How to embroider a T-shirt: machine embroidery on knits, step by step

Embroidery on knit fabric looks best when the design is moderately sized, not overly dense, and doesn't rely on one huge solid fill. A 250 mm block of tatami fill on a thin cotton tee turns into a stiff, heavy patch that pulls the jersey around it into ripples, and it never really drapes again. The same artwork as a lighter fill, an open fill pattern, or an appliqué sits much better.

What to look for:

• Density: for knits, a fill row spacing around 0.40–0.45 mm is a sensible starting point, a little lighter than the 0.30–0.40 mm often used on stable wovens. Lighter density means fewer needle penetrations and less pull on the fabric.
• Size: match the design to the placement. A left chest logo is typically 75–100 mm (3–4 in) wide; a centre chest design 200–250 mm (8–10 in). Don't scale a dense 100 mm design up to 250 mm in a machine's editing screen: the stitch count rises sharply and the fill gets heavy, or the stitches simply get longer and loopy, depending on the machine.
• Large solid areas: break them up. Use an outline plus a lighter fill, an appliqué fabric for the big shape, or a fill style with texture.
• Fine detail: very thin lines and tiny text (under about 4 mm letter height) sink into the jersey loops. Make lettering bolder or add topping.
• Fills versus line art: Sulky's T-shirt tutorial notes that filled designs and appliqué generally display better on knits than pure line designs, because a single running stitch tends to disappear into the knit texture. A light fill with good underlay is often the best compromise.

If you convert your own artwork, the Bold & simple style in StitchMyPic is made for this kind of job: few colours, big shapes, nothing too fine to sew on a small left chest.

For a left chest, the common starting point is the spot where the shoulder seam meets the collar. Measure about 18–23 cm (7–9 in) straight down for an adult men's shirt, or 13–18 cm (5–7 in) for a women's shirt, and about 10–13 cm (4–5 in) across from the centre front towards the wearer's left side. That is where the centre of the design goes. These figures come from commercial embroiderers, and they are a starting point, not a law: smaller sizes, V-necks and fitted cuts need adjustments.

Before committing, print the design at actual size, cut it out and lay it on the shirt at the marked point. Better still, have someone wear the shirt: a design that looks right on a flat table can sit too low or too far into the armpit when worn. Mark the centre and a horizontal line with a removable marker or a small sticker.

The table below gives the usual sizes and distances for the most common T-shirt placements.

If the shirt has a pocket, centre the design on or just above the pocket instead. For a full back, the size you can sew in one go is set by your largest hoop: a 5×7 (130 × 180 mm) hoop can't do it in one hooping, an 8×12 (200 × 300 mm) or larger can.

Use cut-away stabilizer on T-shirts, always. OESD's stabilizer guide puts it plainly: cut-away must be used on knits and stretchy fabrics, because the knit will keep stretching and the embroidery will stretch with it unless something permanent supports the stitches. Tear-away can look fine straight out of the hoop, but once it's torn off nothing holds the design, and it distorts at the first wash.

Which cut-away:

• No-show mesh (polymesh), about 1.5 oz: soft and nearly invisible through white and pastel shirts. Ideal for light to medium designs.
• Fusible no-show mesh: the same, but ironed onto the inside of the shirt first. This is the single most useful T-shirt trick: the fused knit stops stretching while you hoop and sew, and the stabilizer is still trimmed away afterwards. OESD recommends fusible polymesh for knits where softness matters.
• Standard or medium cut-away (2.5 oz and up): for denser designs and heavier shirts. Commercial shops embroidering stretchy performance knits often go to 3.5 oz or heavier.
• Sticky tear-away or adhesive cut-away: for floating instead of hooping (see below).
• Water-soluble topping: a thin film laid on top. Optional on smooth jersey, worth using on textured knits and for small text, so the stitches sit on top of the knit instead of sinking into it.

Sulky's approach to knits is to stabilize both sides: backing underneath, a light film on top. For a dense design, two layers of no-show mesh, or one mesh layer plus a light tear-away beneath it, is a common fix when a single mesh layer isn't enough. Cut the stabilizer at least 25 mm (1 in) larger than the hoop on every side so the hoop grips it fully.

The rule is firm but not stretched. A knit that is pulled tight in the hoop looks perfect while it is sewn, then relaxes when you unhoop it, and the stitching puckers. If a design looks great in the hoop and puckers once it comes out, the shirt was stretched during hooping.

