If you’ve landed on this article page, you’re probably searching for a
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How to start a successful Embroidery
Business in Nigeria
Starting an embroidery business by yourself can be tricky, but
it can also be incredibly rewarding. The intricate detailing of
embroidery adds texture and dimension to any fabric and makes
every piece feel extra special.
Are you passionate about providing people with a product they
love and a service they dream of, but your skills lie in
business management rather than production? Don’t waste your
talent and time! Have you considered starting an embroidery
business?
Once you’ve decided how to produce and ship custom products, you
need to pin down exactly who you’re going to sell to. If you
figure out your niche and fully adapt your embroidery business
to your niche market, you’ll easily connect with customers and
stand out from the competition.
How many sewing heads do I need?
1-head machines are usually purchased for start-up businesses
that will embroider less than 20 garments per day. A 1-head
machine can embroider about 40 garments per 8-hour day. This is
based on a 4,000-6,000 stitch design. Calculate roughly 10
minutes of machine time to sew a 5,000 stitch design. There are
approximately 1,000 stitches in 1 square inch. An average size
logo on a shirt or hat is 2″x3″ or 6 square inches or 6,000
stitches.
Each sewing head has 1-16 needles. If a machine’s model number
is 1202, this usually means that it is a 2-head machine with 12
needles. A 1501 model would mean 1-head, and 15 needles, and a
906 would mean 9-needles, and 6-heads. Not all manufacturers use
this method to label their machines but most do.
Less than 10 years ago most machines only had 9-needles at most.
Most of the designs that you embroider will have less than 6
colors, and most machines can handle more than 100 color
changes. So if you embroider a design with more colors than you
have needles, you will just change out the thread as the machine
is sewing and the machine never stops. However it is very
convenient to have more needles for a couple of reasons. If you
have a regular client that uses the same colors all the time you
can leave those needles loaded with those colors, and not have
to change them. Also on some heavy materials like leather, and
treated canvas it is recommended that you use sharp point
needles, so you could leave the sharp point needles on the
machine all the time for those items.
Cap System (Cap Frames, Cap Driver, Cap Gauge)
Devices found on most machines to do embroidery on a finished
cap. This is an attachment that will rotate around the sewing
arm and hold a hat for sewing. This is the best way to
accurately sew a large design on a hat. Older machines would
press the hat down flat and sew it. This method could only sew a
small design (less than 2″x 2″) and would appear skewed because
the design was not following the curvature of the hat.
Types of Embroidery
When you know what kind of embroidered designs you want, you can
learn about the different embroidery techniques available.
Printful uses various embroidery styles and stitch types like
flat embroidery or 3D puff, satin stitch, or tatami fill.
Start marketing your embroidery business
Now that your embroidery products are ready, getting your first
sale will be the hardest part of launching your home embroidery
business. Customers worldwide want to buy things they can trust
will arrive as expected, and without any reviews, it’s difficult
to curb that fear and encourage sales.
There are two kinds of embroidery. Hand embroidery and Machine
embroidery.
Hand embroidery is mainly a cottage industry requiring a lot of
hand labor.
In commercial machine embroidery, you work with highly efficient
embroidery machines - but it can vary a great deal according to
the embroidery machine - its complexity, functions etc. A
home-based embroidery business will have different set of
embroidery machines than a commercial set up, with their own
dedicated space, workers etc.
The commercial embroidery involves specialized embroidery
machines that are designed to work with data from a computer.
This data instructs the machine to stitch a particular design,
determines the correct stitching order, indicates when to trim
threads, and many other functions. In only a few minutes, the
computerized embroidery machine will stitch a design that would
take anyone a week to do by hand embroidery.
The machines work with precision and accuracy that no human can
match for near-perfect quality and fulfill multiple orders in
quite a short time ensuring high profit for the business owner.
In computerized embroidery machines, the artwork for embroidery
design (provided by the client or developed by you or graphic
designers )in the form of letters/designs is entered into the
computer - you can see the design on the computer monitor. You
can change the design/size size/colour etc according to your
needs.
