FAQs

Names, nicknames, initials and monograms, dates and roman numerals, coordinates, short phrases you have written, family rosters, pet portraits and photo portraits of people, plus simple generic motifs such as hearts, stars, paw prints and house outlines. We stitch them on sweatshirts, hoodies and caps. We cannot stitch other companies’ logos, characters or slogans; our Intellectual Property Policy explains why and what we can offer instead.

Each product page lists the placements that garment can take. On sweatshirts and pullover hoodies the usual choices are left chest, centre chest and a sleeve line; zip hoodies take left chest, sleeve or upper back because the zip splits the front; caps take the front panel, with a side panel available on some styles. The proof shows the exact position and size before anything is stitched.

For a left-chest placement, names up to about twelve characters stay crisp and readable. Longer names, two-word phrases and rosters move to centre chest or the upper back. On a cap front panel, short names and initials work best. If your text is long, type it in full and we will suggest the best placement on the proof rather than shrinking letters until they blur.

Five or six first names fit comfortably in a column on a sweatshirt or pullover hoodie front, with a title such as “Grandma” above them. More names can work on the upper back. We show you the layout on the proof so you can decide whether to split a large family across two pieces.

Yes. Each product page offers a choice of lettering styles, from script to slab. Script suits a single first name; slab and block styles suit initials, surnames and anything stitched small, because their letters stay open and readable in thread.

Yes. Accents (é, ñ, ü), apostrophes, hyphens, ampersands and numbers can all be stitched. Type them exactly as they should appear; if your keyboard makes that hard, describe the character in the order note and we will make sure it is right on the proof.

Yes, and that is what a matching set is. Order each piece in the size and colour each person needs, keep the font and thread the same, and change only the names. Each piece gets its own proof. See our Family & Couples category for ideas.

One pet, facing the camera, photographed in daylight at the pet’s eye level, with the whole head in frame and nothing covering the eyes. A phone photo is fine if it is sharp. Avoid photos taken from far away, at night with a flash, or with the pet turned sideways. If you have several photos, send the two clearest and we will choose.

Two pets side by side work well on a centre-chest portrait. A person with a pet works in the outline portrait style. More than two subjects is best handled as a photo portrait in the filled style, where there is room for detail. The proof will show how the group reads at stitch size.

An outline portrait traces faces, hair and clothing in a single thread colour, like a line drawing; it suits one to three people and reads cleanly on the left chest and on caps. A filled portrait uses several thread colours for skin, hair and clothing and suits centre-chest placements with up to four or five people.

It will look like a stitched drawing of the photo, not a photograph. We keep what makes a face or a pet recognisable, such as ear shape, markings, hairstyle and expression, and simplify background, small details and soft shading. The proof shows exactly how we have simplified your picture, and you can ask for changes until it feels right.

Often yes. Send it and we will tell you honestly what can be done. Older photos sometimes work better as outline portraits, where a clear silhouette matters more than fine detail. If a photo really cannot produce a good likeness, we tell you before you pay or refund that piece in full.

Your photo is used only to prepare your design and proof and is seen only by the people making your order. We delete it after the 60-day return period, or sooner if you ask, unless you ask us to keep the design for a future re-order. Details are in our Privacy Policy.

A digital preview of your design on your garment, showing the text or portrait, the font, the thread colour, the size and the position. We email it before anything is stitched. You approve it, or tell us what to change.

Within 1 business day of your order. If we need something from you first, such as a clearer photo, we ask in that time instead.

As many as you need before approving. Each round simply moves the start of stitching to the day you approve the final version, so if you are ordering for a date, quick replies help.

We send a reminder. Your order waits; nothing is stitched without your approval. If a proof waits for a reply for 30 days after our reminder, we may cancel that piece and refund it in full, as our Terms of Service explain.

Sweatshirts and hoodies run from S to 5XL in a relaxed unisex cut; the sizes available for each garment colour are shown on the product page. Caps are one size with an adjustable back.

