Embroidered Sherpa Throw Blanket Review

Introduction

Printful recently added an embroidered throw blanket to their product lineup: the Embroidered Premium Sherpa Blanket. It’s the Port Authority BP40 model.

This is a quality blanket option that is well-constructed and easy to care for. I would not hesitate to add this to my shop – and actually plan to do so. My main issues with it are the limited color range and the small embroidery area.

This item is from a recent sample order I got from Printful. I placed the order on June 12th and received it on June 20th.

Specifications and Construction

The blanket blank is made in Thailand. Printful does the embroidery in one of their own facilities.

Printful lists the size as 50″ x 60″ (127 cm x 152.4 cm) on their site. My sample is 52.25″ x 64″ (133 cm x 160.5 cm). Some of that difference might be due to stretching: the fleece fabric on both sides has a little give to it. The variance is also within what I would consider normal tolerances for textile goods.

Construction

It’s constructed of two layers of different fabrics stitched together at the sides. The top fabric (the smoother fleece) is neatly turned to the back to create a finished edge.

The only construction issue I noticed was some rippling along the edge for about 8 inches before the zipper insertion point.

Special Feature for Embroidery

There’s an invisible zipper* along the bottom edge that is about 17″ long. If you open it you’ll see that the front and back are attached only along the edges: the interior is like a giant pocket. The reason for this zipper access is to accommodate the embroidery.

By being able to open the blanket this way, you get a neater result with the back of the stitching hidden inside. The embroidery technician can open the zipper, hoop the fabric, and complete the embroidery then close it back up again.

You’ll see some bits of white material in the photo below between the embroidered sections. This is something called stabilizer. It’s a stiff material – usually 100% polyester – that is used in machine embroidery to control the fabric during stitching. By helping to hold the underlying fabric in place you get a neater result without distortions in the final design.

*An invisible zipper is one that can hide itself by rolling into the seam. If you insert it properly, you should only be able to see the little pull when closed.

Fabric and Care

Fiber Content and Fabric Type

The front is a 100% polyester fleece with a soft pile. It is of very nice quality with good drape and a slight sheen.

The back is also 100% polyester. Printful calls the fabric “sherpa” but I would consider it more of a faux shearling. It’s very similar to the backing on the “Sherpa Style” blanket I previously reviewed. So I would expect similar wear patterns after extended use.

Care and Cleaning

The care is very easy: machine wash on cold and tumble dry low. The only caveat I would note is that it’s a little bulky. So you might have to put it through a couple of dry cycles if you have a smaller machine.

I have a stacked, apartment-size washer/dryer. I had no problems with washing but had to send it through the aforementioned multiple dry cycles. Alternatively, I might choose to let it finish air drying after the first cycle.

As you might expect given the measurements in the prior section, I didn’t notice any shrinkage of the blanket or degradation in the embroidered design after washing.

Colors

You have three options for the main side of the blanket where the embroidery will go (Hex code in parentheses):

• Black (#131313)
• Fireside Brown (#482f2c)
• Heather Grey (#716a69)

I do wish they had a wider variety of colors available, particularly since these are all pretty dark. I think expanding the range could open up even more markets.

The back of the blanket is a soft white faux shearling style fabric. No personalization is available for the backing.

Designing for Embroidery

Printful’s Design Specifications

Despite the size of the blanket, the available embroidery area is only 4″ x 4″ (about 10.6 cm x 10.6 cm).

What I find confusing about the information on Printful’s site, however, is that in the “File guidelines” section they list both 4″ x 4″ and 10″ x 6″ . This in itself is not unusual: I’ve seen other products with this same information. And, at the moment, you can create the larger size designs only through their mock-up design generator: you can’t upload a design file of that size.

But when I go through the design generator, it doesn’t let me create one in the larger size. So I’m assuming one of two things:

1. They made a mistake on the listing page; OR
2. They plan to roll out the larger option at some point

I will keep an eye on the product page (and will likely submit a question to them), because it would be great to be able to create larger-scale designs given the size of the blanket.

General Design Considerations

The design I used for this sample is one I had previously set up for other products and so had an idea how it should look. And I knew it worked well for embroidery!

One tip I have is to put a temporary background on your design as you work on it that matches the color of the blanket you are using. Since all of the options currently available are pretty dark, doing so will help you figure out how visible the final design will be.

Limitations

Designing for embroidery is a little different from doing so for print. Colors are more limited, and you have to be careful to avoid tiny details, gradients, and non-transparent backgrounds (i.e., make sure you DO have a transparent background).

Printful’s site has good information, including on the actual product page, about things to avoid and how to prepare your files.

Tools and File Formats

My favorite tool for embroidery design is Adobe Illustrator for the iPad. Being able to use my Apple Pencil was such a game changer for me since I’ve struggled using a mouse or drawing pad on my computer for certain types of designs.

But you can use just about any graphics tool just so long as you can export it in the right format. For Printful this means either a PDF (preferred) or high quality PNG (minimum 300dpi). Note that, depending on the vendor, you might be able to submit AI (Adobe Illustrator) or EPS files.

Conclusion

With the right placement, I can see this blanket being a strong contender with customers looking for a more premium product. Embroidery in general just seems higher quality than printing.

Focusing on personalization could be great with this option. Companies looking for giveaways; winter weddings; restaurants and venues with outdoor seating – all are possible opportunities.