Embroidery is the most durable way to decorate a t-shirt, but it is still thread, and thread has two enemies: heat and friction. Avoid those and an embroidered tee will outlast everything else in the drawer. Here is the routine we use on our own.
The short version
- Turn the tee inside out before it goes in the machine.
- Wash at 30 °C on a normal or gentle cycle.
- Tumble dry on low, or hang dry.
- Iron inside out if you must, and never directly over the embroidery.
That is genuinely all of it. The rest of this post explains why each step matters and what to do when something goes wrong.
Why inside out
Inside a washing machine the drum, zips, buttons and other garments rub against whatever is on the outside of your tee. Turning it inside out puts the fabric between the thread and everything abrasive. It also protects garment-dyed cotton from surface fading, which keeps the colour even.
Why 30 degrees
Modern detergents work fine at 30 °C. Hotter water does two things you do not want: it shrinks cotton slightly, which can pucker the fabric around dense stitching, and it accelerates colour loss on garment-dyed tees. Thirty degrees is also cheaper and kinder on the planet, which is a nice side effect rather than the reason.
Skip fabric softener. It coats fibres and over time can dull the sheen of embroidery thread. Skip bleach entirely.
Drying
Hang drying is gentlest. If you tumble dry, use the low setting and take the tee out while it is very slightly damp, then smooth it flat. High heat is the single fastest way to make a heavyweight tee shrink and an embroidered icon ripple.
Ironing around embroidery
Garment-dyed cotton rarely needs ironing; a few hours on a hanger drops most creases. If you do iron, turn the tee inside out, use medium heat, and keep the iron off the embroidered area. Pressing directly on the thread flattens the stitches and can leave a shine. If the fabric right next to the icon is creased, lay a thin cotton cloth over it and press lightly through that.
If a thread pulls
It happens, usually from a watch strap or a bag. Do not pull it. Turn the tee inside out, find where the loop comes through, and use a needle to pull the loose thread to the inside. Trim it there with small scissors, leaving a few millimetres. The surrounding stitches hold it in place.
Storing
Fold, do not hang, for long-term storage. Heavyweight cotton on a hanger for months will stretch at the shoulders. Folding with the icon facing in keeps it from catching on anything.
What to expect over time
Garment-dyed cotton softens and fades very slightly with wear. That is the point of the process and part of why these tees feel better at wash fifty than at wash one. The embroidery does not fade with it, so the icon stays crisp against a fabric that keeps getting softer.
Care is also on the FAQ. If you are choosing your first tee, the Slow Living collection is where most people start.