Sooner or later every embroidery shop gets the call: "I already bought the jackets — can you just put our logo on them?" Customer-supplied garments can be good, easy money, or they can turn into a ruined jacket you end up paying for. The difference is almost entirely in the policy you set before the garment comes through the door. Here's how I'd think about it after many years of digitizing for shops that deal with this every week.
Why customer-supplied garments are riskier than your own blanks
When you supply the blanks, you know the fabric, you've stitched it before, and if one piece goes wrong you pull another from the box. With customer-supplied goods, all three of those safety nets disappear:
- Unknown fabric. Performance knits, coated nylon, thin rayon and stretch blends all behave differently under the needle. Some mark permanently with needle holes or hoop burn.
- No spares. If a stitch-out goes wrong, there is often no replacement — especially with gifts, uniforms bought in a set, or high-end outerwear.
- Odd construction. Pockets, zippers, seams, linings and padding can sit right where the logo needs to go, and some items simply can't be hooped in the spot the customer wants.
- Lost margin. You don't earn anything on the garment itself, so the embroidery has to carry the whole job.
None of that means you should refuse these jobs. It means you should price and plan for them on purpose.
Should you accept customer-supplied garments at all?
There's no single right answer — it depends on your machines, your skill with difficult fabrics and how busy you are. Many shops land on one of three policies:
- Yes, with conditions. Accept them, but with a signed waiver, a higher per-piece price and a requirement for spares on larger orders. This is the most common middle ground.
- Only certain items. Accept cotton tees, polos, sweatshirts and caps you know how to handle; decline leather, delicate silks, heavily padded jackets or anything high value.
- No — supplied blanks only. Some busy shops decline entirely, because their own blank sales and production time are worth more than the risk.
Whichever you choose, write it down and apply it the same way every time. Inconsistent rules are what cause arguments.
Put the risk in writing: the waiver
A short, plain-language customer-supplied goods agreement is the single most important tool here. It doesn't need to be long. It should cover:
- That the customer accepts the risk of damage to items they supply, and that you aren't responsible for replacing them beyond any limit you set.
- That needle holes, hoop marks or slight puckering can happen on some fabrics and aren't considered defects.
- The approved logo, size, thread colours and placement — so "that's not where I wanted it" is settled before stitching.
- How many pieces were received, counted when they're dropped off, not when they're picked up.
Laws on liability vary, so if you're unsure about the exact wording, have a local professional look it over once. Then use the same form on every job.
How to price customer-supplied embroidery
Because you're not making margin on the garment, the per-piece embroidery price for supplied items is usually higher than your price on blanks you sell. Most shops handle it in one of these ways:
- A per-piece surcharge added to your normal stitch-count price.
- A separate price list for supplied goods, with minimum order quantities.
- A handling charge per order to cover checking in, counting and inspecting the items.
Keep the one-time setup separate from the per-piece price, exactly as you would with your own blanks. If you're unsure how to present that, our article on whether your shop should charge a digitizing fee walks through how to quote it so customers understand it.
A check-in routine that prevents most problems
Inspect every garment while the customer is still standing there. A few minutes at drop-off saves hours of argument later.
- Count the pieces and record sizes and colours on the order.
- Check for existing flaws — stains, pulls, missing buttons — and note them in writing.
- Read the care label to identify the fabric and see if it's something you're comfortable stitching.
- Test the placement by checking whether the area can actually be hooped or clamped. Look for seams, zips and pocket openings under the logo position.
- Ask for a spare if the order is more than a handful of pieces. A spare garment lets you run a test without risking a real one.
Match the stabilizer and the file to the fabric
Most failures on supplied garments are technical, not bad luck. Two things matter most:
Stabilizer
Stretch knits and performance wear generally need cutaway, while stable wovens can often use tearaway. Napped fabrics like fleece usually benefit from a water-soluble topping. If you're unsure, our fabric-by-fabric stabilizer guide covers the common choices.
The stitch file
A design that sews fine on a heavy cotton polo can pucker or gap on a thin performance shirt. Density, underlay and pull compensation should suit the fabric. If the customer's garment is unusual, tell your digitizer what it is before the file is made. With our custom embroidery digitizing service, every logo is hand digitized (no auto-conversion), and if a file needs adjusting for a lighter or stretchier fabric after delivery, size changes and tweaks are free.
Always run a test first
Stitch the design on a similar scrap fabric or the customer's spare before touching the real garment. Check for puckering, gaps between fill and outline, and whether small lettering stays readable. If the test shows a problem, fix the file or the stabilizer — not the customer's jacket. If you outsource, a digitizer who will re-digitize until it stitches right is worth more here than anywhere else; you can read how our digitizing service works for the details.
When to say no
Turning down a job is sometimes the most profitable choice. Consider declining when:
- The item is irreplaceable, very expensive or sentimental, and there's no spare.
- The placement can't be hooped or clamped properly on your equipment.
- The fabric is one you've never stitched and there's no way to test it.
- The customer won't sign the waiver.
A polite "this isn't one we can do safely" protects your reputation far better than a damaged garment does.
Quick FAQ
Should I charge more for customer-supplied garments? Usually, yes. You don't earn margin on the garment and you carry more risk, so most shops add a surcharge or use a separate price list.
What if I damage a customer's garment? That's what the waiver is for — it should say upfront how damage is handled. Without one, you may be expected to replace the item at full value.
Do I need a different stitch file for different fabrics? Not always, but a logo going onto thin stretch fabric often needs lighter density and more underlay than the same logo on a heavy polo. Tell your digitizer what the garment is.
Have a tricky garment coming in? Get a hand-digitized logo file matched to the fabric — $10 for designs 6 inches or less, $20 for larger, emailed within 12 hours.