Taking the Guesswork out of Monogram Placement

Hatch Blog | Inspiration | How to
February 22nd, 2016 4 minute read

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General rules and downloadable guide

Monogram History

If you look around, you will always find monograms somewhere. I was wondering how monograms came about. My colleague, Jenny, who loves to do research, did a bit of digging for me. This is what she found:

“Monogramming dates back to the Ancient Romans, who used them as identification labels on currency, something which has carried into the modern day. A little more recently, monogramming was something that only upper class families used to brand and identify their belongings. However things have indeed changed, with monograms being readily available to almost everyone today through multiple methods.”

“Sometimes monogramming can take the form of symbols rather than just letters. Symbolic monograms date back as far as lettered monograms and today many people use symbolic monograms or logos to represent a number of different things including brands, families and individuals.”

5 Things To Do First

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as “Monogram Etiquette”. It is a fun way to work in a traditional flair into your lettering. The guidelines vary across the board, depending on what you are going to monogram.

1. Decide who you will monogram for

a. Male, Female, Couple
b. Adult, Children
c. Couples, Individuals

2. Will it be letters or a name

a. First or last name b. Upper or lower case c. Will it be 1,2,3 letters d. Also keep in mind that some people have 2 middle names. While you can do a 4 letter monogram, I have not really seen any that I like and don’t see it used often. If you can’t select just one middle name, then I’d suggest considering a 2 letter monogram and only using the first and last name.

3. What will you monogram on

Shirts, jackets, home décor items, accessories, etc.

4. What font style will look good

Not all fonts look good in all sizes and not all letters look good in all font styles. For example, the script letter “S” in some fonts is hard to read as a monogram, but looks fine when used as a name.

5. What size is the item you will monogram on and where you want it to be placed

These are all very important to consider, so we have a whole section on that and even a reference guide you can download at the end of this article.

Basic monogramming etiquette states that there ought to be a certain size and order of each letter, depending on each of the factors listed above. Take a look at a few examples of a monogram for a married couple with different surnames. Generally you would have the last name larger where it stands out. These are great to put on a bath towel set for a wedding or Christmas gift.

Elements of a Monogram

Monograms generally have 3 parts, called elements. You can use one, two, or all three parts. Monogramming in the Hatch Embroidery Customizer, Creator or Digitizer makes it so easy to create your unique monogram.

1. Letters: You can use 1, 2, or 3 letters
2. Ornaments: These are small decorative accents that can surround your monogram. There are 9 different positions in Hatch Embroidery for ornaments but the placements are limited only by your creative imagination!
3. Borders: Borders are placed outside the letters. Sometimes you will combine them with the ornaments and letters but most of the time you’ll just use the border and letters. You can actually place the border in the design up to 4 times using different stitch types or fill the back of your monogram with stitches.

Where Do I Place My Monogram?

Monograms ought to be placed in certain positions to really enhance the look and functionality of your final design. With different pieces of apparel and items, different positioning is required. Below I have listed some of the most popular items to put monograms on.

Want More Information?

There is so much more to know about monogramming as far as placement and size. So we created a Monogram Placement Guide for you.

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