If you are ordering varsity letters, you have two real options and they are not interchangeable. Chenille is the fuzzy, plush letter everyone pictures on a letterman jacket. Embroidered is flat stitched thread. They cost different money, they last differently, and one of them is what a letterman jacket is supposed to have.
The difference in one paragraph
Chenille is looped yarn stitched onto a felt base, cut to the shape of the letter, usually with a contrast felt outline. It is thick, soft and dimensional, and you can see the individual loops. Embroidered is polyester thread stitched flat onto twill. It is thinner, sharper and cheaper, and it holds detail chenille cannot.
Side by side
| Chenille | Embroidered | |
|---|---|---|
| Feel | Thick, plush, fuzzy. You can feel the loops. | Flat with raised stitching. Smooth to the hand. |
| Thickness | Roughly 4 to 5 mm with the felt base | Roughly 1.5 mm |
| Detail it can hold | Bold letters and simple shapes only | Small text, outlines, fine detail |
| Smallest sensible size | 3 inches | 1.5 inches |
| Largest | 14 inches | 14 inches |
| Minimum order | 10 pieces | 10 pieces |
| 6 inch at 50 pieces | $11.25 each | $9.75 each |
| 3 inch at 50 pieces | $8.50 each | $5.00 each |
| Best for | Letterman jackets, varsity letters, year patches, script wordmarks | Everything else, including small team patches and detailed crests |
When chenille is the right answer
There is one case where chenille is not a preference, it is the correct material: a letterman jacket. The chenille letter is the tradition. A flat embroidered letter on a wool varsity jacket looks like a substitute, because it is one. If you are outfitting a team, a band, a cheer squad or a graduating class, spend the extra two or three dollars a piece.
Chenille also does script wordmarks beautifully. A school name or a city in plush script on a hoodie chest has a weight to it that flat embroidery cannot reproduce.
What chenille cannot do
- Small detail. The yarn is thick. A crest with fine linework or small type will not survive the translation.
- Small sizes. Below about 3 inches there is not enough area for the pile to read as chenille.
- Thin garments. A 5 mm patch on a lightweight tee hangs and pulls. Put chenille on wool, fleece, denim or a heavy hoodie.
When embroidered wins
Embroidered is the better buy for everything that is not a varsity letter.
- Team and booster patches with a mascot, a year and a school name, which need detail chenille cannot hold
- Sleeve and shoulder patches, where thickness gets in the way
- Anything under 3 inches
- Tight budgets on volume runs. At 3 inches and 50 pieces embroidered is $5.00 against chenille at $8.50, and the gap widens at volume.
A common and sensible combination: chenille for the big letter, embroidered for the small year patch and the sport-specific pins that go around it.
How big should a varsity letter be?
| Use | Size |
|---|---|
| Traditional letterman chest letter | 6 to 8 inches tall |
| Smaller chest letter, youth sizes | 4 to 5 inches |
| Year patch or sport patch | 3 to 4 inches |
| Sleeve letter or number | 3 to 4 inches |
| Full back script wordmark | 10 to 14 inches wide |
Patches are priced on the longer of the two dimensions, so an 8 inch tall letter is priced at the 8 inch rate regardless of how narrow it is. An I and a W at the same height cost the same.
Backing: sew it
We offer iron-on on chenille, and it works, but we do not recommend it on a garment that gets washed. Chenille is heavy and the pile gives the adhesive less to hold onto. On a letterman jacket the patch should be sewn, which is what every jacket shop does anyway.
Hook and loop is worth considering for school programs where the same jacket carries different awards year to year. It adds $0.25 per piece and both sides are included.
Order early for spring
Letterman season runs on a school calendar and everybody orders in the same six weeks. Production is about 10 to 14 business days after you approve the mockup, plus shipping, so work back from your award night and add a buffer. Ordering in the fall for a spring ceremony is not early, it is sensible.
Both, honestly
If you are outfitting a program, the answer is usually both: chenille for the letter that means something, embroidered for everything around it. You hit ten pieces on each easily, and the jacket ends up looking like a real letterman jacket rather than a printed approximation.
Compare all six patch types
Chenille, embroidered, woven, PVC, leather and sublimated, with real prices on one page.
See the comparison