Lay a sweatshirt or hoodie the wearer already likes flat, measure it across the chest and from shoulder to hem, and compare with our Size Guide. If you are between two sizes, choose the larger for a relaxed fit, especially for hoodies. If the size turns out wrong, the exchange is covered by our 60-day returns with free return postage.

Cotton-rich fleece can shrink slightly if washed hot or tumble-dried on high heat. Washed cold and dried flat or on low heat, as we recommend for embroidery anyway, shrinkage is minimal.

No. We only embroider the blanks sold on the site, because we know how they take the needle and can stand behind the result.

Twenty, the same on every garment, so pieces ordered at different times still match. The full set is shown on our homepage and on every product page.

For a design that reads from across the room, pick a thread two or three shades lighter or darker than the garment: navy or deep gold on sand, white or deep gold on navy, black or prussian blue on heather grey. For a quieter look, choose a thread close to the garment colour. If you are unsure, email us the garment colour and we will suggest two or three options.

The swatches on the site are the closest guide we can give on a screen, and every proof shows the thread colour you chose on your garment colour. If you are choosing between two similar shades, such as navy and prussian blue, tell us the garment colour and what the piece is for, and we will describe how each shade looks in thread on that fabric.

Yes, where the product page offers it. A name can be one colour and a date another, and filled portraits use several thread colours by design. For a matching set, keep the main thread the same across every piece and vary only an accent colour if you want each person’s piece to feel a little different.

Turn it inside out, wash cold on a gentle cycle, skip bleach and fabric softener, and dry flat or on low heat. Never iron directly on the stitching; press from the reverse side with a cloth between.

Spot-clean with a damp cloth and a little mild soap, then let it air-dry on a rounded shape such as a bowl. Machine washing can bend the brim and crease the front panel behind the embroidery.

Yes. Enter the recipient’s name and address as the shipping address at checkout. Our parcels and packing slips do not show prices, so the gift arrives without the receipt. Your order confirmation and tracking emails still come to you, so you can follow the parcel without spoiling the surprise.

Add your message to the order note and we will confirm by email whether it can go in the parcel. Keep it to a few lines. If you would rather give the message yourself, ship the order to your own address instead.

Choose the size they usually wear in sweatshirts from other shops; if you are between two, choose the larger, because a relaxed fit is the usual look for embroidered fleece. Or choose a cap, which is one size with an adjustable back. If the size turns out wrong, the recipient can exchange it within 60 days of delivery with free return postage.

Yes, to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Transit takes 7-14 business days, the same window as within the United States, but customs can add a day or two in busy periods, and the recipient may be asked to pay import duties or taxes on arrival. Order early and check Shipping & Delivery before you choose a date.

Yes. The proof is emailed only to the address used at checkout. If the recipient shares your email account, tell us in the order note and we will send the proof to another address you give us.

They are different. Printing lays ink on the surface and can reproduce photographs and fine gradients. Embroidery stitches thread through the fabric, so it has texture and depth and keeps its shape through many washes, but it simplifies fine details. For names, monograms and drawn portraits on fleece and caps, embroidery is what we do, and it is all we do.

That is the backing, a light stabiliser that keeps the fabric from stretching while it is stitched and supports the design afterwards. We trim it neatly around the design. It softens with washing and does not affect how the garment fits.

Up to a point. Letters need a minimum height to stay readable in thread; below it, the stitches crowd together and the letters close up. If your text is too small for the placement you picked, the proof will show a larger size or a different placement rather than an unreadable one.

The embroidery threads we use are made to be washed with clothing. Washing cold and inside out, as recommended above, protects both the thread and the garment. If a thread colour bleeds or fades noticeably within 60 days of delivery after normal care, contact us under our Refund Policy.

The backing behind the design is trimmed close and softens with washing. Fleece sweatshirts and hoodies have a brushed inside, so most people do not notice the backing at all. If someone has very sensitive skin, a left-chest name sits on less of the body than a large centre-chest design.

We stitch and dispatch within 1-3 business days after you approve the proof. Transit then takes 7-14 business days to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. See Shipping & Delivery for the full timeline.

Count backwards: up to 1 business day for the proof, your approval time, 1-3 business days to stitch, then up to 14 business days in transit. Tell us the date in the order note and we will say honestly whether it is realistic before stitching starts.

