Can I choose the sewing thread color?

Yes, on all-over print (AOP) apparel products. Open the product in the designer and set the thread color before you place the order. Default, black and white are free. Six additional colors cost USD 1.00 per garment. One thread color per design.

Which products support it

Thread color selection is limited to all-over print (AOP) apparel: cut-and-sew garments where the print covers the panel edge to edge. Other product types do not offer it.

Products fall into two generations:

• Legacy products were selected and listed before this feature went live. The designer offers the color choice, and the mockup keeps the standard stitching.
• New products are listed after the feature went live. Their mockup can show the selected thread color.

The mockup itself tells you which one you are working on: if the thread color option appears but the preview does not change when you switch colors, the product is a legacy one.

Which parts of the garment the thread color affects

Sewing thread is the thread that holds a garment together and finishes its edges: side seams, hems, sleeve and cuff hems, the neckline binding, topstitching, and the overlock stitch visible on the inside. On an AOP garment the print runs to the seam, so the stitch crosses printed fabric along every edge, and the contrast between thread and print is what customers notice first.

Three things this option does not touch: the fabric color, the print colors, and embroidery thread. Embroidery uses a separate thread with its own color settings.

The four selections

How to select a thread color

1. Open the product in the designer (see How to customize online?).
2. In the product settings, open the thread color option. If the option is not shown, that product does not offer thread color selection.
3. Choose Default, Black, White, or one of the six additional colors.
4. Save the design and place the order. The fee is added per garment.

Set the color before you submit the order. Thread is prepared per garment against the order specification, so a selection made after production starts cannot be applied. The color belongs to the design, so every unit of that design is sewn in the same color.

What the preview shows

On a legacy product the preview does not change, so the swatch is your only reference for how the finished piece will look. Judge the color from the swatch, not from the mockup.

On a new product the preview can render the stitching in the selected color, so the mockup matches the garment. It applies per product, not to the whole catalog. Arranging it adds a step before the product can be listed, which pushes back the launch date. The sales effect is small: thread reads at hems, cuffs and the inside overlock, and few buyers pick a product because the mockup shows a grey stitch instead of a white one.

That trade-off is why we do not recommend the rendered preview for every new product. Ask for it when the stitching is a visible part of the design, such as contrast stitching on a solid or color-blocked garment, or when your own customers ask about thread before they buy.

What Default does when you do not choose

Default is the free option and the one most orders use. The factory follows its standard practice for that product. When a thread shade close to your print color is on hand, the line may switch to it so the stitching sits quietly against the print. On other runs the garment is sewn in black or white.

That matching is a courtesy inside the free service, not a commitment. Two identical orders placed weeks apart can come back with different thread, because the decision depends on what the line has available. If thread color is part of the design, choose a color instead of relying on Default.

Why an additional color is close, not exact

A swatch is a reference, not a physical sample. A thread color is displayed on a screen, then matched against the shades the factory stocks. Four things shift the result:

• Screen calibration and ambient light change how a swatch reads.
• Thread is supplied in fixed shades. The closest stocked shade is used, and it may sit a step lighter or darker.
• Dye lots vary between thread batches.
• On light or thin knits, the fabric color shows through the stitch and warms or cools the perceived thread color.

The standard for a paid color is close match, not identical match. If a specific shade is part of your brand identity, treat this as a close-match service rather than a color-matching service, and review a physical sample before a large run.

Fees and refunds

• USD 1.00 per garment. The fee is charged per piece, so an order of five garments in a paid color adds USD 5.00.
• One color per design. Every unit of a design is sewn in the color set on that design. Different designs in the same order can each carry a different color.
• What the fee covers. A thread change adds handling on the line: the operator re-threads, the piece is re-sequenced, and the run is checked again. The fee pays for that handling, not for a guaranteed color match.
• When the fee is refunded. If you paid for a color and the garment is finished in black or white, send the order number and a photo of the stitching. We refund the thread color fee for the affected garments. The order is not remade, and the case is not recorded as a defect.

Same design in two thread colors

A design holds one thread color, so a single design cannot be split into two colors at the unit level. To produce the same artwork in a second color, duplicate the design and set the other color on the copy:

1. Save the finished design.
2. Duplicate it with the copy function (see How to copy designs to other products?).
3. Open the copy, and choose the second thread color there.
4. Order both designs in the same order. Each garment is charged the fee separately.

Each copy is produced and charged as its own design, so the second color is billed per garment like any other paid selection.

Before you choose a paid color

• Accept that the delivered thread can differ from the swatch on screen.
• Do not choose a paid color if an exact shade match is a hard requirement for the order.
• The thread is most visible at hems, cuffs and the inside overlock. On busy all-over prints it is less prominent, so weigh the fee against how much of the stitching shows.

FAQ

Is thread color selection free?

Default, black and white are free. Each of the six additional colors costs USD 1.00 per garment.

Can I use two thread colors on one design?

Not on a single design. Every unit of a design is sewn in one color. For the same artwork in a second color, duplicate the design and set the other color on the copy. Different designs in one order can each have their own color.

Will the thread match my print color exactly?

No. We use the closest stocked shade. Exact matching is not offered for sewing thread.

The garment arrived with black thread although I paid for a color. What happens?

Send the order number and a photo of the stitching. We refund the USD 1.00 thread color fee for the affected garments. The order is not treated as defective, and no remake is issued for the thread alone.

Will the mockup show the thread color I choose?

On legacy products, no. The preview keeps the standard stitching and your choice applies on the finished garment, so judge the color from the swatch. On new products the preview can show the selected color. It applies per product, adds work before the product can be listed, and has little effect on sales, so we do not recommend it for every new product.

How do I know if a product is legacy or new?

Switch the thread color in the designer and watch the mockup. If the stitching changes color, the product was listed after the feature went live. If it does not, the product is a legacy one: the garment is still sewn in the color you chose, and the swatch is your reference.

Why is the option missing on a product I want?

Thread color selection applies to all-over print (AOP) apparel products. Where the option is absent, the item is outside that scope and is produced with the standard thread process.

Does this change embroidery thread?

No. Embroidery thread is set in the embroidery options and is priced separately.

Related articles

• How to customize online?
• How do I place an order on the customizer?
• How do I order items with embroidery?
• When can I return or exchange an item?
• When is after-sales support not provided?

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