Machine Embroidering A T-Shirt Tutorial

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By Chris Rickert Published on May 2, 2017 | Updated on December 1, 2025

Embroidered t-shirts are popular in stores. Take a plain t-shirt and make it something special by machine-embroidering a design on it. Kids love to have special t-shirts with their favorite characters, trains, and cars embroidered on them.

Today, with modern sewing and embroidery machines, you can personalize, monogram, and add designs to t-shirts in the comfort of your own home.

Watch this video to learn how to get great results when machine embroidering a t-shirt!

COMPLETE VIDEO TUTORIAL AVAILABLE! The video below is a preview and may have no audio. To watch the whole video tutorial, click the link Machine Embroidering a T-Shirt Tutorial to open it in Youtube.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. We make a small commission on sales through the affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance for your purchase and your support! Please see our full Affiliate Statement for more information.

What embroidery machine do I use in the video?

I have a Brother Innovis 4000D embroidery and sewing machine. This machine is no longer manufactured, but there are many machines you can choose from. My machine has a maximum embroidery area of 7" x 12". With this size hoop, I have been able to machine embroider almost any pattern I find, as they come in different sizes.

How much does the machine cost?

Since my embroidery machine is no longer made, I cannot give you a price for it. Embroidery machines range in price from a few hundred dollars to a whopping 18,000 or more! The machine you purchase would depend on your budget and the type of embroidery you want to do.

What types of embroidery machines are there?

There are three basic types of embroidery machines:

• Embroidery only: these are specialized machines that can only do embroidery and cannot sew straight lines or other stitches.
• Embroidery and Sewing Combo - This is what I have, and it can switch between embroidery and sewing.
• Multi-needle Embroidery - These have more than one needle, so when embroidering a pattern, you load up multiple thread colors and thread them into the multiple needles. The machine can then stitch with all of those colors without stopping for color changes.

Can you recommend an embroidery machine to purchase?

I do not recommend specific machines to purchase because this is a more personal question that depends on many factors, including budget and features. I recommend that you research online and visit one or more of your local sewing machine dealers to find out the options and features of different machines. Ask your dealer if they give lessons. Lessons can be important, so you will know how to use your machine and get the most out of it.

There are many different manufacturers of embroidery machines, including Brother, Viking, Bernina, and Baby Lock. Each manufacturer offers a range of machines, each with distinct features.

We do have a link to embroidery machines available on Amazon below, but these are low-end machines and may not be suitable for everyone. But these could give you some ideas about features and pricing. The high-end machines are only sold through dealers.

What is important to consider when purchasing an embroidery machine?

One important item to consider is the hoop size. Each machine has specific hoops it can handle, and you cannot upgrade to larger hoops later. So, if you purchase a machine with the largest hoop at 5" x 7", you will not be able to buy a larger hoop later.

Most people recommend purchasing a machine with the largest hoop you can afford. So, if there is an option between two machines and one has a larger hoop, you may want the larger one because people tend to outgrow machines with only smaller hoop sizes quickly.

What type of stabilizer should I use when embroidering on a t-shirt?

I recommend using a sticky-back stabilizer, such as Sulky Sticky Tear Away. I find this stabilizer works best for t-shirts because they are so stretchy, and it keeps the t-shirt from stretching or shifting during stitching.

If you have a very dense design that needs more stabilization, take a piece of cutaway or another piece of tear-away stabilizer and slide it under your hoop before you start stitching.

How do you change the colors?

With a single-needle machine, like mine, the machine stops between each color so that you can change the thread. There are multi-needle machines that let you load multiple colors at once, and they can automatically switch for you.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR EMBROIDERING A T-SHIRT:

• Pick out thread colors and organize them in order of use so they are ready and handy to use as you stitch the design.
• The self-adhesive, tear-away stabilizer is recommended because it will prevent the t-shirt fabric from stretching out of shape during embroidery.
• Add a piece of cutaway or tear-away stabilizer under the hoop before stitching if your pattern is very dense and needs more stabilizer.
• Wash and dry your t-shirt before embroidering. This will pre-shrink the shirt to ensure it won't shrink and distort the design after it's sewn.

BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR EMBROIDERING A T-SHIRT:

1. Load the design in your embroidery machine.
2. Determine the direction of the design and proper placement when hooping.
3. Cut the stabilizer a little larger than the hoop. The stabilizer should be caught in the hoop to prevent the t-shirt from shifting or stretching while embroidering.
4. Turn the t-shirt inside out and place a self-adhesive tear-away stabilizer over the area to be embroidered.
5. Turn the t-shirt right side out and hand-press a vertical crease down the center of the shirt.
6. Slide the outer hoop inside the shirt.
7. Decide on the placement of the design using the vertical crease as a guide and press the top hoop in place. The Embroiderer's Helper can help you get perfect placement of your design.
8. Roll the back of the shirt and any excess fabric up and around the hoop, keeping it away from the embroidery area.
9. Attach the embroidery hoop to the machine.
10. Check the design placement.
11. Stitch the embroidery design.
12. Carefully tear away the stabilizer from around the outside of the design.
13. Add fusible interfacing to the inside of the shirt over the stitching to avoid roughness against the skin.

What you need:

• Embroidery Machine
• Embroidery design file for your machine type.
• T-shirt (pre-shrunk by washing/drying)
• Sticky back stabilizer
• Tear away or cut away stabilizer (optional - depends on pattern)
• Fusible interfacing or soft fusible
• Thread
• Schmetz 90/14 Embroidery Needles

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS TO EMBROIDER ON CLOTHING:

Be sure to watch our video tutorial for even more tips and follow along with these written instructions.

STEP 1: Select and Load design

Select the design to be embroidered on the t-shirt. Almost any design can be stitched, whether filled or appliqué. Most embroidery machines come with patterns preinstalled. Another option is to purchase or find a free machine embroidery pattern online. Be sure the pattern you receive is in the correct file format and size for your embroidery machine.

If you purchase a design, download the design to your computer. Most embroidery machines use a USB stick, so copy the pattern to a USB stick and load it into the embroidery machine.

Step 2: Organize ThreadS For EMbroidery

Pick out the thread colors needed to complete the embroidery design. Designs usually come with suggested color numbers, but I like to just pick colors from the embroidery threads I have. Organize your threads in the order of stitching so they are ready. A handy egg carton can be re-purposed into a thread holder.

STEP 3: Design Direction

Look at the direction the design is when loaded into the embroidery machine. The hoop must be placed in the proper direction on the t-shirt, or the embroidered design will be stitched in the wrong orientation.

The design used in this demonstration was turned to the side, so the hoop had to be placed horizontally.

If your embroidery design is facing upright, then place your hoop vertically.

Step 4: ADD Sticky-Backed stabilizer

Cut the sticky-backed stabilizer a little larger than the hoop. The stabilizer should be caught in the hoop to prevent the t-shirt from shifting or stretching while embroidering.

Turn the t-shirt inside out, then place a self-adhesive tear-away stabilizer on the area to be embroidered and hooped. Turn the shirt right side out once the stabilizer is in place.

Step 5: Crease the Center of the Shirt

To find the center of the t-shirt, fold it in half, lining up the sides and arms. Press a crease into the shirt along the fold. This crease will be used when hooping the shirt.

The Embroiderer's Helper can help you get perfect placement of your design.

Where do I position the embroidery?

For this demonstration, I am centering the embroidery on the t-shirt. When embroidering on the left or right chest, an embroidery placement tool can help ensure correct positioning.

This tool can pinpoint the center of the design on the left or right chest for shirts in many sizes, including t-shirts, button-downs, and polo shirts.

STEP 6: Hoop Shirt for embroidery

Lay the shirt flat on the table. The crease should be visible in the center front of the shirt. Slide the outer hoop inside the shirt below the area to be hooped. Using the marks on the center of your hoop and the guidelines on the template, align the hoop straight along the crease. Use your measuring tape to be sure it's aligned correctly.

Once you have the hoop aligned, press the top hoop into the bottom hoop. Embroidered designs on t-shirts are typically placed in the shirt's top half.

STEP 7: Get the Shirt Back Out of the Way

Before you can embroider on the shirt, the back needs to be moved out of the way. Otherwise, the front and back of the shirt will end up sewn together. Roll the back of the shirt and excess fabric up and around the hoop so it is away from the embroidery area.

Tuck the shirt's arms so they will not get caught in the stitching. Make sure the back of the hoop is completely clear of fabric, and on the front, there is a clear opening where the design will be embroidered on the shirt.

STEP 8: CHECK Design Placement

Attach the embroidery hoop to the machine. One last time, check the orientation of your design and the direction the t-shirt was hooped to make sure the design will be right side up when stitched.

Check where the embroidery design will stitch on the t-shirt to make sure you will be happy with the results. Depending on the design size, you may be able to make small adjustments to the placement before stitching the embroidery onto the t-shirt.

If you have a dense design that needs extra stabilization, slide the extra tear-away or cut-away stabilizer under the hoop now. Cut the stabilizer large enough so you can slide it under, and it will be caught by the stitching.

