www.images-magazine.com 62 images OCTOBER 2026 If you provide embroidered workwear to hardworking tradespeople, you need to be absolutely confident that your embroidered logo will be as hardwearing and tough as the workwear item itself. Choosing the right stitch type and settings is crucial for achieving embroidery that can withstand tough work days without the stitches becoming unpicked. These two examples are both simple text embroideries at 25cm wide – a standard back embroidery request that won’t faze anyone. However, in this case we assume the garment will be subjected to hard use on site. With letters over 10mm thick, they run a high risk of coming unpicked and unravelling if they aren’t digitised correctly. Take no risks when it comes to clothing for tradespeople – Jamie Hood of David Sharp shares two methods for embroidering logos for tough working environments Hardwear stitches with no border is your best option. Again, because the small stitches are a maximum length of 4mm, the tatami fill is hardwearing, even without the borders. Just like with option one, we designed this version with extra stitches compared to standard embroidery. This design uses a stitch spacing of 0.35mm and a tight bed of tatami underlay stitches running in the opposite direction to the top layer. The total stitch count for the 25cm-wide logo is 25,271. Option 1: Tatami stitch with border This logo was constructed using tatami stitches (fill stitch, as it’s often called). Because tatami stitch fills an area with lots of smaller stitches (4mm maximum stitch length), it’s tight enough to take tough abuse on site. It is then finished off with a border, constructed from satin stitches, on each letter. The 2.5mm thick border is purely decorative, designed to visually finish off the letters rather than offer support or protection. We tend to add satin stitch borders to tatami fill stitch areas as standard as it adds to the premium look of the finished embroidery. However, borders increase the total stitch count – this 25cm embroidery has 42,496 stitches. As it’s intended for highuse workwear we don’t want to scrimp on the stitches and will add more than is used in standard embroidery design. This design has the tatami fill set to 0.35mm stitch spacing, with a bed of underlay stitches running in the opposite stitch direction for extra strength. The borders have a stitch spacing setting of 0.38mm and a zigzag underlay layer. Option 2: Tatami stitch with noborders f you want durable embroidery while saving stitches, using just tatami TIPS & TECHNIQUES Extra tie-off stitches helptoo Still worried about stitches unravelling from the ends? Simply apply some extra tie-off stitches, ie the final stitches before the machine stops and trims. This can easily be adjusted in the embroidery design software. The standard number is two tieoff stitches, with each stitch being 1mm long, but you can increase the number of tie-off stitches to three or four for extra insurance. The underlay stitches run in the opposite direction to the top layer Tatami stitch with borders o u 0 u s b 0 O nI s Tatami stitch with no borders. The borders are purely decorative
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