The computer transfers the instructions necessary for stitching
the design to the embroidery machine. You place the appropriate
thread on the machine and sets it up for the stitching and
arranges the item to be embroidered on the machine. The machine
will stitch the design as efficiently as it can.
Even without the multi-head commercial embroidery machines,
there are many people who make a living from their homes doing
embroidery. They work with their embroidery sewing machines and
build on the good will and word of mouth publicity in their
locality and carve a name and living for themselves as
professional embroiderers.
Who is your market in an embroidery business?
Anyone and everyone. You can market to anyone who is looking for
uniqueness, or you can market to people who want to be part of a
group or you can market to companies who want to build up brand
awareness.
Embroidery is done on uniforms for store employees, schools,
team wear for sports teams in schools, clubwear for different
club members , gift items, wedding decor.
Your clients - You can market to uniform companies, schools,
sports good shops, retail shops, clubs, big brands, summer
camps, hospitals, music bands, resorts and hotels and
restaurants, construction companies, local businesses with
professional logos, companies who are holding conferences and
wants to gift embroidered hats/t shirts/bags etc to potential
and current clients.
Shoes, hat brims, napkin corners wedding favors, kitchen towels,
hoodies, beach towels, bags, tablecloths, gloves, skirts, pants,
jackets, quilts and bedsheets, pillows, toys, baby clothes and
other items in the baby layette, uniforms for schools, colleges,
team sports, corporate offices.. the list is endless for what
you can embroider on.
Baby clothes and accessories are embroidered and they are very
popular with new moms. Their bibs, nightgowns, blankets all can
be embroidered.
T-shirts are embroidered usually on collars, cuffs, sleeves. You
can checkout this post on the different locations for embroidery
placements.
What do I need to buy for an embroidery business?
Embroidery machines (Single head /multi head/industrial
embroidery machine) and accessories.
Choosing an embroidery machine depends on the niche you are
aiming for - if you mean to do work on t-shirts you will need a
machine that will do tubular sewing. If you are thinking of
making embroidered patches you need a different machine. A
detailed talk with a commercial sewing machine supplier is
needed as well as consultation with an already operating
embroidery business near you (not your potential competitor) can
help you decide on the best sewing machine.
Embroidery blanks, like t-shirts, caps, placket shirts, visors
etc. provided by the client or by you
Work area with enough space for embroidery machines and seating
for operators
Power supply for the machines
Quality threads, needles, backing, and all the other items
needed for work. Other Stitching supplies like machine oil and
scissors
Safe clean space to store the finished products - you may need
locked cabinets to keep the client property safe.
Plastic bags to deliver the product to customers , preferably
printed with your logo.
Stock Embroidery designs or A place for digitizing the designs
you will embroider if you want to give customers custom designs.
Either you can buy the software for digitizing and do it
yourself, or hire someone do the digitizing for you.
Computer for digitizing if you decide to do it yourself.
You also need to get training to deal with questions like how to
operate your machines efficiently and optimally, the best
backing to use, best thread to use, how to deal with some of the
common problems that happen when operating embroidery machines.
Get our training guide on How to set up a lucrative Embroidery
Business in Nigeria. Welcome to our ultimate guide to starting
and growing your own embroidery business. In this comprehensive
resource, we will provide you with all the essential
information, practical insights, and expert advice you need to
transform your passion for embroidery into a thriving and
profitable venture.
Our aim is to equip you with the knowledge, tools, and
confidence you need to establish a successful embroidery
business, whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced
embroiderer looking to expand your existing operations.
Throughout your journey, we encourage you to reach out to us for
expert guidance and assistance. Our team of seasoned commercial
embroidery machine professionals is always available to help you
navigate the challenges and celebrate the successes that lie
ahead. So, let's embark on this exciting adventure together and
turn your embroidery dreams into reality.
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