How long should it take to get an order of logo embroidered apparel?

We live in a “get it now” society.  Many things can be downloaded from the Internet instantly.  Orders from many companies can be shipped the same or next day. Amazon has changed and is changing the way we order merchandise and how quickly we get it.

With all of that, it begs the question of how long it takes to get an order of logo embroidered apparel. As with most things, the answer is more complicated than the question.  But we can make it very simple for you to understand.

The biggest reason is logo embroidered apparel takes longer to create-the fact everything is custom made.  Every order that leaves Thread Logic is different because it has a different logo embroidered on it.  Many companies the sell the same product, when an order is placed, they simply pull it off the shelf in the warehouse, package it and ship it out.

But because we have to embroider your order with your logo, it would be impossible for us make your custom logo embroidered shirts ahead of time and pull them off the shelf and ship them when and order is placed.

The second reason revolves around cost control and logistics reasons.  We don’t inventory any product.  When an order is placed, we have to then order those specific shirts from the supplier.  While we are able to get those orders in 1 to 3 days, that still takes some time.

Not carrying an inventory saves us a lot of money and allows us keep our prices down.   Can you imagine if we had to carry every style in every size and color?  Wow, that would be a lot of shirts and a lot of extra costs.

The final reason it can take days to ship out an order is production time.  It takes time to receive, sort and prepare garments for logo embroidery even before they are embroidered.  Then it takes some time to make sure the logo is going to embroider on the shirts exactly the way you want it to.

At Thread Logic, we are shipping orders of custom embroidered logo apparel in 8 to 10 business days.  In this industry that is better than average.  Some companies are able to do it a little faster and most not as fast.  In fact, almost every day we hear from customers who regularly have to wait 4 weeks or more for their order.

We work very hard to create processes and procedures that keep an order moving through the system as quickly as possible.  Yes, when compared to ordering non-custom products, the turnaround time for custom logo embroidered apparel can be longer.  But when compared with other companies providing this service, we are doing it faster than most.

What’s the difference between direct embroidery and a patch?

There are a number of ways to apply an embroidered logo to a shirt or some other item.  Two of the most common are direct embroidery and embroidered patches.  There is a difference between the two.  Understanding that difference can be confusing for people because patches are generally embroidered and many people refer to direct embroidery as a patch.

The key difference is really in the way the image is applied to the shirt.

Direct Embroidery

Direct embroidery is a process of applying an embroidered logo directly to a polo shirt, cap, bag or other item. With direct embroidery, the item to be embroidered is placed in a hoop and put into an embroidery machine.

Then the logo is embroidered directly onto a shirt. Or it may be more accurate to say the logo is embroidered to become a part of the shirt. This happens because the embroidery is woven directly into the fabric.

Patches are still embroidered images, but they are different. Patches are embroidered onto a substrate of material often a number at a time-not individually like direct embroidery. Patches then lay on top of the fabric and are either ironed on or sewn on.

The most common application for a patch is on the sleeve of public safety personal like police officers, paramedics and fire fighters.

Embroidered Patch

One of the big advantages/differences of patches is that they can generally be removed from one shirt and placed on another shirt. With direct embroidery, it is very difficult and time consuming to pull out or remove the embroidered logo of a shirt without damaging it.

Another difference is the flexibility to embroider more detail. Because the substrate of a patch is more stable than the material of shirt, it offers the embroiderer the flexibility to embroider smaller details and text on the image than direct embroidery.

One of the disadvantages of a patch however is they can be heavy when placed on a shirt and it some cases it feels like you might be wearing a bullet proof shield.

A patch is also has a perceived lower value than direct embroidery. Most people would not choose to wear a patch on a nice golf shirt. Patches are best used for uniform situations like law enforcement or the military vs. branding situations like the promotion of your company.

How hard is it to remove an embroidered logo from a shirt?

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.

Why does custom logo embroidered apparel take so long?

This is a question we get asked almost every day. It’s a good question and one for which there is a logical answer. 

Actually, creating custom logo embroidered apparel does not take any longer than it did ten years ago. Part of the answer is that our expectations have changed. With Amazon Prime and companies like Zappos, many of us have been trained to think items can be pulled off the shelf and shipped the same day in order to arrive the next day.

A logo being embroidered

The broadest answer to the question is that we are making a custom product. No two orders that leave our facility are the same. Everyone is different. So we are manufacturing each order to the specifications of each and every customer. That takes time and that prevents us from being able to manufacture items ahead of time so they are ready to ship out when the customer is ready to buy them. 

The second reason it takes longer is the fact that we do not carry any inventory of the items we embroider. We have to order in those items from the manufacturer when they are ordered from us by customers. We can usually get those items fairly quickly, but it does take time as we are not pulling anything off the shelves. 

One of the reasons we do it is this way is because it keeps our costs and prices down. It would be a huge expense for us to physically inventory every size and color of every shirt we offered. scanned-logo-proof Logo on a black shirt. Valencia Harvesting Original art from customer. 

Logo on a black shirt.

Original art from customer.

And finally, it takes time to set up the artwork for each specific logo that we embroider. Every logo has to go through a set-up process where we take the flat graphic image we get and create a custom image for embroidery. That process can also take a couple of days to make sure we get it right. 


So while our turnaround time of about 10 business days is among the fastest, we are not able to ship orders as fast as companies like Amazon. Primarily because they are shipping products that have already been manufactured and we are creating something custom specific to each customer’s needs.