STEP 9: STITCH the embroidery DESIGN

My favorite needle for machine embroidery is the Schmetz 90/14 embroidery needle. Even though it's a knit shirt, when using the sticky back stabilizer, the embroidery needle should be used.

Stitch the embroidery design steps, changing thread colors after each step as the design instructs. The embroidery machine will stop for each color change.

STEP 10: REMOVE STABILIZER

Once the embroidery design is completely stitched, remove the hoop from your machine. Remove the embroidered t-shirt from the hoop. Carefully tear away the stabilizer from around the outside of the design. If you used an extra cutaway stabilizer, trim this around the design.

STEP 11: ADD SOFT INTERFACING

To make the inside of the embroidered t-shirt softer where the design is located, cut a piece of fusible interfacing or Sulky Tender Touch in the shape of the design, or a little larger than the design, and fuse it to the inside of the t-shirt. This is especially important for children, so the stitching will not be rough against their skin.

FINISHED!

The embroidered t-shirt is now finished and ready to wear. Have fun creating machine-embroidered t-shirts for family and friends. Give them as gifts!

Some other shirts I've machine-embroidered designs onto are shown below.

This is a 3D Ribbon Cupcake design stitched on a t-shirt. This design came from a website, Applique Corner. This was an interesting pattern, as it combines appliqué embroidery with the ribbon being sewn down as one of the steps.

This cute kitten came from a design pack by Amazing Designs (link below). I added the name underneath using a font from my embroidery machine. This is stitched on a long-sleeved t-shirt.

This is an embroidered t-shirt featuring a Planet Applique design. The design pack includes a Penguin next to each letter of the alphabet. You customize it with your choice of fabrics for the letter and for the penguin.

Find many other Machine Embroidery projects and tutorials through the link. Machine-embroidered aprons are another fun project for your embroidery machine.

Embroidering a t-shirt can be fun and make excellent holiday gifts for kids and grandkids.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about this project, contact us through the YouTube Video comments or our Contact Us page. We respond to questions in e-mails and YouTube comments regularly.

Other Machine Embroidery Tutorials are below.

• How to use a Brother Innovis 4000D Video Series
• How to Monogram a Tote Bag
• Learn to Machine Embroider on Cardstock and make your own greeting cards!
• How to make in-the-hoop Lavender Sachets with a Brother Luminaire Embroidery Machine

Supporting Products and links: Some of the links below may be affiliate links. We make a small commission on sales through the affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance for your purchase and your support! Please see our full Affiliate Statement for more information.

25 Schmetz Embroidery Sewing Machine Needles 130/705H H-E Size 90/14 #ad These are my favorite sewing machine needles to use when embroidering. Affiliate Link to Amazon.com

Adhesive and Fusible Stabilizers by DIME #ad Embroidery stabilizers and topping from dime are the best available anywhere in the market. Shrink-wrapped product comes in our new revolutionary Forever Label system with a permanent, color-coded fiberboard ring with easily identifiable usage icon. Affiliate Link to DIME

Bird's Nest Tool Kit #ad Chris says this kit has saved her machine embroidery projects multiple times! This kit lets you reach under your hoop to cut the threads when a bird's nest occurs in the bobbin area. A MUST HAVE! Affiliate Link to DIME

Embroiderer's Big Helper™ #ad For aiding in placement of embroidery on larger shirts and t-shirts sizes XL, XXL and XXXL. Affiliate Link to DIME

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Embroiderer's Helper™ Bundle #ad This bundle includes the Embroiderer's Helper and Embroiderer's Lil Helper Affiliate Link to DIME

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Penguin Alphabet Planet Applique

Perfect Alignment Laser 3™ (PAL3) #ad Centering and alignment is easy with PAL. Let PAL3 be your guide! Bright, crisp, non-Gaussian lines show uniform brightness across the entire length of the beam. Affiliate Link to DIME

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Sulky Cut Away Midweight Stabilizer #ad Provides great permanent stability to stitch computerized embroidery designs, appliques, and monograms on outerwear like jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts 7 2/3" x 8 yds. White Affiliate Link to Amazon

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Sulky Sticky Plus Self-Adhesive Tear-Away Stabilizer Roll #ad Sulky Sticky Plus is a self-adhesive tear-away stabilizer on a paper backed release sheet that is ideal stabilizer for hooped, computerized machine embroidery Affiliate Link to Amazon.com

Target Stickers™ #ad Target stickers can be used to help in placement of embroidery or when hooping embroidery blanks. Affiliate Link to DIME

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Annette & Chris are a mother/daughter team. We've brought you craft projects and tutorials through this web site for over 20 years.

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