Machine embroidery looks best on solid color, tightly woven, and flat/smooth fabrics. We provide backing fabric of an appropriate style, so you don't need to worry about sourcing fabric for your patches - just select your desired background color from the list of options in our project submission form.

If you wish to have your design stitched on a different type of backing fabric that you provide yourself, please schedule a meeting with us using the machine embroidery consultation form and we will discuss our options.

The IDEA Lab stocks cotton and polyester thread in a wide variety of colors to support our machine embroidery service. Our staff will work to identify thread colors that best match your chosen design from our available stock. If no suitable color is in stock, we will notify you in the same email that contains the proof of your embroidery design for your confirmation.

As noted in the machine embroidery basics page, machine stitching also requires a backing thread, also known as bobbin thread, to secure your design to the fabric. This thread will be either white or black depending on your chosen backing fabric color.

Machine embroidery is very taxing on fabrics - the machine moves rapidly, stitches repeatedly over the same areas, and puts a great amount of stress on the fabric. As a result, a supporting material known as fabric stabilizer is required to ensure the stability of the final product.

The IDEA Lab machine embroidery process includes stabilizer as a part of the base cost per project, and this stabilizer will remain attached to the patch when you receive it to ensure its longevity. It can be stitched through just like normal fabric whenever you choose to attach your patch to your clothing, accessories, or other fabric areas.