Ava GabouryThe one time I ordered custom embroidered patches for a family event, they came out all wonky and distorted. I could barely read the font—it was ten sizes too small.
Plus, they screwed up the design. I ended up with something that resembled a melted color blob instead of the tiger mascot my family chose.
So, when I planned to gift my mom a custom sweater for her birthday, I made sure to visit the right shop. I got some help from the rest of the Waterview Vancouver writing team in doing some research into the best embroidery shops in our city.
After all the research and samples, here are the places we found worth trusting.
How much does it cost to do embroidery in Vancouver?
It costs at least 35 CAD to do embroidery for a basic design. This price is just an estimate. The actual price will depend on the stitch count, the design, and more.
1. Great West Graphics | T-shirt Printing | Embroidery Service | Vancouver
Address: 342 East Kent Ave S #105
Contact Details: +16043213285
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday – 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Great West Graphics has 37 stock ink colors, and they can match nearly any color thanks to their Pantone system.
One sports team that was picky about getting its logo just right said Great West Graphics got the exact shade of turquoise they had in mind.
As far as the actual embroidery process goes, we love that they offer digitizing services. We think this is really cool because if you have your own sketches you want to bring to life, they can help you do that.
Plus, they offer free logo service and advice, if you don’t already have your own ideas set in stone.
Thankfully, they handle any size order. We love this because you don’t have to buy 200 shirts when you may only really need 2. And in terms of turnaround time, they do rush orders, which is good to know if you’re in a bind.
However, if you do bring your own clothing, they’re not responsible for any damage that may happen. But if you order the clothing from them, they guarantee the quality and have a 30-day return policy.
Excellent embroidery work
“Excellent embroidery work. Great customer service at a fair price. Sam was so helpful and made suggestions to improve what I wanted to create. I am absolutely thrilled with the final product! Thanks to the Great West Graphics team!”
- Barb K Google Reviews
Very happy with the service
“I had a great experience with the last-minute rush order for only two days for a bachelor party. Rosie and her team helped me with excellent customer service and were very patient with all the requested changes. Fair price and a great final product on time. Very happy with the service they provided. Now I have a go-to place for custom embroidery and screen printing.”
- Jimmy Li Google Reviews
2. MAKE Vancouver at Granville Island
Address: 1648 Duranleau St
Contact Details:+16046845105
Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday – 10 AM to 6 PM
MAKE Vancouver is usually known as that awesome store that sells quirky, funky, hand-made gifts. But they also have a knack for custom embroidery work.
What we love is how MAKE Vancouver handles everything from single custom pieces to large volume orders.
They also keep things convenient with their online embroidery service. We played around with it using some mock designs and liked the crispness of all 20 fonts they have.
Customers love the selection of in-store embroidery-approved products too. They carry everything from tote bags to robes and blankets.
Of course, you can also bring in your own items. Several people raved that when they brought in their apparel, MAKE Vancouver didn’t mess up a single stitch.
If we had to nitpick, we didn’t like that you need an appointment to get started in-store. There’s also a minimum order of six for customer-supplied items. But if you’re a first-time customer, you can get 15% off with an online coupon.
One area of interest is their on site embroidery service
”This is a fun and eclectic store full of unexpected and unique items.
The store is packed, yet organized in a comfortable view. The store is well-lit which conveys cleanliness. Staff are friendly but not intrusive.
One area of interest is their on site embroidery service. There is a staff member at this area at all times. What an awesome addition to Granville Island’s atmosphere!“
- Victor Law Google Reviews
They can embroider anything
“Awesome shop! They can embroider anything on just about anything. Great place for gifts!”
- Will Langston, Google Reviews
3. Punchline Embroidery Center
Address: 4311 Hazelbridge Way #1615 Parker Place Shopping Centre
Contact Details: +16043030309
Operating Hours: Monday to Saturday – 11 AM to 6 PM
We love Punchline Embroidery Center’s custom-embroidered plushies. In all the samples we saw, the stitching is insanely crisp. No fuzzy edges or crooked letters at all.
People told us their plushies’ embroidery still looks brand-new even after weeks of cuddling.
While the plushies are adorable (the bunnies are our favorite), they’re not the only thing Punchling can embroider on. They can also embroider logos, patches, pennants, and more.
One customer shared that they got a custom embroidered banner for their wedding and loved how crazy detailed the stitching was.
Another thing we love is that they don’t play around when it comes to a decent font selection. They have everything from the romantic Brush Script to the clean Block font—both looked amazing on the sample items we saw.
Martial arts enthusiasts also loved that they could have their uniforms and karate belts embroidered with Katakana or Kanji. People told us they didn’t make a single mistake on the strokes.
The biggest complaint we’ve heard, though, is that the turnaround time wasn’t super fast. It took a few weeks for some people to have their items in their hands.
Did a beautiful job with our wedding signature cloth
“Punchline Embroidery did a beautiful job with our wedding signature cloth. They were one of the few places we could find that offered custom embroidery to the cloth, including adding parents’ names and the wedding date in Mandarin. Sinclair was incredibly helpful and great to work with. He answered my many questions, provided helpful guidance, and even facilitated a last minute expedited shipping to get it to arrive in time for my Chinese banquet dinner celebration.”
