Cotton, corduroy, canvas, oh my! Half of getting a project right is picking a material that actually fits. The Material Matters Series, runs down what these materials actually are, and when and how to best use them.
We still owe you soft, that promise stands. But polyester thread earns a detour, because it’s the one material in this whole series that isn’t the product, it’s the backbone underneath a couple of our favorites, embroidery and patches both run on it.
Embroidery and patches both run on the same 40-color polyester thread library, polyester over cotton because it holds its color and its strength wash after wash. Standard embroidery pulls up to 10 colors per design, patches pull up to 9 and pack them in at 2,000 stitches per square inch, so the same thread is doing two different jobs depending on what product you’re looking at.
It’s the material you feel before you see it, that little ridge under your finger on a stitched logo that a printed one never has. Whether it’s built straight into the product like our embroidery or built into its own patch first, the thread is what makes both of them read as quality.
“Anyone can print a logo. Not everyone can stitch one.”
That’s the whole pitch, embroidery and patches are the two places where the decoration is the craftsmanship, thread built into the piece instead of laid on top of it. It’s the move for a client who wants their logo to look permanent, not one wash away from cracking.
Patches come standard with heat-activated adhesive backing, so application is quick, no separate sewing step required. Heat press settings run 160°C/320°F for 20 seconds, easy enough to relay to a customer running their own press. And that high stitch density means patches can hold intricate detail, not just bold block shapes, so a design can still look exactly like the art without blurring the lines.
→ Embroidery, stitched straight into totes, pouches, and hats.
→ Patches, stitched into their own piece first, then attached to hats, apparel, and beverage insulators.
Same thread, same 40-color library, two very different finishes.
Next up in Material Matters, we're trading thread for something shinier.
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