Embroidery remakes and misspelled names: who pays for the redo

If you stitched something different from what the customer approved, you pay for the remake: the new blank, the stitching time, and the delay. If you stitched exactly what the customer approved in writing and the spelling was wrong in what they approved, the mistake is theirs, and a remake is a new order.

That rule settles almost every remake. The hard part is being able to prove which side of it you are on, and that part is decided before the needle ever moves.

This guide is about what happens after a mistake ships. For the questions that keep it from happening in the first place, start with what to ask before you stitch.

When the remake is on you

Anything that went wrong between the approved wording and the finished piece is the shop's cost. That covers a typo you made copying the name into your software, a letter that misstitched, a hooping slip that put the name crooked, a thread break that left a gap, and a stain on the blank.

I treat scrap as part of the cost of running the machine. A customer is buying finished embroidery, and they are entitled to assume it comes out right. When I ruin a piece, I buy the replacement blank myself, restitch it, and the cost comes out of my margin on that order. I do not ask the customer to split it, and I never ask a customer to send extra blanks as a cushion against my own mistakes, because that tells them I expect to ruin their order.

What you owe the customer in that case is the correct piece, as fast as you can get it to them, and a short, plain message. Something like:

I caught a mistake on the name before it went out, so I'm restitching it on a new sweatshirt. It will be ready Thursday instead of Tuesday. I'm sorry for the wait!

Notice what that message does not include: the story of how it happened, or an offer of a discount the customer never asked for. Fix it, say when, and move on.

When the mistake is the customer's

If the customer typed "Kaitlyn," approved a proof that said "Kaitlyn," and the child's name is actually "Katelyn," you stitched what was ordered. The finished piece is correct. A remake is a second order.

This is the standard across the decoration business, and shops put it in writing. The Foundry Clothing says customers are responsible for final proof approval "including design, spelling, sizing, and placement." Master Stitch says it is not responsible for typos the customer overlooked and approved, and uses "Hapy Holidays" as its own example. Remark Printing says it will not cover the cost of reprinting when a spelling error is found after the customer approved the order.

What you charge for the second piece is your call, and you should decide it before it ever comes up. Some shops charge the full price again. Some charge only the blank and the stitching and skip anything that was a one-time cost, like a setup or digitizing fee, since the design already exists. Either is fair. What matters is that it is written down where the customer can see it, so you are applying a policy instead of making one up in the middle of an awkward conversation.

The message for this case is just as short:

I double-checked the order, and the proof you approved on the 12th spelled it Kaitlyn, so that's what I stitched. I'm happy to make one spelled Katelyn! Here's the order link for the second sweatshirt, and I can have it ready next Friday.

No blame, no lecture. Point to what they approved, and offer the fix with a price and a date.

The gray area: when nobody approved anything

Most remake arguments happen here. The customer sent the name in a Facebook message, you typed it into your software, and nobody ever looked at a proof. Now the name is wrong and each of you remembers it differently.

Go back to the original message. If they typed it wrong, they typed it wrong, but without an approval you are on weaker ground, and for a single piece I would usually just remake it and fix the process. If you typed it wrong, it is on you.

The real fix is to stop having orders where nobody approved anything. Every order with lettering on it should get a written yes on the exact spelling before it goes on the machine. A thumbs-up on a photo of your screen counts if that is all you have. A proof the customer approves with one click is better, because it is attached to the order and has a date on it.

Can you just pick out the stitches and fix it?

Sometimes, but do not count on it. Picking out embroidery takes time and can leave needle holes. Machine Embroidery Geek says small holes often stay visible after removal, though they usually close up after a wash or an iron, and that "a very dense embroidery design stitched on delicate fabric will be almost impossible to remove." SewGuide warns that pulling the thread too hard can leave holes too.

On a sturdy sweatshirt with a small name, picking it out and restitching can work. On a thin tee, a performance knit, or anything with a dense fill, plan on a new blank. Either way, look at the result honestly before you hand it over. A piece with visible damage where a name used to be is not a fix.

What about a customer-supplied garment?

This is where the cost really hurts, because you cannot just order a new blank. A misspelled name on a customer's own jacket, a baby blanket from a grandparent, or a team uniform that came in a set is a problem money does not fully solve.

The same rule applies: your mistake is yours, their approved mistake is theirs. But the stakes are higher, so your approval step needs to be airtight before you stitch. I cover pricing, waivers, and when to say no in embroidering customer-supplied garments.

Put the remake policy in writing before you need it

Customers accept a policy they saw before they paid. They argue with one they hear about after something went wrong. Keep it to two sentences and put it wherever your order terms live, next to your deposit and payment policy:

I stitch exactly what you approve on your proof, so please check every letter. If I make a mistake, I'll remake it at no cost to you.

That says what you are responsible for, what the customer is responsible for, and it tells them to read the proof carefully, which is the whole point.

How Broidry keeps the proof for you

In Broidry, every order with lettering on it has a confirm link you can copy from the order page. The customer opens it, sees the exact wording, and approves it with one click. That click is timestamped on the order, and the order page shows when they confirmed. If you send a proof image instead, the customer approves it from their order page, which tells them to check every letter because what they see is exactly what gets stitched.

Broidry also checks the spelling against what it already knows. If the name about to be stitched is close to, but not the same as, the customer's name on file, a name from one of their past orders, or another field on the same order, it shows a warning on the order and in Machine Mode. And if a piece is about to go on the machine before the customer has okayed the proof, Machine Mode says so. None of these block you from stitching; they make sure you notice first.

When a piece does get ruined, the order page has a "Log a remake" card. Enter what got ruined and what the blank cost you, and it is saved as a shop expense tied to that order, so the profit estimate on your Money page counts it. Customers never see it. Over a few months, that list tells you whether your remakes come from spelling, hooping, or something else, which tells you what to fix.

To see how this fits with the rest of an order's life, read how to track embroidery orders.

The short version

If you stitched something different from what the customer approved, the remake is yours. If you stitched exactly what they approved in writing, the remake is a new order at a price you set ahead of time. When nobody approved anything, the real problem is the missing approval, so get a written yes on every letter before every stitch. Picking out stitches sometimes works on sturdy fabric with a small design, but plan on a new blank. Put your remake policy in two plain sentences where customers see it before they pay.