What is a custom apron maker?
A custom apron maker is a Shopify app that lets customers design embroidered or printed aprons for home cooking, BBQ, or restaurant team uniforms. The Shopify standard is Print It My Way (free to install). Apron AOV: $22-45 single, restaurant team bulk $400-1500.
Step-by-step setup
- Install Print It My Way (free). From the Shopify App Store.
- Pick apron variants. Bib apron (kitchen, classic), waist apron (server, half-apron), BBQ apron (canvas heavy duty), kids apron.
- Upload apron mockups. Worn on a person or hanging. 2000+ px.
- Configure chest print area. Standard bib apron print area: 8x8 in chest. Set canvas to match.
- Decide embroidery vs DTG variants. Embroidery for premium (logo on left chest). DTG for full-color print designs.
- Build restaurant / team bulk. Restaurant uniforms order 10-50 aprons. Tier pricing at 10/25/50+ units.
- Add cooking-positioned personalization templates. 'World's Best Cook', '[Name]'s Kitchen', 'Grandma's Recipes'. Build 8-12 templates.
Apron variants
- Bib apron (classic kitchen): $7-12 cost, $22-38 retail.
- Waist apron (server half-apron): $5-9 cost, $18-28 retail.
- BBQ apron (heavy canvas): $10-15 cost, $28-45 retail.
- Kids apron: $5-8 cost, $18-26 retail.
Embroidery vs print
Embroidery: Premium positioning. Logo on left chest. $5-8 extra. Most restaurant orders use embroidery.
DTG print: Full color designs. Better for cooking-quote aprons ('World's Best Cook') with photo or illustration.
Popular apron personalization
- '[Name]'s Kitchen'
- 'Grandma's Recipes' + her photo
- 'World's Best Cook' + dad/mom name
- Restaurant logo (B2B)
- BBQ pitmaster nickname
Restaurant team uniforms
10-50 unit bulk orders for restaurant front-of-house and kitchen uniforms. Embroidered restaurant logo on left chest. Tier pricing -15-30% at 10+ units. Average B2B order $400-1500.
Custom apron pricing
Bib apron embroidered: $32-45. DTG print: $25-38. BBQ apron: $35-55. Restaurant bulk (25+ units): -25-30% off single-unit pricing.
Add a custom apron maker to your Shopify store
Print It My Way ships free with apron mockups, embroidery + DTG variants, restaurant team bulk pricing, and native POD partner integration.
Install Print It My Way. Free See the live preview comparison →Frequently asked questions
What's the best custom apron maker for Shopify?
Print It My Way is free and includes apron mockups, embroidery + DTG variants, restaurant team bulk pricing, CSV per-employee upload, and native POD partner integration.
Embroidered or printed apron?
Embroidered for restaurant uniforms and premium positioning. DTG print for full-color cooking-quote aprons. Most stores offer both as variants.
Are aprons good for restaurant B2B?
Yes: restaurant uniforms are a strong B2B sub-category. 10-50 unit orders typical with embroidered logo. Tier pricing at 10+ units. Average order $400-1500.
Most-popular apron personalization?
Mother's Day 'Mom's Kitchen' and Father's Day BBQ pitmaster nickname are the strongest gift positions. 'Grandma's Recipes' with a photo also high-converting.
What's the typical custom apron AOV?
$22-45 single. Restaurant team bulk $400-1500. Premium BBQ apron $35-55.
Is Print It My Way free to install?
Yes. Print It My Way is free to install from the Shopify App Store. The Free plan covers most small stores; paid plans unlock higher order volume, advanced features like Cart Transform per-character pricing, premium fonts, and white-glove support. There is no upfront fee and no credit card required to install.
How long does Print It My Way take to set up?
Most stores set up their first personalized product in under 15 minutes. The Shopify App Store install takes about 60 seconds; adding text fields, photo upload, color swatches, and live preview to a product takes 5-10 minutes. Catalog-wide rollout (50+ products) uses bulk-apply templates and typically takes 30-60 minutes total.
Does Print It My Way work with Shopify Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus?
Yes. Print It My Way works on every Shopify plan including Basic, Shopify, Advanced, Plus, and Shopify Starter. Some advanced features like Cart Transform (per-character pricing) and B2B company accounts require Shopify Plus, but the core personalization fields, live preview, and order capture work on every tier.
Does Print It My Way slow down my Shopify store?
No. Print It My Way uses Shopify's storefront block architecture, which loads only on personalized product pages and doesn't add render-blocking scripts site-wide. Lighthouse and Core Web Vitals scores on personalized product pages stay green when the app is configured with default settings.
Does Print It My Way work with Printful, Printify, Gelato, and other POD partners?
Yes. Print It My Way has native integrations with Printful, Printify, Gelato, and other major print-on-demand partners. The customer's personalization data flows through Shopify's standard order pipeline, so any partner that reads line-item properties (which all major POD apps do) receives the print files automatically.
Does Print It My Way support Shopify Markets, multiple currencies, and multiple languages?
Yes. Field labels translate per language, upcharge prices can be set per currency, and the personalizer fully supports right-to-left languages including Arabic and Hebrew. The personalizer also handles Unicode for Cyrillic, CJK (Chinese/Japanese/Korean), Greek, and accented Latin characters with appropriate font fallback.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources referenced in this article. We link to official platform documentation and standards bodies rather than secondary summaries so you can verify claims directly.