Embroidery designs for sweatshirts

Which size for a sweatshirt?

• An adult sweatshirt front: the 8 × 12 size, about 7.5 in wide at most.
• A chest piece, or a child's sweatshirt: the 6 × 10 or the 5 × 7, both with the lettering.
• A sleeve, a cuff or the left chest: the 4 × 4, the picture without the lettering.

Each size is digitized at its own size, not scaled, so the small ones keep clean, bold lines. Which hoop do I need?

Where it goes

On adult sizes, the top of a center-front design usually sits about 3 in below the collar seam, and about 2 in on youth sizes. Too low is the most common mistake: a design that looks centered on a sweatshirt lying flat ends up on the stomach once it's worn. The full walk-through is in How to machine embroider a sweatshirt.

Stabilizer for a sweatshirt

Use 1 layer of medium cut-away, white under light fabric, and hoop the sweatshirt smooth but not stretched, or float it on hooped stabilizer. Add a water-soluble topping if the face is fuzzy. Tear-away isn't enough for a knit: once it's gone, nothing holds the stitches when the sweatshirt stretches.

Why these designs suit a sweatshirt

The light parts of each picture are the fabric itself, so the design stays soft and light, not a stiff patch. Every design page lists the stitch count, colour changes and run time, and every download includes a production sheet with Madeira Polyneon thread codes in stitching order.

Try one free

The glass ornament, the holly sprig and the snowflake are free with just your email. See them all in free machine embroidery designs, or browse every design, from $0.99.