The polo shirt is the default British work garment. It is smarter than a t-shirt, cooler than a shirt, and it takes a logo well. It is also the garment most often bought badly — usually because someone chose on price alone, and six months later half the team's collars are curling.
Here is what actually matters when you are ordering embroidered polo shirts for a UK team.
Fabric weight: the number that decides everything
Polo fabric is measured in gsm (grams per square metre). It is the single best predictor of how a polo will look after twenty washes.
Under 180gsm. Lightweight. Fine for a one-off event, a summer promotion or a giveaway. Not fine for staff who wear it four days a week — it goes thin and the collar loses shape quickly.
180 to 200gsm. The workhorse range. Most decent branded work polos sit here. Good balance of cost, durability and comfort.
210 to 250gsm. Heavyweight. Noticeably more substantial, holds its shape, and looks more premium. Worth it for customer-facing roles and for anyone wearing it daily.
If you are choosing between a lightweight polo in a better colour and a heavier polo in a plainer one, take the heavier one. Nobody notices the shade after a week; everybody notices a limp collar.
Piqué or jersey?
Piqué is the classic polo texture — that fine waffle knit. It is more breathable, hides creases better, and is what most people picture when they think polo shirt. It is the standard choice for workwear.
Jersey is smooth like a t-shirt. It feels softer initially and drapes more closely, which suits a slimmer fit, but it shows creases and marks more readily.
Performance and polyester blends wick moisture and dry fast, which makes them right for active roles — groundstaff, warehouse, coaching, outdoor work. They take embroidery perfectly well. The trade-off is that pure polyester holds odour more than cotton does, so look for a treated fabric if the work is physical.
Cotton-rich blends such as 65/35 poly-cotton are the safe middle ground for most offices, receptions, salons and trade counters: comfortable, shrink-resistant, and stable enough for embroidery.
Sizing a mixed team
This is where most orders go wrong, and it costs real money.
Order a men's and a women's fit, not unisex alone. A unisex polo is a men's cut. It fits a lot of women poorly across the chest and through the body, and the result is staff who quietly stop wearing it.
Get samples before you commit. Sizing is not consistent between brands. A medium in one range is a large in another. For any order above about 20 units, a sizing set pays for itself immediately.
Run one collection round, with a deadline. Ask everyone to confirm against an actual garment, not a guess. Collecting sizes in dribs and drabs is how orders end up split across two production runs, with two setup charges.
Order a small buffer. Five to ten per cent spare in the middle sizes covers new starters and the inevitable wrong guess, and it is far cheaper than a second run later.
Where the logo should go
Left chest is the default and the right answer nine times out of ten. Roughly 18 to 20cm down from the shoulder seam, aligned with the placket. Standard logo width is 8 to 10cm.
Right chest works as a secondary mark — a certification, an accreditation logo, or a partner brand.
Sleeve suits a small secondary badge. Keep it under about 7cm wide; sleeves are narrow and curved, and large sleeve designs distort.
Back of neck or upper back is good for a small brand mark or a website address. A large full-back embroidery is rarely a good idea — it is expensive and it stiffens the garment.
Name embroidery under the logo, or on the opposite chest, is common in healthcare, hospitality and care settings. Budget for it: every name is an individual setup.
What drives the price
Embroidery is priced by stitch count, not by the number of colours. This surprises people who have only bought print before.
A simple text logo might be 3,000 to 5,000 stitches. A detailed crest with gradients and fine text can be 12,000 to 15,000, and will cost meaningfully more per garment — as well as sitting heavier on the fabric.
Two practical consequences:
- Simplify the logo for stitch. Fine detail below about 4mm will not reproduce cleanly. A slightly simplified version of your logo often looks better embroidered than a faithful one.
- Digitising is a one-off. Your logo has to be converted into a stitch file before the first run. Pay it once, then reuse it forever — including on fleeces, caps and jackets. Our embroidery digitising service covers what happens and what files to send.
Beyond stitch count, cost is driven by garment choice, quantity (setup is spread across the run), and the number of positions.
Care, and making them last
Embroidered polos are more durable than printed ones, but they are not indestructible.
- Wash at 30 to 40°C. Hot washes shrink cotton-rich fabric and can pucker the stitching.
- Turn inside out if the embroidery is large.
- Skip the tumble dryer where possible — heat is what kills collars.
- Do not iron directly over stitching. Press from the reverse, or use a cloth.
Our full guide on washing embroidered and printed clothing goes further.
FAQs
How many polos does each staff member need?
Three is the practical minimum for someone wearing one daily — one on, one in the wash, one spare. Five is comfortable.
Can you match my exact brand colour?
Embroidery thread comes in a fixed range, so we match as closely as the thread palette allows rather than hitting a Pantone exactly. In practice the match is very close, and we will confirm on the proof.
What is the minimum order?
We embroider from 10 units. Below that, the setup cost dominates.
Can I add new starters later?
Yes — that is the advantage of holding your digitised file. Reorders skip setup, though very small top-ups carry a minimum charge.
Print or embroidery for polos?
Embroidery, almost always. Polo fabric is textured, which suits stitch and works against fine print. Print makes more sense on t-shirts and hoodies.
Sorting out kit for your team? Take a look at our embroidered corporate shirts and custom work trousers, or send us your logo and headcount for a quote.
