Live embroidery event menu and booth checklist: what to offer, what to charge, what to pack

A live embroidery event menu is a short printed list: a few items that hoop fast, no more than five fonts, no more thread colors than your machine has needles, and names or short text only. Each item gets one show price no matter what the guest has stitched on it. That is the advice from Graphics Pro's guide to mobile embroidery at craft shows. A short menu keeps the line moving.

The rest of this guide covers what goes on the menu, how to price it, what to print, and what to pack. Quoting the host for the hours lives in how to quote a live embroidery event. Working out how many pieces the hours hold lives in how many pieces fit in a live embroidery event.

What items to offer

Pick items that hoop fast and do not come in sizes. Graphics Pro lists caps, towels, baby items, bags, totes, and aprons as the products that work in a live setting. The same article warns that sized apparel is very hard to sell profitably at a show. A sweatshirt needs every size in every color on the table. A tote needs one stack.

Three to five items is plenty. Every item you add is another stack of blanks to bring and another hooping the guest can pick. Choose the items from what the crowd is there for. A baby shower wants bibs and blankets. A bridal party wants totes and robes. A brewery crowd wants hats.

Some events let guests bring their own item. If you take those, put "Your own item" on the menu as its own line. Then follow the rules in embroidering customer-supplied garments. That guide covers the price, the waiver, plus the items to turn down.

Fonts, colors, and letters

Fonts: five at most. Graphics Pro says to limit the fonts to no more than five. Two or three is easier. A guest who sees forty fonts stands at the table for five minutes. Everyone behind them waits.

Thread colors: no more than your needles. The same article says to keep the thread colors to the number of needles on your machine. My Melco Bravo has 16 needles, but I would still offer fewer at an event. A color that is already threaded costs no time. A color that is not on the machine means rethreading mid-line.

Text: names and short words. Graphics Pro recommends only names or short text at the event, not stock designs. If you do offer designs, pick two or three small ones you have already stitched. Set a letter limit too. A first name of five to seven letters runs about 2,000 stitches in my records. A long phrase can triple that and wreck your pace.

Monograms. Offer them only if your fonts include every letter. Ricoma's craft show tips say to bring monogram fonts that cover the whole alphabet.

One show price per item

Give each item one price, whatever gets stitched on it. Graphics Pro says to set the price for each product no matter what they order on it. A guest reads "Tote $28" and decides. A guest who reads "Tote $12 plus $1.50 per thousand stitches" asks you to do the math out loud.

Show prices also run higher than shop prices. The same article gives the example of a hat that sells for $20 normally going for $27 to $35 at the show. The guest is paying for the piece made in front of them. It also says not to discount to speed up a sale. A discount makes the conversation longer.

To build the show price, start from your normal price for that item with a name on it. I price my work at $1.50 per 1,000 stitches plus the blank and hooping, so I run the formula on the longest name the letter limit allows. Then round up to a price that needs no coins. The embroidery pricing calculator does the formula for you. My $20 minimum order holds at an event too, so no menu item goes under it.

If guests can add a second name or a small design to the same piece, make it an add-on with its own price on the menu. Do not price it on the spot.

On a host-paid event, the guests see no prices at all. The host pays for the hours. The menu only lists the choices.

The menu card

Print the menu big and put it where the line forms, not behind you. It should show each item with its show price, the fonts written in themselves, the thread colors as real color swatches, the letter limit, and any pickup line ("Pick up at 2pm or 4pm"). Make a stitched sample of each item in each font if you can. Ricoma suggests a sample book of stitch-outs to keep guests at your booth.

Besides the menu, print:

• A "how it works" sign: pick, pay, pick up.
• A price sign for each item stack.
• A QR card that opens the order form, so guests order on their phones while they wait.
• Paper order slips, for the hour the signal drops.
• A pickup times sign, if pieces wait for a later pickup.
• Business cards for every bag and every browser.

What to bring for payments

Bring a cash float. Craftybase suggests $100 to $150 in small bills in a box that locks. Round show prices mean you never need coins.

For cards, turn on your card reader's offline mode before you leave home. Square's help page says a Reader or Stand can take offline payments for 24 hours. A Register or Terminal has 72 hours to upload them. Tap to Pay on a phone does not work offline. You are also responsible for any offline payment that later declines. Test the signal at your table when you arrive.

The packing list

Pack from a printed list, and check it off as things go in the car:

• The machine, its cords, and a surge protector
• Hoops in every size the menu needs, plus extras so you can hoop the next piece while one stitches
• Stabilizer, cut ahead of time
• Only the thread colors on the menu, plus bobbins
• Spare needles, a spare bobbin case, plus the small screwdriver
• Scissors (more than one pair), a seam ripper, and a lint roller
• The laptop or USB with every font and design loaded before you leave
• Blanks for every menu item
• The printed menu, signs, QR card, order slips, and business cards
• Bags or tissue for finished pieces
• The cash box and the card reader, both charged
• A tablecloth, a chair, tape, and zip ties
• Water and something to eat

For an outdoor event, add a tent and its weights. Craft Professional says about 40 pounds on each leg, and some shows ask for more.

Do a trial run at home a week before. Set up the whole table and stitch a few orders from start to finish. That is how you find the hoop you forgot.

How Broidry handles the menu and the list

Every live event in Broidry has a menu on the event page called The menu for this event. You add items from your products or type one in, each with its show price. You check which of your fonts and which thread colors from your thread drawer guests can pick. You set the most letters per order, turn monograms on or off, and set a price for adding another name or design. On a host-paid event, guests see no prices.

The printables page then prints the menu card from that menu, plus the how it works sign, the price sign, the scan to order card, paper order slips, the pickup times sign, thank-you cards, and business cards. The event also has a dated checklist that counts back from the day, including the packing list. The menu, printables, and checklist are on the Maker plan. The live embroidery events page shows the whole day, from the guest's QR order to the close-out.

The short version

Offer three to five items that hoop fast and do not come in sizes. Limit the menu to five fonts or fewer, thread colors no more than your needles, and short names. Give each item one show price that needs no coins, and keep it above your minimum. Print the menu big, bring a cash float and an offline card reader, and pack from a list you tested at home.