The T-shirt is the highest-volume garment in most programmes and the one most often under-specified. "500 tees with our logo" leaves open the body, the sleeve, the neck, how the logo is made and what the fabric has to do. Each of those five is a decision someone has to make, and a bulk event order adds a sixth: how the sizes are split when the wearers are not yet known.
What you can order
Our T-shirts are cut-and-sew garments: the pattern pieces are cut from the fabric chosen for the order and sewn together. Three bodies from our own production stand for the family: a crew neck with short sleeves carrying a large printed chest graphic, a multicolour printed hem band and a small printed back-neck mark; a unisex crew neck with an all-over sublimated pattern, a printed chest logotype, sleeve marks and a tonal back print; and a women's crew neck with an all-over sublimated print, a chest logotype, sleeve patches and a back print. Long sleeves, a V-neck, a scoop neck or a sleeveless body are set on the pattern rather than chosen from a rack.
The related category is training tops: a quarter-zip with a stand collar, contrast raglan sleeves with a piping stripe and thumb-hole cuffs, and a high-neck zip crop top with a racerback. If the garment has a zip, a collar or a cropped body, it belongs there and is quoted as its own style.
Start the brief with what the shirt is for
Fabric is specified for each order against what the garment has to do and settled in the quotation, rather than offered from a list. A useful brief gives the use (match, training, a race giveaway, a retail line), the weight and hand you expect or a reference garment to match, whether a white body must be opaque and how the shirts will be washed. The performance fabric brief gives a format, fabric weight, coverage and appearance explains why a light white tee needs a coverage check on the sample and washing and durability requirements covers club laundering.
Construction: set-in or raglan, and the neck
A set-in sleeve has a shoulder seam and a round armhole, which leaves the front as one uninterrupted panel for a chest graphic. A raglan sleeve runs on a diagonal seam from the underarm to the neck, can take a separately specified contrast colour and puts a seam across any graphic that reaches the shoulder. The neck is finished with a rib neckband and back-neck tape or with self-fabric binding, and a sublimated body can carry a printed back-neck mark in place of a sewn label. The rib is a separate trim in a solid colour, so on an all-over print body it is specified as its own component. Seams and garment construction goes through the seam types.
A chest print changes the sample review
A logo that covers a large area is judged together with the garment: how the printed area feels, where it sits when worn and how it relates to the neckline and side seams. A design that fits the sample size may need its placement reviewed in the smaller sizes. Give dimensions and a reference point, not “large logo on chest”.
On an all-over sublimated polyester shirt, the design is prepared around the cut garment pieces. For a separate DTF, transfer or embroidered mark, suitability depends on the proposed fabric and artwork, so a method should not be chosen just because the same logo worked on an earlier product in another material.
Example: event staff and participant shirts
An organiser may want staff shirts in a colour that stands out, with identification on the front and back, plus a participant design with sponsor artwork. Keep the two designs, their quantities and their size allocations apart. If staff shirts are to be packed by role and participant shirts by size, give both rules before the order is priced.
What to send before the details are final
Send what the shirt is for, the approximate quantity, a design or reference, the preferred fit, the sizes you know and the delivery requirement. We can clarify fabric direction, print method, neckline and sample requirements. Tell us which details the brand has fixed and which we may propose, so the sample answers the open questions instead of simply copying a picture.
Questions and answers
Should a sports T-shirt with a big chest graphic use set-in or raglan sleeves?
A set-in sleeve keeps the front of a sports T-shirt as one uninterrupted panel for a chest graphic, since the sleeve is joined at a shoulder seam and a round armhole. A raglan sleeve runs on a diagonal seam from the underarm to the neck, so any graphic reaching the shoulder is crossed by a seam. Raglan sleeves can, however, take a separately specified contrast colour.
What should a fabric brief for custom performance T-shirts include?
A fabric brief for performance T-shirts should state the use (for example match, training, a race giveaway or a retail line) and the weight and hand expected, or give a reference garment to match. It should also say whether a white body must be opaque and how the shirts will be washed. The fabric is then specified for each order against that brief and settled in the quotation, not chosen from a list.
How should a large chest logo be specified on a custom sports T-shirt?
A large chest logo should be specified by its dimensions and a reference point on the garment. On the sample, check the feel of the printed area, its position when worn and its relationship to the neckline and side seams. A design that fits the sample size may need placement review in smaller sizes. For a DTF, transfer or embroidered mark, suitability depends on the proposed fabric and artwork.
For an enquiry
Send the garment and design (or a reference), quantities by style and size, your fabric requirements, any numbers required, the destination and the date you need the goods. Voyager Sportswear usually sends a first reply within 24 hours. Request a quote
