There are very few games out there that require as big of an investment as baseball. Even if you overlook the time and patience it takes to learn the game and the dedication to hone your skills, you need a lot of gear and accessories to make your mark in this sport.
Not only that but each piece of gear that a player uses needs to feel just right for them. That means everyone has different preferences when it comes to baseball gloves, bats, or even cleats. Naturally, you would get attached to your gear when you invest so much into them.
For most players, their baseball glove essentially becomes an extension of their personality. Once they find the perfect glove, I rarely see them switch to anything different. In fact, people go as far as putting their names into their gloves to give it a personal touch.
But the thing is, embroidering your name in a glove is tricky. Most competitive baseball gloves are made with high-quality leather. And embroidering leather can be pretty difficult without the right tools, not to mention the level of skill it takes is quite remarkable.
Can you do it, though? What if you don’t mind spending money on your personal engraving on the glove? Well, let’s talk about it in greater detail in this article.
Can You Embroider A Leather Baseball Glove?
Yes, embroidering a baseball glove is quite possible, and in fact, many people get their main glove embroidered. However, there’s a big “but” here.
Baseball gloves are typically made from leather which is a difficult material to penetrate. That, combined with the unique shape of baseball gloves, makes it quite difficult for a casual or even a seasoned player to customize them by themselves.
I’m sure you have heard of leather embroidery. Well, when it comes to baseball gloves, traditional leather embroidery tricks do not work. The shape of the glove makes it tricky for you to find the right angle to do any embroidery work on it.
So, if the question is whether you can embroider a baseball glove yourself, my answer would be – probably not. Thankfully though, many companies offer embroidery work on quality baseball gloves, and if you want to get your glove customized, you can easily make use of their services.
Keep in mind, though – this service does not come cheap. Because of the difficulty of this sort of project and how normal players cannot replicate it in the comfort of their homes, glove customization companies can charge a pretty penny for their work.
You can also buy pre-embroidered gloves, as some brands allow you to customize your own design when you buy their glove. While these gloves cost a lot more than their basic, no-embroidery counterpart, it’s still cheaper than buying a glove and having it embroidered later on.
How to Embroider a Baseball Glove?
Embroidering a baseball glove is pretty much the same as embroidering any other leather fabric. The thing that makes it tricky, though, is typical baseball glove leather is much thicker than the leather used on bags or jackets. On top of that, the shape of the glove can make it hard for you to maneuver a needle around it.
Typically, companies that offer this service take apart your baseball glove and put it in the embroidery. Needless to say, this process takes time. It’s a slogging task that demands a lot of constant focus and monitoring. You also need an extremely steady hand to do embroidery on baseball glove leather.
But if you are the type that can’t take no for an answer and still want to do it for yourself, well, here are the steps. Now I haven’t tried it out myself, so you should proceed with your own caution.
- The first thing to do is to gather your embroidery supplies. Leather embroidery requires an embroidery hoop, floss, and a needle. You also need our gloves.
- Take a good look at the glove and decide where you want to place the embroidery. Clean out that section.
- Put the glove in the embroidery hoop, making sure that it’s fully tight and secure. It’s also a good idea to have a reference image to look at as you are working on the embroidery.
- Cut the length of the floss and thread it through the needle. Now you can start embroidering your design into the leather.
- There are many stitching techniques, and if you decide to embroider your glove by yourself, I assume you know some of the techniques. If you don’t, the internet is your friend.
- Make sure you are working on small sections at a time. Keep the stitches as even as possible. And most importantly, don’t try to rush through it.
- Once you are done with the design, take the glove out of the hoop, and compare the design with your reference image.
While the steps sound simple on paper, when you get down to them, the complexity of the project becomes apparent. Pushing the needle through the leather alone takes a lot of skill and strength.
That’s why my advice is to always hire a professional to do it if the embroidery is an absolute must for you. While going to a professional for it can be expensive, it will at least ensure that your glove is well-taken care of and doesn’t get damaged in the process.
Where Can I Get My Baseball Glove Embroidered?
If you decide to get your gloves embroidered by a professional, then you’re on the right track. There’s no point subjecting yourself to such an overwhelming task if you ask me. And frankly, there’s no shame in taking the easy way out for this sort of project.
But where do you do it, though? Well, I would start with a quick look at my city or neighborhood if I were you. Your nearby sporting store should have a craftsman on retainer for repairing gears. And if you’re lucky, he might have the right skill set for embroidering your baseball glove.
However, if you can’t find any nearby stores that offer this service, then you need to look online. There are a couple of websites that accept delivery on gloves and ship them out once they are done with the embroidery work. I’ll list a couple of them, and you can go with whichever one suits you best.
Glove Doctor – https://www.glovedoctor.com/embroidering
Glove Engraving – https://www.gloveengraving.com/
Crystal Image Inc. – https://www.crystalimagesinc.com/product/baseball-glove-engraving-service/
Of the three of them, Crystal Image Inc. is the cheapest one. It’s based in Irving, Texas, so shipping out your gloves shouldn’t be that difficult for you.
Can You Remove Embroidery from a Baseball Glove?
If you bought a second-hand baseball glove that was pre-embroidered or if you have buyer’s regret after getting yours embroidered, then you must be wondering if the process is reversible.
Unfortunately, once embroidered, it’s almost impossible to get it removed completely. Even if you can rip off the embroidery with rip seems or tweezers, there’s a good chance that the design or the name will still be visible.
You can, of course, try your luck and sand down the upper layer of the glove gently to remove the design. But I would strongly advise against that. There’s a very high chance that you will damage the leather and significantly reduce the lifespan of your baseball glove.
If you somehow manage to take apart the embroidery and the design is the only thing left on the glove, I would suggest just living with it. Unless someone was inspecting your glove, they shouldn’t be able to notice the design all that often.
The saving grace here would be if your glove was black. In that case, you can use a black Sharpie and fill out the design. It’s not a perfect solution, I know, but if the design bugs you that much, at least it’s a pretty quick and easy fix.
The Bottom Line
I’ll admit, the idea that you can put a custom design on your glove or even your own initials are pretty exciting. And who wouldn’t want their expensive baseball glove to look cooler than the rest of the generic ones out there?
There are a couple of things to remember here, though –
- Glove embroidery is expensive
- It’s permanent
- And it’s almost impossible to do it by yourself.
So, if you still decide to go for it, all the more power to you. But it is an excruciatingly difficult task, and I would strongly advise against doing it yourself. Even though I have given you the steps, I would still suggest going with a professional for this project. I hope my in-depth explanation of the “possibility” of embroidering a baseball glove can come in handy for you. Good luck
