The Complete Guide to Embroidered Workwear

March 16, 2026 · By Andy · Workwear Guides

Last reviewed: 17 August 2026 · Written and reviewed by the Xcel Print & Promotions team

Want your business to look established? A cleanly stitched logo on a polo or a jacket does a lot of heavy lifting. It says something a plain garment never will. But if you’ve never ordered embroidered workwear before, the whole thing can feel a bit murky.

So here’s the lot, from how embroidery actually works to picking the right garments and getting your order placed.

Why Choose Embroidery?

Embroidery has been the default for professional workwear branding for decades. There’s a reason for that:

Durability, The logo is stitched straight into the fabric. It won’t crack, peel or fade like some prints do. More often than not, the embroidery outlives the garment.
Professional appearance, There’s a tactile, premium quality to it that’s hard to fake. That slightly raised, textured finish looks smart on everything from a polo to a softshell.
Versatility, It works on nearly any fabric: cotton, polycotton, polyester, fleece, softshell, even denim. If you can wear it, chances are we can embroider it.
Wash resistance, Because it’s stitched in rather than laid on top, it stands up to industrial and domestic washing without going to pieces.

What Can Be Embroidered?

Short answer: almost anything. The items we embroider most often are:

polo shirts, The single most popular thing we embroider. A polo with your logo on the left chest is the workwear staple for thousands of UK businesses.
Fleeces and softshells, Ideal for outdoor teams and anyone who wants a smart layer with their branding on it.
Jackets and coats, Bomber jackets, padded parkas, the lot. Embroidered outerwear keeps your brand visible even when it’s freezing.
Sweatshirts and hoodies, More and more popular for casual workwear, especially in creative outfits and the trades.
Caps and beanies, A cracking way to stretch your branding a bit further, particularly for outdoor teams.
Shirts and blouses, Corporate teams often add a subtle embroidered logo to Oxford shirts for a polished finish.

Have a browse of our full product range to see the thousands of garments you can have embroidered.

Understanding Stitch Counts

Embroidery pricing mostly comes down to the stitch count, which is just the total number of stitches your design needs. A simple text-only logo might be 3,000-5,000 stitches. A detailed crest or a multi-colour logo could run to 10,000-15,000 or more.

More stitches means more time on the machine, and that’s why the fiddly designs cost more. The setup cost (digitising your logo) is a one-off, though. Once your design is in our system, you can reorder without paying setup again.

What is Digitising?

Before we can stitch your logo, it has to become a stitch file. That’s a set of instructions telling the machine where to put each stitch, which colour to use and in what order. We call that digitising.

Good digitising is the whole ballgame. It’s the difference between embroidery that looks crisp and embroidery that looks rough round the edges. Our digitisers have been at it a while, and they know how to adapt a logo for different garments and sizes, tweaking stitch density and underlay to get the best result on each fabric.

Logo Placement Options

Where the logo goes affects both the look and the cost. The usual positions:

Left chest, The classic. Usually 80-100mm wide. Visible, professional, works on every garment type. This is where most workwear logos end up.
Right chest, Often used for a wearer’s name or a secondary bit of branding alongside a left-chest logo.
Back of garment, Bigger designs (up to 300mm+ wide) for maximum visibility. Common on jackets and hi-vis vests for tradespeople who want the company name read from across the car park.
Sleeves, A modern, stylish spot. Works well on polos, sweatshirts and jackets.
Collar or cuff, Subtle placements for a premium, understated look.

Our customisation and pricing page has the detail on logo sizes and positions.

Choosing the Right Garment for Embroidery

Embroidery works on most fabrics, but some take it better than others:

Structured fabrics (polos, fleeces, softshells) give the cleanest results because the fabric holds its shape under the needle.
Lightweight fabrics (thin t-shirts, performance wear) can still be embroidered, but they may need a stabiliser backing so they don’t pucker.
Waterproof fabrics, Embroidery makes needle holes, so a heavily waterproof jacket is sometimes better off printed. Mind you, on most workwear-grade waterproofs the holes are so tiny they don’t affect performance at all.

Not sure which garment suits? Just ask. Nearly 20 years in, we’ve embroidered pretty much every type of garment going.

How to Prepare Your Logo

For the sharpest result, send us your logo in the best quality format you’ve got. The ideal ones are:

Vector files (.ai,.eps,.svg), These give the sharpest results because they scale up without turning fuzzy.
High-resolution images (.png,.jpg at 300dpi or higher), We can work from these, though a very busy design might need trimming down a bit.
PDF files, Often hold vector data and work well for digitising.

Only got a low-res logo? Don’t panic. We’ll do the best we can with what you’ve got, and we’ll always send you a free digital proof first so you can check you’re happy before we go anywhere near a machine.

The Ordering Process at Xceluk

Choose your garments, Browse our online shop or ask us for recommendations.
Send us your logo, Email it to sales@xceluk.com or upload it when you place your order.
We digitise and proof, We create a stitch file and send you a free digital proof showing exactly how it’ll look.
You approve, Once you’re happy, we schedule your order for production.
We embroider and deliver, Turnaround is typically 5-10 working days, and delivery is free on orders over £99+VAT.

Caring for Embroidered Garments

Embroidered workwear is low-maintenance stuff, but a few habits keep it looking sharp:

Turn garments inside out before washing to protect the stitched area from friction.
Wash at the temperature on the garment label. Most workwear is happy at 40°C.
Go easy on the tumble dryer where you can. High heat makes some fabrics shrink around the embroidery.
Iron around the stitching rather than straight over it, or pop a pressing cloth on top.

Get Your Team Looking Professional

Embroidered workwear is an investment in how your business comes across. It tells customers you take pride in what you do, and it gives your team a bit of identity too.

With no minimum order, free digital proofs and nearly 20 years behind us, Xceluk makes it easy to get going, whether that’s one embroidered polo or a thousand.

Call us on 01440 712290 or contact us online to talk through your embroidery project. We’re based in Haverhill, Suffolk and serve businesses right across the UK.

Written by Andy · Founder, Xcel Print & Promotions

Xcel Print & Promotions is a family-run UK workwear, branded-clothing and print company with over 20 years' experience. We embroider and print in-house from our base in Haverhill, Suffolk, with no minimum order, so this advice comes from kitting out real teams every working day, from single tradespeople to large sites and schools.

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