Running a custom embroidery shop

Monogrammed totes, names on baby blankets and logos on hats are small jobs with lots of details: font, thread color, placement, garment color and size. Get one wrong and the piece can't be fixed. This page is how a small embroidery shop selling on Shopify and Etsy can keep those details straight.

What goes wrong in an embroidery shop

• Thread changes. Running orders as they come means rethreading constantly.
• Hoop changes. A cap, a tote and a baby blanket each need a different hoop or frame.
• Details in different places. Font in a dropdown, thread color in a note, the name in a text box, and a change request in a message.
• Spelling. A monogram stitched with the wrong initial order is a lost blank.

Batch by garment, hoop and thread

Make your batch key the blank (garment type and color) plus the machine, and sort within the batch by thread color. All the navy totes with white thread run together, with one hoop setup and one thread change.

Put every detail on one sheet

Print a sheet per piece with the name or monogram in large type, the font, the thread color, the placement and the garment size. Check the stitched piece against it before packing. If the buyer changed something by message, write it on the sheet and reprint.

How CrossBatch fits an embroidery shop

CrossBatch is a Shopify app that puts Shopify and Etsy orders on one production queue.

• Machines and materials: add your embroidery machines, then start from the embroidery starter set (thread colors) and add your blanks.
• Product rules: each product or variant sets the blank, the machine and the lead time, so orders arrive assigned. CrossBatch suggests rules from your products' names and options when you install it.
• Batches by material and machine: select the jobs that share a blank and machine and start them together. Batches are on Starter ($19/month) and up.
• Personalization on every job: name, font, thread color and placement show on the queue and print in large type on the job sheet.
• Personalization fields on your product pages: add dropdowns and text boxes for font, thread color and name (Studio).
• Etsy orders: forwarded sale emails or Etsy's Order Items file, on the same queue as Shopify.

Not on Shopify? The free Etsy job sheet maker prints a sheet per item from your Etsy order file, grouped by any option like thread color.

Etsy is a trademark of Etsy, Inc. CrossBatch is not affiliated with Etsy.