Ever so often, we receive emails asking for tips and suggestions on how to design a graduation stole (which is identical to a graduation sash in case you were wondering). While there is no set rule on what to put, which side to place Greek letters on, spacing, or anything else, through our years of experience, we have come to see many creative and amazing graduation stoles designed by our customers.

With that said, here are a few basic tips we’d recommend considering when ordering your graduation stoles this year.

1. Focus The Colors – Have meaning in the colors you choose. Are they school colors, fraternity colors, sorority colors? Don’t just go with any color, but really think through your options. At YourSash, we offer 3 color options starting with your sash fabric, to the trim, to the actual embroidery, all of which can be customized.

2. Fonts – Keep it consistent. Think of your sash as a resume you’re sending off to your potential employer. Most likely you’ll want to have 1 common font set. This way, everything just flows better on both the left side and right side, and from top to bottom.

3. Make sure you have the basics - The most popular embroidery customizations you’ll see on a graduation stole are often “Class of 2013″ (or the graduating year), and the name of the organization (often times Greek letters, or abbreviations also). Focus on these, placing these 2 customizations on opposite sides of the sash, and from there building additional customizations (if desired) around those.

4. Order early! We can’t stress this enough, but order early. As soon as you know how many seniors are graduating, we’d recommend finalizing the designs and getting an order through. Our standard production times are 2-3 weeks + shipping, so order early to avoid rush fees.

Curious as to how others are designing their sashes? See a few designs and color combos below!