What is 3D puff embroidery?
3D puff embroidery lays a sheet of foam under the stitching so the thread wraps over it and the design stands two to three millimetres off the fabric. It is the standard finish on the front panel of premium caps and works on heavyweight fleece.
Why it matters
It gives a cap a raised, sculptural logo that flat embroidery cannot. It needs bold shapes — nothing under about 4 mm wide can hold foam — and a firm base.
On our floor
Digitised separately from flat embroidery with heavier pull compensation. A front-panel cap logo costs about 30% more per cap than flat embroidery at 50.
Common questions
- What is the difference from puff print?
- Puff print is an ink that expands under heat, screen printed on fleece and tees. 3D embroidery is thread over foam, mainly on caps.
- Can it be done on t-shirts?
- On heavyweight cotton in small sizes, yes, but the foam and dense stitching distort light fabric. Caps and fleece are where it belongs.
- How thick is the foam?
- Two or three millimetres, chosen by the design.
- Can it combine with flat embroidery?
- Yes — a puff main logo with flat text beneath is a common cap specification.
Related terms
embroidery
Embroidery stitches your artwork into the garment with thread, from a digitised file that tells the machine where every stitch goes. Priced…
puff print
Puff print is a plastisol screen-printing ink mixed with a blowing agent. Printed like any screen print, it expands in the curing tunnel…
digitising
Digitising converts your artwork into a stitch file — the instructions an embroidery machine follows for every stitch: its position,…
structured cap
A structured cap has a layer of buckram — a stiff interfacing — fused inside the front two panels so the crown stands up and holds its…
Where this applies
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