This is another question that gets asked of us often. There are a couple scenarios where this question comes up. The two most common are people who have a shirt they love, but it has a logo on it that they really don’t care for.
The second scenario is a company already has some logo embroidered shirts but now they have changed the name of their business or logo and want to put the new image on shirts they already have without buying new ones.
In both of those cases, it is logical to assume one option would be to remove the undesirable logo and/or replace it with a different one.
Well, as is true with many things, it is not always as easy as it may appear.
Most logos are embroidered onto shirts using a method called direct embroidery. With the direct embroidery method, the logo is actually sewn into the material of the shirt. The embroidered logo becomes part of the shirt or the item it is applied to.
The goal is to remove the logo without damaging the shirt or item.
Therefore removing a logo cleanly can be problematic.
This is not to say removing a logo cannot be done, it can. But the definition of how successful one can be in removing a logo is based on a number of factors. The first is the stability of the shirt material it is sewn onto. Cotton knit and twill shirts work better than polyester knit shirts for example. The second factor is the logo design itself. If it is an image with a lot of small text and details, it is less likely the logo can be removed without damaging the shirt.
The next problem is related to the fact that thousands of holes were created in the shirt material when that logo was embroidered. Depending on the shirt material, those holes will remain in the material after the embroidery is removed.
If you were planning on embroidering another logo onto that shirt, that certainly helps. Now you have a chance of covering up those holes. But if you were just going to remove that logo, chances are really good you will be able to see those holes left by the embroidery of the first logo.
Finally, it can be very time consuming to sit and pick out an embroidered logo. How long it takes can depend on your skill level and the tools you have available. But there is a good chance you could spend some significant time doing it and still ruin the shirt to the point where it is not wearable.
As you can see, it is really not very easy to remove an embroidered logo. It can be done, but it is not easy and there is a good chance you will ruin the shirt in the process. Our best advice, don’t try it.