Yes, free of charge within 24 hours of ordering, as long as the piece has not been stitched or shipped. Before you approve the proof, design changes are simply part of the proof conversation. See Cancel or Change an Order.

Yes, until the order ships. Write to us with the order number and what you want to add; we create a linked order for the new piece, send its proof, and ship everything together if the timing allows. If the first order is about to leave, we ship the new piece separately at no extra shipping cost.

Orders with your own business or club logo need a written agreement on the design, quantities and timing, and confirmation that the logo is yours to use. Email us before ordering. Orders that only use personal names and our generic motifs can be placed on the site in the usual way.

No. You can order a single cap, and shipping is still free to the four countries we serve.

We ship to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, from the USA. Shipping is free on every order to those countries, with no minimum spend. We do not ship to other countries at the moment.

Orders to the United States do not pass through customs. Orders to Canada, Australia and New Zealand may be charged import duties or taxes by the destination country on arrival; these are paid by the recipient and are not included in our prices.

We email a tracking number when your order ships. You can also check your order on our Order Tracking page with your order number and email address.

If tracking has not moved for 7 business days, or the parcel has not arrived 7 business days after the end of the transit window, contact us. We open a carrier investigation; if the parcel is confirmed lost or not found within 5 business days, we send a free replacement or a full refund.

Please use a street address where possible. If you need delivery to a P.O. box or a US military address, email us before ordering so we can confirm that the carrier for your parcel accepts it; deliveries to these addresses can take longer.

Email us straight away. We can change the address free of charge until the parcel is handed to the carrier. After that we ask the carrier to redirect it where their service allows; if the parcel comes back to us, we reship it once you confirm the correct address.

Orders normally ship together. If one piece in a set needs an extra proof round, we may ship the finished pieces first so they are not held back. You never pay for the extra parcel, and each one gets its own tracking number.

Yes. Every piece, personalised or not, can be returned within 60 days of delivery for any reason. Change-of-mind returns should be unworn and unwashed. See our Returns & Exchanges Policy.

We do, on every return, including change-of-mind returns and size exchanges. We send a prepaid label or reimburse tracked postage.

Your refund reaches your original payment method within 7 days after the return is received and approved. For photo claims and cancellations, the 7 days start when we approve the claim or confirm the cancellation. See our Refund Policy.

If the finished piece differs from the proof you approved, it is our mistake: we stitch a corrected piece free or refund you in full, and you normally do not need to send the incorrect piece back. If the misspelling was on the approved proof, the piece can still be returned within 60 days with free return postage.

Yes. They can use the order number on the packing slip to ask for a different size or garment colour, or store credit in their own name. We do not tell them what you paid.

Yes. Once we approve the exchange we stitch the same design in the new size within 1-3 business days and ship it free; you do not have to wait for the first piece to reach us. Return postage for the first piece is paid by us.

Yes. Each piece in a set is treated separately, so you return only the piece that does not work and keep the rest at the price you paid.

Yes. Store credit is issued as soon as the return is approved, for the full price paid for the returned piece, and can be used on any future order. You can switch to a refund to your original payment method as long as the credit has not been used.

The payment options available for your order are shown at checkout before you pay. We only show options that are working at that moment, and we never ask for payment outside checkout. See Payment Methods.

US dollars. If you pay with a card in another currency, your bank converts the amount and may charge a foreign transaction fee.

Our checkout does not currently add a separate sales-tax line. If that changes, any tax will be shown clearly at checkout before you pay.

When you place your order. If you cancel within 24 hours before stitching, or if we cannot make a piece, the full amount is refunded within 7 days.

No. You can check out as a guest. An account simply keeps your order history and addresses in one place.

Not without asking you first and receiving a clear yes. Your names, dates and photos are used only to make your order.

Email support@stitchyhome.com or submit a ticket. We reply within 1 business day. Our business address is Stitchy Home, 4810 W Gary Way, Laveen AZ 85339, United States; we do not offer phone support. More options are on our Contact Us page.