Some weeks ago a customer asked me to screen print on some jackets she had purchased. Even though we outsource the decorating of all of our apparel to several reliable and experienced suppliers, I know enough to recommend embroidery on jackets and most outerwear, given my over 14 years in the industry. Basically, jackets are made of sturdy, tightly woven fabric and offer a great surface for embroidery. They run the gamut from conservative, ivy-league like jackets to “off-the-wall” designer styles available in bright colors and bold geometric shapes. This broad range of jacket styles lends itself to wide variety of embroidery applications and styles—from small logos to full “billboard” treatments.

And, in addition to traditional locations such as left and right chest, pocket and sleeve, the jacket back is available for embroidery and just the ticket for the popular “billboard” style used on wool and leather varsity jackets.  Notably, the same “billboard” format works extremely well for high profile companies like Nascar or Major League Baseball.

 Relatively new to the scene is the “locker room tag,” a small or partial logo, without accompanying text, sewn 1 to 1 ½” below the back collar seam. This is a really cool look that’s growing in popularity. Another application is a chenille sew-out of a name embroidered next to the pocket welt on his or her varsity jacket, especially for students.

Typically, embroidery sews well on most jacket fabrics. Cotton poplin, twill and cotton canvas, for example, have smooth, tight surfaces that show off small text or delicate design elements without the need of a layer of under-stitching. Embroidery also works reasonably well on wool, leather and the newer rip stop nylon fabrics.
Among the newest jacket materials  is  water-repellent coated nylon. When applying embroidery to lighter weight materials, like windbreakers,  keep in mind that our decorator will need to use a good quality backing or double up on the backing to keep the material from puckering. 
Plain twill weave, a soft supple material with a velvety feel, is popular for business or professional jackets. A type of fabric that’s growing in popularity in this genre is the new poly micro fibers. Both of these fabrics are ideal for the classic look of tone-on-tone that especially appeals to professional and business groups. Black thread on black wool, for example, creates an elegant tone-on-tone look, similar to debossing.

If you want to reduce the embroidery cost and retain a high quality look, an alternative is applique. In appliqué, a top layer of material is adhered to the jacket fabric. This additional piece of material usually contains design elements applied with a less-expensive silk-screening process. Embroidery is applied over that silk-screened fabric and either adds or highlights design elements.

Consider pairing apparel items that go perfectly with a jacket. Hats, sweaters, vests and golf shirts can all be worn once a jacket is removed and provide  a complete branding profile. Contact us for creative ideas, samples and guidance on great uniformity.

It’s just a fact of life. Today there is a greater focus being placed on healthy living and eco-friendly products. With this in mind, more than ever before people are grabbing their own personal water bottle and heading off to school, the gym, the office or anywhere else they might want to fill up with some liquid refreshment—without leaving an environmental footprint. The time has never been better for the sports bottle and reusable drinkware. With so many diverse likes, looks and needs in a product, there is surely something to meet your needs. From plastic travel mugs and BPA free water bottles that can fold for easy portablility  to insulated acrylic tumblers with curly straws and traditional ceramic or glass mugs. The choices to market your company, event or cause are very varied, colorful and simply thirst quenching.

Drinkware is the perfect choice for two simple reasons: imprint area and longevity. Bottles, especially those intended to hold large amounts of fluid, have large imprint areas and can be seen from a distance. Drinkware pieces are also built to last. They are products that will live for years in an office, gym or home. And, they are kept and used on a regular basis. However easy fill, sip and go seems, technology is always changing for bottles and cups. The needs of a sponsored cycling team will be different than a third grade class or a financial institution. To meet the needs of users, there’s always a fresh new feature being added to the market place.  Our suppliers are constantly seeking the latest and greatest water bottle. First, there was the polycarbonate bottle, then aluminum, and then stainless. Recently, we’ve seen the collapsible water bottle and the filtered bottle. For guidance and samples of what will work best for you, contact your professional promotional products consultant, Wear It’s At.

An upscale, quality top, worn alone, with a cardigan, dressed up with jewelry and/or a scarf or dressed down for a casual event, the fashion tee is a versatile addition to a woman’s wardrobe. It is making an appearance this fashion season in tighter, shape-hugging silhouettes and soft, luxurious fabrics. Embellished with a monochromatic tone-on-tone logo, it can be an elegant display for promotional use.

 Colors, popular this season, excellent for this tone-on-tone treatment include camel, brown, black, powder blue, charcoal, steel gray, red and white.Matched with black, navy or brown gabardine cuffed pants, available with a slightly flared pant and narrow pin stripe pattern, the result is a professional look that is comfortable and quite chic.

