Once you have decided to have something embroidered, there is a second decision that catches most people out: what to actually put on it. A name and a set of initials are the same amount of work and the same price, but they are not the same gift. One says whose it is. The other says it belongs to someone, without saying who.
This guide covers the difference, how to choose between them, and what our embroidery can and cannot do—so you are not guessing at the point of ordering.
A name, or initials
Our embroidery takes up to eight characters. Letters, numbers and spaces are all accepted, and the piece is stitched exactly as you type it. There is one field, and it covers both choices:
- A name. Usually a first name. It makes the piece unmistakably one person's, which is the point when several similar towels live in the same cupboard.
- Initials. Typed as capitals, this is the monogrammed version. Quieter on the cloth, and it stays correct if the piece is handed on.
Eight characters is enough for most first names and comfortably enough for initials. It is not enough for every name—Alexandra is nine letters, Christopher is eleven—so it is worth counting before you order rather than after.
What a monogram actually is
A monogram is not a different technique. It is the same embroidery, with initials instead of a name. The word describes the content, not the process—which is why you will see the same service called embroidery by one retailer and monogramming by another.
Our lettering is stitched in the order you type it, in the lettering style you chose. Type SJM and you get those three letters, in that order. The order of the initials is your decision, not ours.
Which one to choose
There is no correct answer, but there are a few situations where one clearly fits better than the other.
A name works when the piece belongs to one person and is likely to stay that way. A child's own towel at swimming, a robe that lives on one hook, a face washer in a shared bathroom. The practical value is identification: a name settles an argument that initials only narrow down.
Initials work when the piece may move. A wedding or housewarming gift going into a household rather than to an individual, something that may be passed to a younger sibling, or a gift where you are not certain of the spelling. Initials are also the quieter option on a piece meant to look like part of the bathroom rather than part of the laundry.
Spelling is the one thing that cannot be fixed afterwards. An embroidered piece is made to order, so a misspelled name is not a return—it is a remake. If you are buying for someone else and you are working from memory, this is the detail to confirm before you order rather than the detail to guess.
Lettering, thread and placement
There are four lettering styles: Script, Block, Serif and Italic. Script is the most decorative and reads best with a name; Block is the clearest at small sizes and is usually the easier choice for initials; Serif and Italic sit between the two.
There are fifteen thread colours. Two practical notes. First, screen colours differ from thread, and stitching may vary slightly—the swatches are a guide, not a colour match. Second, contrast matters more than the colour itself: a pale thread on a pale towel is a deliberate, almost invisible choice, and a dark thread on the same towel is a label you can read across a changing room. Both are valid; they are not the same gift.
Placement is not a choice you make. We position the embroidery ourselves, piece by piece, based on how the item is used, where the lettering sits best on that particular cut, and what customers who have ordered embroidery before have asked for. It is one less thing to specify, and one less thing to get wrong at the ordering stage.
What can be embroidered
Towels, robes, sleepwear and baby pieces can all be embroidered. Adult apparel—tops, trousers, dresses and mufflers—and the soft toys cannot; their construction does not suit the process. Every product page states which it is, so you can check before you add anything to the cart.
Embroidery is added in the cart rather than on the product page, one line at a time. That matters if you are buying several of the same thing: you can order three of one towel and have only one of them embroidered, or give each of the three a different name. It is $10 a piece, and adding it does not delay dispatch—our standard dispatch times apply.
Because an embroidered piece is made to order, it cannot be returned or exchanged unless it is faulty. That does not affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
The full process, including what you see before you confirm, is on our personalised and monogrammed towels page.
Why UCHINO puts names into cloth
UCHINO began in textiles in 1937 and was incorporated in Tokyo in 1947. In 1950, according to the company's own published history, it produced Japan's first towel with a name woven into it by jacquard—not stitched on afterwards, but built into the cloth on the loom.
Modern embroidery is a different technique from that jacquard weaving, and we are not claiming otherwise. But it is the same idea, and it is close to the oldest thing the company does: a piece of cloth that belongs to a particular person. Putting a name on a towel was not an add-on invented to sell an extra option.
If you would like to see the lettering styles and thread colours in person before deciding, our stores are listed on the find a store page. If you are still choosing the piece itself rather than the lettering, our guides to what makes a towel expensive and Japanese towel sizes against Australian sizes cover that side of the decision. Most of what people embroider comes from the bath towels, hand towels and baby and kids' bath ranges.
Questions
What is the difference between a monogram and a name?
None, as far as the stitching goes. A monogram is initials; a name is a name. Both use the same embroidery, the same eight-character limit, the same four lettering styles and the same fifteen thread colours, and both cost $10 a piece. Initials typed as capitals give you the monogrammed version.
How many characters can I have?
Up to eight, including letters, numbers and spaces. The piece is stitched exactly as typed, so it is worth counting longer names before you order—Alexandra is nine letters and will not fit.
Can I choose where it goes?
No. We decide the placement for each piece, weighing how the item is used, where the lettering looks right on that cut, and what customers have asked for over time. There is no placement option to select at the ordering stage.
Does embroidery delay dispatch?
No. Adding embroidery does not delay dispatch, and our standard dispatch times apply.
Sources. Character limit, lettering styles, thread colours, price, eligible product categories and dispatch statements are taken from the current UCHINO Australia embroidery page and product pages; specifications can change. Company history—textile beginnings in 1937, incorporation in Tokyo in 1947, and Japan's first jacquard name-woven towel in 1950—is UCHINO's own corporate history as published at uchino.co.jp, and is a company account rather than an independent one. Consumer guarantee wording reflects the Australian Consumer Law as explained by the ACCC, which applies regardless of a made-to-order exclusion. Thread colour swatches are a guide only: screen colours differ from thread, and stitching may vary slightly.