How to price machine embroidery
Pricing embroidery by eye loses money on big pieces and loses clients on small ones. The most common way to a fair price starts from the stitch count and adds what changes from one order to another.
The base: price per 1,000 stitches
The math is stitches ÷ 1,000 × your rate per thousand. A 6,000 stitch design at an example rate of $1.00 per thousand gives $6.00 of embroidery per piece. The rate is yours: it depends on your market, your machine and what your hour costs.
What to add on top
Thread and stabilizer (little per piece, but they add up), the garment itself when you supply it, and setup time: hooping, color changes, trimming. Every color change stops the machine; designs with many colors produce fewer pieces per hour.
Minimum per piece
A small design takes almost the same setup as a medium one. That is why most embroiderers set a minimum per piece, even when the stitch math comes out lower.
Volume discounts and the file
On large orders the setup is spread out and the price per piece can come down. The file is paid once: tell your client. On a reorder of the same uniform it is ready, and the embroidery is faster and cheaper.
Fewer stitches, more margin
A well digitized file uses only the stitches it needs to cover the fabric well. Auto-digitized files usually have too many: more machine time, more thread, more broken needles. That goes straight into your price.