An embroidered unit crest says who you are before anyone reads a word. Police squads, firehouses, EMS crews, sanitation garages and corrections units all carry a crest with history behind it, and the people wearing it notice when it’s stitched badly.

Here’s how to get a crest embroidered so it looks right on every piece of gear.

Start with the best file you have

The cleaner the artwork, the cleaner the stitching. In order of preference:

Vector files (AI, EPS, SVG or a vector PDF). These scale without losing detail.
High-resolution PNG or JPG. Fine if the image is large and sharp.
A photo of an old shirt, challenge coin or patch. Workable. We can redraw it into clean art first.

If the crest only exists on a ten-year-old t-shirt, don’t worry. Redrawing old crests is common. There’s a standard $25 artwork fee when a logo needs to be rebuilt, and more for very detailed designs. You’ll see the result on a proof before anything runs.

What digitizing means

Embroidery machines don’t read a picture. They read a stitch file that tells the needle where to go, in what order and with what thread. Turning a crest into that file is called digitizing.

Good digitizing is the difference between a crest that looks sharp and one where small letters fill in. It’s done by hand for detailed crests, with attention to underlay, stitch direction and how the fabric will move.

Digitizing is included on orders of 15 pieces or more. On smaller orders it’s a one-time charge, and the file stays on hand so reorders are simple.

Size it for where it goes

The same crest gets sized differently depending on placement:

Left chest: usually around 3.5 to 4 inches wide. The most common spot for polos, jackets and quarter-zips.
Hat front: sized to the hat panel, typically around 2 inches tall. Hat embroidery goes on the panels, not the brim.
Full back: larger, usually 10 to 12 inches wide on jackets and hoodies.
Sleeve: small and simple works best, like a flag or a short unit name.

Very small text is the most common problem. If the crest has a motto or ring of lettering, it may need to be simplified slightly at small sizes so every letter stays readable. That’s a decision you’ll see and approve on the proof.

Pick thread colors that match the real crest

Thread comes in hundreds of shades, so getting close to your crest’s colors is rarely an issue. Tell us if certain colors matter, like a specific blue or gold that has to match an existing patch. Metallic gold and silver thread are options too, and they stand out on dark jackets.

Direct embroidery or a patch?

Both have a place:

Direct embroidery stitches the crest straight onto the garment. It looks clean, lasts as long as the garment and works on most jackets, polos, hoodies and hats.
Embroidered patches are made separately with a stitched border, then attached. They’re good for items that are hard to embroider directly, or for units that want a patch they can move between pieces.

If you want patches, see our patches and name tapes page. One note: we don’t sew customer-supplied patches onto hats. We embroider the crest directly on the hat instead, which looks cleaner anyway.

Keep it consistent across the unit

Once the crest is digitized, use the same file for everything: jackets, polos, hoodies, hats and bags. That keeps the crest identical across every piece, so the unit looks like one unit. Our guide on what makes embroidery last longer covers how to keep it looking sharp after washing.

See it before it’s made

Every order gets a proof showing the crest on the actual garment, at the actual size, before anything is stitched. Nothing runs until you approve it.

Ready to put your crest on something? Start on our embroidery page, browse gear for police, fire and EMS units, or send your crest for a free quote.