Stitch counts, thread spools and quotes you can trust
Keepsel is inventory and production software for embroidery shops. Track thread by the spool, stabilizer by the sheet and blanks by the piece, amortize digitizing into every design, and quote custom work from real numbers in minutes.
Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.
An embroidered piece in Keepsel
Product
Embroidered Cap
SKU CAP-EMB-01
Material
Embroidery Thread
tracked in spool · Thread
Supplier
Blank Apparel Co.
Variations, from Maker
Size, Color
Built around how embroidery shops actually work
Thread is bought by the cone, used by the stitch
A 5,000-stitch design uses a knowable length of thread. Put that length in each design's recipe and the cones on the rack turn into priced work instead of vague overhead.
Digitizing fees belong in the price
A $40 digitizing job on a design you'll stitch 80 times adds 50¢ a piece; on a one-off it adds $40. Amortize it per design so quotes carry it correctly either way.
Custom quotes under pressure
The customer wants 24 caps with their logo by Friday and a price now. With blanks, thread and stabilizer in a recipe (and from the Maker plan, your machine time too), the quote takes minutes and survives contact with reality.
Blanks in every size, hooped one at a time
Caps, polos and totes each carry their own blank cost and size curve. Counting each blank size on its own means a 24-piece order checks against real counts before you say yes.
Embroidered Cap, costed line by line
This is the math Keepsel does for every product you make: every line from its recipe, updated whenever a material's price changes.
Machine time and your labor sit on top; the material floor is what keeps a rush quote from going negative.
Embroidered Cap
- Blank cap
- $2.40
- Thread (~5,000 stitches)
- $0.35
- Stabilizer + backing
- $0.18
- Digitizing (amortized)
- $0.25
- Box
- $0.45
- True cost
- $3.63
- Suggested price
- $20.00
- Margin
- 82%
Track everything that goes into an embroidered piece
From raw materials to the finished piece, Keepsel keeps embroidery shops on top of:
- blank tees and totes
- ink and heat transfers
- thread
- hang tags
- poly mailers
A day in Keepsel, for embroidery shops
Step 1
Rack in your materials
Thread by the spool, stabilizer by the sheet, blanks by size, each at its real purchase price.
Step 2
Cost designs by stitch count
Turn each design's stitch count into thread in its recipe, and spread digitizing across the expected quantity. From the Maker plan, machine time counts too.
Step 3
Stitch the order, log the run
From the Maker plan, a work order for a 24-cap job deducts blanks, thread and stabilizer and adds 24 finished caps to stock (work orders up to 10 a month on Maker as a trial and 100 on Team, unlimited on Business and Enterprise).
Step 4
Quote the next job faster
Saved recipes make repeat logos instant and new quotes a copy away, margins included.
Questions embroidery shops ask
How do I price embroidery work?
Cost the blank, thread by stitch count, stabilizer, a share of digitizing, then machine time and labor. Shops commonly quote per 1,000 stitches on top of the blank; knowing your true floor per piece is what makes that formula safe.
How much thread does an embroidery design use?
Roughly 5–7 meters per 1,000 stitches for the top thread, plus bobbin. A 5,000-stitch left-chest logo uses about 30 meters: cents in thread, but across a year of orders it's a real line your pricing should carry.
How should I handle digitizing fees?
Two honest options: bill it separately up front, or amortize it into the per-piece price across the expected order size. For repeat customers, amortizing wins jobs; the recipe keeps track either way.
Can Keepsel manage custom embroidery orders?
Yes. A made-to-order job is a product with its own recipe and quote, so you can check the blank counts before you commit. From the Maker plan, stitching it as a work order draws the materials down. Repeat logos reuse the saved recipe, so the second order quotes itself.
How do I track blanks for an embroidery shop?
Caps, polos, totes and jackets each live as materials, one per size and color. What you receive goes into their counts, and from the Maker plan every hooped piece in a work order draws one down, so the blank shelf and the books agree.
Keepsel for other crafts
Guides for embroidery shops
All guidesHow to Price Embroidery (By the Stitch, Not the Guess)
Embroidery has the cleanest pricing math in craft: stitches are countable. Cost by the stitch and quotes stop being scary.
How to Price Custom and Commission Work
Custom work feels flattering, and it's quietly underpaid. One-offs take more time and more back-and-forth, so here's how to price them so they're actually worth it.
How to Manage Made-to-Order and Custom Inventory
Made-to-order frees you from holding finished stock, but custom work has its own inventory trap. Here's how to keep materials ready and orders on track.
How to Scale Production Without Losing Quality
Demand grows, you rush to keep up, and quality quietly slips. Here's how to scale your making without losing the craft that made people want it.
Run your embroidery business like a business
Know your true cost and margin and keep every material counted. Or try the free pricing calculator first.
Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.