- Cynthia Huynh-Wu Google Reviews
Top quality products
“I have been using Punchline for years for all embroidery and custom apparel needs. From big corporate orders to small one-off father’s day gift, Sinclair always takes good care of me with top quality products and professional recommendation. I highly recommend Punchline for everything you need for custom apparel!”
- Joanna Ho Google Reviews
4. GetBold – T-shirt Printing & Embroidery
Address: 2433 Dollarton Hwy #109
Contact Details: +16049844117
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday – 7:45 AM to 4 PM
We love that GetBold does appliqué. This is a type of embroidery where you cut pieces of fabric and create a picture out of them.
Many embroidery shops don’t offer this because it’s time-consuming. That’s why we think it’s awesome that GetBold puts in the time and effort to do so.
That said, they only work with very simple designs and can’t provide instant quotes due to the time appliqué takes.
For their other custom embroidery, they can embroider on all types of hats and do all different styles. We love their puff embroidery because the colors are definitely eye-catching.
But for custom works, the letters can’t be smaller than ¼ inch tall due to the thread thickness. At least, they price by the square inch. They don’t charge by stitch count, which does save you some funds.
Plus, they guarantee your satisfaction. If you’re not happy with the way your logo looks, they’ll keep working on it until you are, or give you a full refund.
They adapted our design to the puff embroidery process
“I was looking to have some custom team hats made with our logo on them, and I was hoping to have some puff (raised) embroidery elements to it. The logo itself is fairly complex so I figured there would be limitations to what could be done and that I might have to simplify the logo design a bit. I inquired at a few embroidery shops and the response from other shops was exactly that — simplify the logo, lower my expectations a bit, etc. GetBold, however, was able to work with our logo with no changes required, and they adapted our design to the puff embroidery process and made it look great. In addition to being more capable than the other shops I spoke with, their pricing was also more competitive so GetBold ended up being the clear cut best option for us. The communication was great, with quick responses, and the finished product arrived at my door 8 business days after I provided payment info. Overall, I have been very satisfied with the whole experience and the finished product. If you’re looking to get any printing or embroidery work done, I would definitely recommend reaching out to GetBold to see what they can do. In our case, they were able to do more than the competition, and at a lower cost.”
- Patrick Duval Google Reviews
Very detailed and careful
“I had a great experience with them! They are fast and friendly. Kaiya helped me with visualizing my design for embroidery hats. She is very detailed and careful, sent me pictures of a mock up so I have a better idea. Picking up is also fast and easy. The hats came out really nice! I love them!”
- Portia Sung, Google Reviews
5. Artee Screenprinting & Embroidery
Address: 138 W 6th Ave Unit 1B
Contact Details: +16048746066
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday – 10 AM to 4 PM
Artee Screen Printing & Embroidery is a female-owned business, which we think is always cool to see. We love that they specialize in keeping all their silk screen printing and embroidery eco-friendly.
They use recirculation and filtration systems from high-quality manufacturers. This helps them to minimize their environmental impact.
People love the way their embroidered items come out looking sharp. There’s no funky off-stitching or faded colors.
However, they do have a slightly annoying minimum order of 12 pieces per design. So, if you’re just looking for a one-off item, they will still charge you for 12.
But hey, if you’re a non-profit or charity, you get a discount and get more bang for your buck.
Also, their turnaround time is based on the season. People told us that they typically have to wait about 3 weeks during the spring and summer, and 2 weeks in the fall and winter.
One other thing, they don’t accept cash, so bring your card or checkbook.
Recommend Artee for your screen printing and embroidery needs!
“Fantastic team and great organization! The staff are always helpful and responsive to both email and phone. Been ordering from these folks for 3 years now and I’ve been extremely impressed with how friendly and professional they are. Even when we ran into an inventory problem before (we place pretty bulk orders), they were quick to offer alternatives and fix the issue with very little hassle. There are some free parking spaces around the area, but it might require a bit of a walk. Otherwise meter parking is available right in front if you’re looking to transport a big load. Highly recommend Artee for your screen printing and embroidery needs!
- H W Google Reviews
Bree’s experience gave me the peace of mind
“I was helped by Bree from Artee Screenprint & Embroidery to get a small order – 50 Tees and a dozen hoodies – done on short notice for the Wildland Firefighting Unit crew I was on. Bree was immensely helpful and patient working with me as it was difficult to communicate at times due to the fact that I was out of town in no cell service regions of BC. My crew’s primary request was to avoid having that plastisol feel to our logo design since it took up a large portion of our T-shirts both on the front and back. During the hot summer days such a dense silk screened illustration can become a nuisance since it really sticks to the skin. Some companies remedy such an issue by pre-treating the outline of the design on the fabric with highly toxic chemicals which are harmful to both the consumer and especially the individuals working that are exposed to it on a daily basis. With Bree’s extensive experience in the industry and the fact that I had minimal alternatives in order to get the gear on such short notice (Artee’s turnaround time is two weeks) I went ahead and put the order through. Bree’s experience gave me the peace of mind that they would do their best to find a safe and effective alternative to accomplish the feel of the design my crew was looking for. I couldn’t have been happier with the finished product and the whole crew is absolutely stoked on the outcome as well. Artee Screenprint shop was reliable, accommodating, and knowledgeable and I look forward to putting in another gear order in the near future.”
- Farhad Abi Google Reviews