Hooping a T-shirt step by step:

1. Fuse the no-show mesh to the inside of the shirt over the marked area, following the stabilizer's iron settings. If you use a non-fusible backing, a light mist of temporary spray adhesive does the same job.
2. Loosen the outer hoop screw so the hoop closes with little force. Never tighten it afterwards with a screwdriver while the fabric is in it; adjust the screw first.
3. Turn the shirt inside out, or slide the outer hoop up inside the shirt from the hem, so only the front layer of fabric is in the hoop.
4. Line up your marks with the hoop's centre and grid lines, then press the inner hoop in evenly.
5. Smooth the fabric gently from the centre outwards. Don't tug the edges. The knit's ribs should still run straight, not bow.
6. Fold and clip the rest of the shirt (back, sleeves) out of the way, so nothing can get caught under the needle.

Floating instead of hooping. Sulky's T-shirt method skips hooping the knit altogether. Hoop a sticky tear-away paper side up, score and peel the paper, and press the shirt onto it with the centre marks aligned. Use a hoop slightly larger than the design for extra grip. Add the cut-away under it as well if the design is dense, because the sticky tear-away alone won't support the stitches in wear. A basting box sewn around the design first, if your machine has one, keeps everything from creeping. Floating is also the way to go for small kids' shirts that don't fit over the hoop.

Needle: a ballpoint embroidery needle, size 75/11 for most T-shirts, 70/10 or 65/9 for fine jersey, 80/12 for heavier knits. The rounded tip pushes between the knit loops instead of piercing them. A sharp needle cuts the yarn, and the holes can turn into runs after washing. Start every shirt project with a fresh needle.

Thread: 40 wt polyester or rayon embroidery thread on top, 60 or 90 wt bobbin thread underneath. Polyester holds up better to hot washes and bleach, which matters for workwear and kids' clothes; rayon has a softer sheen. For T-shirts that will be washed often, polyester is the safer choice.

Settings: if you can adjust the stitch parameters, three of them matter most on knits.

• Density: a slightly lighter fill, around 0.40–0.45 mm row spacing, puts less stress on the jersey.
• Pull compensation: stitches pull the knit inward along their direction, so columns and fills come out narrower than designed and gaps open between fills and outlines. Adding about 0.2–0.4 mm of pull compensation widens each shape to make up for it. Lettering columns benefit most.
• Underlay: a solid underlay (an edge run plus a zigzag or lattice under fills) bastes the knit to the stabilizer before the top stitches arrive, so the fabric can't shift. Don't skip it on T-shirts.

In StitchMyPic, the Knit fabric preset (T-shirt, polo, hoodie) sets 0.42 mm density with 0.3 mm pull compensation and keeps the underlay on, so you don't have to tune these by hand for every design.

Sewing. Load the design, check its orientation (the top of the design towards the collar), and trace the outline with the machine's trace or trial function to confirm it fits inside the marked area. Slow the machine down a step for knits: a slightly lower speed reduces flagging, where the fabric bounces with the needle and causes skipped stitches and bird nests. Watch the first colour; if the fabric starts to wrinkle, stop and re-hoop rather than finishing a design you will have to unpick.

Trimming. Unhoop, turn the shirt inside out and trim the cut-away stabilizer about 6 mm (1/4 in) from the stitching, with rounded corners. OESD advises against trimming closer than that: you risk nicking stitches, and too little backing leaves a ridge around the design. Tear or rinse off any topping, and cut jump stitches on the front close to the fabric.

Comfort. If the back of the stitching will rub sensitive skin, for example on kids' clothes, fuse a soft cover-the-back interfacing over it.

Washing and care. Wait until the shirt is completely finished, then:

• Wash inside out, in cold or warm water (30 °C / 86 °F or less is a safe default), on a gentle cycle.
• Use a mild detergent and no chlorine bleach.
• Air-dry flat or on a hanger; tumble drying is the main cause of fuzzy, faded thread and shrinking around the design.
• Iron from the wrong side, on low heat or with a pressing cloth, never directly on the embroidery.

If the first wash brings out puckers, the cause is almost always one of three things: the shirt wasn't pre-washed and shrank, it was stretched in the hoop, or the stabilizer was too light for the density. Change one at a time on the next shirt and do a test sew-out on a scrap tee before a whole order.