

Embroidery is the most durable decoration method available. Because the design is stitched into the fabric with polyester or rayon thread, it physically becomes part of the garment. It will never crack, peel, fade, or wash out — the design lasts as long as the garment itself, often outliving the fabric. This permanence, combined with the tactile, premium look of raised stitching, makes embroidery the preferred choice for corporate apparel, professional uniforms, branded merchandise, executive gifts, and any application where quality perception matters. Studies show that embroidered logos are perceived as 40-60% more premium than printed logos on the same garment.

Embroidery pricing is based primarily on stitch count (the total number of stitches in your design) and order quantity. A simple text-only logo might be 3,000-5,000 stitches; a standard chest logo with icon runs 6,000-10,000 stitches; a complex, detailed design could be 15,000-25,000+ stitches. Higher stitch counts take longer to sew and use more thread, increasing the per-piece cost. Multi-color designs do not cost significantly more — thread color changes are automated and add only seconds per change. The one-time digitizing fee ($45) is amortized across the life of your design — once digitized, your stitch file is saved permanently and every reorder has zero setup cost.

Thread options go far beyond standard polyester. We stock metallic threads (gold, silver, copper, rose gold) for premium shine, neon/fluorescent threads for high-visibility applications, glow-in-the-dark thread for specialty projects, and variegated (color-changing) threads for artistic effects. Rayon thread provides a silkier sheen than polyester and is popular for fashion embroidery. For 3D puff embroidery, foam material is placed under the stitching to create a raised, dimensional effect — most popular on structured caps.