r/karate • u/Im_the_biggest_nerd Not necessarily one style • 7d ago
Question/advice Guys does anyone know about hand embroidering their belts or is that generally unheard of
If any of yall have heard of or have experience hand embroidering their belts I’d like some tips. Not on technique, but like what needle should I use, what thread should I use, that kind of stuff. I got my black belt in June and just started coming back to karate after being away the whole summer, and I really don’t wanna get an embroidered belt for like 90 bucks and hand embroidering the stripe would actually feel great
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u/Eikgander Ameri-Do-Te 7d ago
Depends on your belt. If you have a simple, generic branded belt, then it should be relatively "easy" in the sense that you could just plot out your characters.
Generic belts have flimsy, or no core, and just the external material sewn over each other.
Anything that is thicker or more deluxe/stiff, I wouldn't recommend you even trying because it'll be hard on your fingers, and the needle will likely break.
What usually happens is that embroidery happens first on these really nice obis and then it's sewn together.
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u/Im_the_biggest_nerd Not necessarily one style 7d ago
Oh right I forgot to say I wasn’t going to put my name just the stripe for shodan
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u/ikilledtupac Shodan 7d ago
You get a single stripe for being a shodan is that what you mean and you want to have it sewn?
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u/Im_the_biggest_nerd Not necessarily one style 7d ago
Yeah I’m a shodan and I want to embroider the stripe because the belt is blank. My peer got his embroidered and I don’t wanna pay if I can do it for like 10 dollar supply cost I just wanted to know what specific things would be best for embroidering the stripe
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u/ikilledtupac Shodan 7d ago
What I did is have the kanji for “Shodan” embroidered on mine. Dragon Tsunami is where I always get my belts and Mamasan will sew it for you
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u/rjohnson76401 6d ago
I second this. I got the Senpai belt for around $10 and they did a great job on my name and style embroidery. Depending on your school, style tradition, etc, check with your instructor on how best to proceed. But my belt looks just as good as the people I'm training with wearing Shureido, Eosin panther and other high dollar brands.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 6d ago
Do you own a sewing machine?
Have you embroidered anything before?
A single stripe isn't difficult with a few passes of the zigzag function on your machine.
But if you've never embroidered anything before, this is not the project to attempt first, especially if you're looking to do letters or Asian characters.
You can buy iron-on stripes, and sew them on after you iron them, that's totally doable. Use a thimble and thin sharp needles. You'll need more than one, as you'll probably break at least one between the patches' backing and the thick belt fabric.
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u/Arokthis Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito 6d ago
Look up BIAS TAPE at your local Mal-Wart or whatever. It will save you hours of work and gallons of headache medication.
Nylon thread, heavy duty needle, needlenose pliers, and a vice.
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u/FranzAndTheEagle Shorin-Ryu Yon-Dan 7d ago
probably need a sailcloth or leatherwork needle and a poly cotton blend thread for durability. use a thimble! gonna be slow and a big pain in the ass.