LOCATION 
Left Chest – Left chest placement on a woman’s fashion tee is especially important with styles moving toward tighter-fitting, shorter designs. A logo should be applied 6” down from the shoulder seam (measuring from the shoulder seam to the bottom of the design) and placed at a point midway between the center front of the garment and the armhole seam. Care should be taken that the design does not extend under the armpit or too low on the chest. Also, make sure that the design is small enough to fit comfortably in the space provided. Pinning a cutout of the design on a sample garment is a good way to check for proper size and placement. 

Center Front – A recent trend in design placement for women’s business apparel is center front on the bodice, approximately where the pendant of a necklace would fall. This works extremely well on a fashion tee with a higher neckline, such as a boatneck, crew or high scoop. A coordinating cardigan or vest creates a finished look that also highlights the embroidered design.

FABRIC
 Fabrics that convey a professional image and offer a good working canvas for embroidery are the best choice for women’s promotional tees. Ring spun cotton, interlock and brushed rib take well to embroidery. Other, somewhat more elegant fabrics such as wool/silk blends, polyester viscose, 100% polyester (a version that feels like cashmere), 100% silk, nylon/rayon blends, micro fibers and polyester spandex are also available.

Keep in mind that these fabrics may require different design considerations or stitch density levels for the embroidery process. If, when a design is sewn out, the fabric pulls and puckers, there’s a good chance the density of the stitching is too heavy. If the fabric is showing through, the stitch density is most likely too low. Letting your digitizer know the type of fabric to be embroidered and specifying the type of thread preferred will help them to provide you with a digitized tape that sews out well and creates a quality image.

THREAD
 With its vibrant colors and high sheen, an elegant choice of thread for the fashion tee is rayon. A cooler temperature with color-safe bleach will need to be used for items embroidered with rayon thread.

DESIGN ELEMENTS 
Letter size is an important consideration when creating a design for the embroidery process. This is especially true when embroidering on women’s apparel where the overall size of the design may need to be reduced. Serif fonts are not advisable for small text. For best results, use capitalized letters in a sans serif font such as Arial (for text under ½”).

Wear It’s At will be happy to advise you if the text in your design will sew out well at its original size. Most fabrics used in fashion tees require a minimum text size of 3/16” for an embroidered design. However, nylon or stretchy fabrics require a minimum of ¼”.

Looking for something new to wear, check out these latest fashion trends:

Performance Apparel–This is apparel with moisture-wicking properties and related
performance technology. We’ll also continue to see expansion of antimicrobial wearables.
There is particular popularity in the corporate casual field.

T-Shirt Resurgence–The simple, yet ever utilitarian tee will continue to surge ahead,
especially with cotton prices stabilizing. Look for an on-going emphasis on soft fabrics and
fashion looks.

Draped Tank Tops–Flowing tunics and capes have become very popular. And, this look
is making its presence felt in warm-weather apparel such as tank tops and t-shirts.
Draping gives these garments shape and added flare for a decidedly feminine appeal.

Outerwear Coming On Strong–More and more, logoed jackets are becoming more prevalent
in promotion. This is an increasing fashion trend. The key focus is on all types of jackets
and fleecewear with hoods.

Graphic Sweatshirts–Inspired by clean, collegiate printed graphics, crewneck sweatshirts
with bold, unique and cleaver designs in restricted area or overall patterns are all the rage.

Contact Wear It’s At at 215-884-0310 if you’d like to adapt any of these apparel trends
for your company, community or institution.

Last year I wrote about the price of cotton going up and up. My suppliers were sending me what appeared to be weekly price increases. The impact was felt on orders of virtually every cotton fabricated wearable we supply from tee shirts to polos shirts. This apparel is a mainstay and staple of our promotional products distributorship, Wear It’s At. It was brutal and left one wondering where when the rise in materials would cease. Alas, it has mercifully stopped. Cotton prices have stabilized and retreated to historic highs of $2.29/lb. to $1.10/lb.

So, what are the projections for cotton this year? Though it’s still volatile, the higher costs have encouraged farmers to move back to the crop. Therefore, production of cotton is expected to increase by 8% in 2012. Increased supply should help steady the price in the next year or two. But that doesn’t translate into immediate price drops on apparel. Other factors that figure into the price of apparel are increased labor costs in Asia, the status of the US dollar and stable-but-higher prices of synthetic fabrics like polyester.

Wear It’s At strives to hold the line on costs by informing our customers about where prices are and where they might be going. In many cases, we try to absorb increases to make purchases as palatable and budget-friendly as possible.