Wranglin’ Western Shirt

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Add an elegant, personal touch to Western-style shirts with beautiful embroidery. This tutorial demonstrates how to place and embroider designs on the two front panels of a Western shirt, the back (also called the yoke), and the cuffs.

Western shirts shown in this tutorial are from the Authentic Old West Classics Collection by Roper. Other sources include Wrangler and Amazon.

Supplies

Project Needs & Notes

- Western-style shirt
- Medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer
- Temporary spray adhesive (like Gunold KK100)
- Ruler

For this tutorial, I used the Horseshoe and Flowers - Left design, the Horseshoe and Flowers - Right design, the Horseshoe and Flowers design, and the Horseshoe flower design.

Sizing Notes:
Different shirt styles and sizes will require different design sizes. To determine which size is best for your shirt, measure the area where the design will be stitched and compare to the available sizes of the desired design.

Designs Used

First, embroider the front panels of the shirt, just below each shoulder seam.

With the shirt buttoned or snapped, measure the area just under the shoulder seams to determine what size design will fit properly.

To make sure your hoop will fit well within the area to be embroidered, lay your hoop on top of the shirt and make sure there is enough room. Make sure all buttons or snaps are about 1/2" to 3/4" away from the edges of the outer hoop.

You can hoop the seams of the shirt, just keep an eye out for any thick seams that might be difficult to hoop over. If concerned, a test hooping should help you see if the shirt can be hooped in that area.

A template is a printout of a design and is very helpful during placement, especially when embroidering within an irregular shape (like the front panels of this Western shirt).

Print the design from embroidery software to make a template. If you don't have software, Wilcom's TrueSizer is a free program that can print templates. Cut around the design templates so they will easily fit within the shape of the shirt panels and the hoop.

Traditionally, Western shirts have embroidery on each side to create a balanced and symmetrical effect. Use a ruler to position the bottom edges of the designs so they will match side-to-side. Also, measure equal distances in between the outer edges of the designs and the center button or snap placket. To double check your placement, you can also measure out from the outer edges of the design to the shoulder seam and the bottom edges of the design and the bottom front panel seams.

Once the templates are in place, use an air erase pen or other marking tool and mark the center points and the horizontal and vertical axis points. Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the marks.

Unbutton or unsnap the shirt. Spray a piece of medium-weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the shirt on top. Hoop the shirt and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the shirt.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly aligned with the center point on the shirt. Embroider the design.

When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside of the embroidery. I leave about 1/2" excess around the design. Then, embroider the opposite side of the front of the shirt just as you did the first.

Next, embroider the back of the shirt just under the collar (this is called the "yoke"). Just as you did for the front panels, measure the area to determine the size of the design. Again, test your hoop to make sure the shirt can be hooped properly in that area, and create and place the template of the design.

Place the design with the top edge about 2" from the collar seam and center the template side-to-side by measuring equal distances in between the side edges of the design and the sleeve seams. Mark the center point and the axis lines.

Hoop the shirt with medium-weight cutaway stabilizer that has been sprayed with temporary adhesive and embroider the design. Trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside when the design has completed.

To embroider the cuffs, unbutton or unsnap each cuff and lay flat, right side facing up, with the edge of the cuff facing you. Create a paper template of the design and place it with the side edge of the design about 1 1/2" from the buttons or snaps. Here the design is positioned with the top edge towards the sleeve (this allows the design to be viewed upright when worn). Mark the center and axis points.

Cut a piece of cutaway stabilizer a bit larger than your hoop and spray the stabilizer with temporary adhesive. Smooth the cuff on top in the center of the stabilizer (allow a couple of inches of the stabilizer to extend out past the bottom edge of the cuff). Draw lines connecting the marks on the cuff and extend the vertical line down onto the stabilizer.

Hoop the cuff by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the cuff and stabilizer. The cuff will not be hooped at the bottom -- the adhesive on the stabilizer will hold it in place during the embroidery process. Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design, align the needle over the center point on the cuff, and embroider the design. When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer. To finish, embroider the remaining cuff just as you did the first.

Get dolled up for a dance, rodeo, horse shoe, or costume party with these embroidered button-ups! They're a great way to add flair to regular Western-style shirts.