How to sell embroidery on Etsy

Personalization is what machine embroidery does best, and it's what many Etsy buyers are looking for. Most embroidery shops build on a few product types:

Start narrow. A shop known for one thing, such as pet portrait sweatshirts or wedding towels, is easier to find, photograph and recommend than one that sells a bit of everything. Pick blanks you can source reliably, and test-stitch each one before you list it.

Etsy's listing tools let you ask buyers for personalization text. Clear instructions there save more messages than anything else in your shop.

• Limit the length. Set a character limit that fits your largest name at the size you stitch. A ten-letter script name 2 in (50 mm) tall can run 8–9 in wide.
• Offer a short list of tested fonts, each with a minimum size you know works on that product. The embroidery fonts page shows the smallest size each lettering font can be sewn.
• Show the options in a photo: a font chart and a thread color chart, with names or numbers buyers can type.
• Say what you can't do, such as emoji, very long names or lettering below a set size.
• Ask for the details in one place: name, font, thread color and, for gifts, the date they need it.

For monograms, the monogram maker builds classic one- and three-letter layouts, and the text to embroidery tool turns a typed name into a stitch file.

Most Etsy embroidery is priced per item rather than per 1,000 stitches, so the price has to cover the largest design you allow on that listing. Build it from your real costs, then make sure it still holds after fees:

All of those numbers are examples, and the 15% fee allowance is a placeholder, not Etsy's actual rate. Look up Etsy's current listing, transaction and payment processing fees, add any advertising you pay for, and use your own figure. Charge shipping separately or build it in, but count it either way.

For stitch-heavy items such as patches and logos, work out the stitching part from the stitch count with the embroidery pricing calculator. The guide to pricing embroidery work explains rates per 1,000 stitches, minimums and setup fees.

Buyers can't touch the embroidery, so the photos do the selling. Lead with real stitched samples, because the texture and sheen of thread are what make embroidery appealing, and a buyer wants to see what will actually arrive.

• Shoot in soft daylight, near a window but out of direct sun, so the stitches show texture without glare.
• Include a close-up of the stitching, and a photo that shows the size, on a person, a hanger or next to a familiar object.
• Show the options: a font chart, thread colors and every blank color you offer.
• Keep the background simple and consistent across listings, so your shop looks like one brand.
• Use mockups carefully. A digital mockup is handy for showing a name or color you haven't stitched yet, but it should look like what you'll really make. Don't use one as your main photo.

For custom orders, the stitch preview from the digitizer shows the customer the actual stitches, colors and size before you hoop anything, which is more honest than a flat mockup of their artwork.

1. Collect everything up front: the artwork or text, item, size, color, placement and deadline, through the personalization box or messages.
2. Check the artwork. Run it through the embroidery image checker to see whether it needs simplifying at the size ordered. Blurry photos usually need redrawing.
3. Digitize and proof. Upload it to the digitizer, set the size and fabric preset, and send the customer the stitch preview with the thread colors.
4. Get approval in writing in Etsy messages before you stitch. Note the size, placement and colors you agreed.
5. Stitch, check and ship. Test new designs on scrap first, and inspect every piece before it's packed.
6. Keep the file. Uploads save to My designs, so a repeat order is quick.

Set a realistic processing time on custom listings, with room for proof rounds. Digitizing and previewing are free with an Embrizo account; downloading files needs a plan. The Shop plan covers 100 designs a month, about $0.20 a design billed yearly if you use them all. The page for Etsy sellers and the pricing page have the details.

Only sell items stitched with artwork you have the right to use. Etsy removes listings reported for infringing intellectual property, and repeated reports can put a whole shop at risk.

• Your own designs are yours to use.
• Customers' artwork: they need to own it or have permission, such as their own business logo or their child's drawing. Ask them to confirm.
• Purchased embroidery designs come with the designer's license. Many allow selling stitched items but not the files; read the terms for each one.
• Free designs: the free embroidery designs on Embrizo may be stitched on items you sell. You can't resell, share or upload the design files themselves.
• Fonts: some font licenses limit commercial use, so check before you sell items lettered in a font you downloaded.
• Off limits without a license: sports teams, brand logos, cartoon characters, film and TV quotes, and other people's artwork.

• Standardize. Fix the sizes, fonts and placement for each listing, so every order is the same few settings, not a fresh decision.
• Batch by thread color. Stitch all the navy names together, then all the pink ones, to save rethreading on a single-needle machine.
• Use placement templates cut from card for each product, so names land in the same spot every time.
• Keep spare blanks of your best sellers, and a spare or two for every larger order.
• Track your time per item for a few weeks and adjust prices to match.
• Plan seasons early. Holiday and wedding orders arrive in waves, and blanks can run short.