When it comes to couture, custom hand-embroidery is the epitome of luxury, artistry and craftsmanship. It transforms garments into masterpieces while adding depth, texture and an unparalleled sense of uniqueness.
Leading fashion houses like Dior, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, and Dolce & Gabbana collaborate with top embroidery ateliers to bring their vision to life through intricate hand-beaded details.
At Ricamour Embroideries, we’ve spent over 12 years in the industry, partnering with some of the most prestigious names in fashion.
Here, we take you through the process of custom hand-embroidery, providing a step-by-step guide for designers who are looking to elevate their collection with hand-beaded elegance.
1. Share Your Vision
The journey starts with your inspiration. Share your references, mood boards, and visual cues that embody the aesthetic you’re aiming for.
These could be images of colours, materials, and embroidery techniques you admire—even simple screenshots from Instagram or Pinterest.
This step helps your embroidery partner to understand your creative direction. If you have a budget in mind, sharing it upfront ensures the design process aligns with your target price from the start.
2. Sample Development
A custom hand-embroidery swatch, typically A4-sized, allows you to experiment with fabrics, beads, colours, and techniques before full-scale production begins. This crucial stage helps you fine-tune the design and ensure that the materials and execution meet your expectations.
Only proceed with production after you are fully satisfied with the quality of the sample.
3. Budgeting
Based on the sample you finalise, you should receive a production price for it.
If you’ve already communicated a target price, a skilled supplier should recommend materials and techniques that maintain the integrity of your design while staying within the budget. It’s their expertise that ensures a balance of artistry and cost-effectiveness without sacrificing quality.
4. Send Your Paper Patterns
After approving the sample, the next step is to send your garment’s paper patterns. These can be sent in physical form or digitally.
If you prefer to send fabric panels instead, we recommend including a little extra fabric as embroidery can cause slight shrinkage. With the patterns submitted, you should have an estimate for your garment’s production.
We recommend working with patterns and not beaded fabrics. It allows for precision and avoids the issues that arise from cutting through embroidery on pre-beaded fabrics, saving you time and reducing labour costs.
5. Artwork Approval
Next, you should receive a detailed artwork that outlines the exact placement of the embroidery on your garment. This is your blueprint—review it carefully to ensure everything aligns with your vision.
6. Hand-Beading & Production
Once the artwork is approved, production begins. The embroidery team will start the meticulous process of hand-beading, and you can expect to receive regular work-in-progress images.
This transparency allows for real-time adjustments, ensuring the final product meets your expectations.
7. Quality Control
Ensure the supplier has a dedicated quality control team. At Ricamour Embroideries, we adjust for any shrinkage that may have occurred during embroidery, ensure the embroidery at the seams is perfectly matched, and verify the overall strength and durability of the stitches.
Our goal is to deliver a flawless finished product that meets the highest standards of craftsmanship.
8. Shipping
Once production is complete and the quality check is passed, the final product is packaged and shipped, typically via reliable carriers like DHL, UPS or FedEx.
Whether you’re crafting a high-fashion runway piece or a bridal gown, the right attention to detail in embroidery makes all the difference. We hope these steps help you collaborate effectively with your embroidery partners.
Also, read all about the top five things, we think, you must consider when choosing your embroidery supply partner, here.
Ricamour Embroideries is a high fashion embroidery and garment exporter based in Mumbai, India. We work with designers and offer them custom embroidery (made to a garment’s patterns), beaded bridal bodices, appliques, trims, accessories, shoe uppers and more. We promise unmatched craftsmanship, prompt communication and timely deliveries.
Write to us on info@ricamour.com or whatsApp us to know more about our designs.
