Apparel decoration, understood.
Choose garments and decoration together: screen print, direct to garment, heat transfer and embroidery, plus size runs, garment color, placement, wash durability and care labelling.
Start with How to order custom T shirts: garment, sizes, color, decoration, the overview for this topic. Each guide after it answers a separate buying, preparation or troubleshooting question.
START HEREApparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
How to order custom T shirts: garment, sizes, color, decoration
Order custom T shirts in five decisions: garment, size run, garment color, decoration method and artwork. What each one locks in, and what is confirmed later.
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Apparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
Embroidery vs screen printing: cost, detail and which garment
Embroidery stitches thread into the fabric and suits small marks on collars, caps and polos. Screen printing lays ink on the surface and suits large flat art.
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Apparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
Heat transfer vs screen printing: color count, runs and feel
Heat transfer applies a finished image with heat and pressure, so color count costs nothing. Screen printing pushes ink through a screen per color and wins on volume.
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Embroidery minimum text size: why small letters fill in
Small embroidered letters fill in because a stitch has a minimum practical width. Plan around roughly a quarter inch cap height, and test before you commit.
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T shirt print placement: left chest, full front and back sizes
Standard T shirt print placements and sizes: left chest around 3 to 4 in, full front around 10 to 12 in wide, and how the size run changes where a print sits.
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T shirt size run: how many of each size to order
Build a T shirt size run that totals your order quantity exactly. How to collect sizes, what to do when you cannot ask, and why these garments fit slightly small.
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Printing on dark shirts: garment color, underbase and ink
Printing on dark shirts needs an opaque white layer under the color, which changes feel, cost and detail. How to design artwork that works on any garment color.
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Apparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
Ring spun vs open end cotton: what blank quality really means
Ring spun cotton has parallel, densely packed fibers, so it feels smoother and prints finer. Open end cotton is coarser and cheaper. How to tell them apart.
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T shirt fabric weight: what 4.5 oz and 6.5 oz actually mean
Fabric weight is mass per square yard, measured by ASTM D3776. What 4.5 oz, 5.3 oz and 6.5 oz feel like, when heavier is better, and when it is just hotter.
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Does screen printing wash off? How printed shirts really fail
A cured screen print does not wash off, it cracks and fades with heat and abrasion. What each decoration method fails from, and the care routine that delays it.
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Care label requirements for custom apparel: what the rule says
The FTC Care Labeling Rule requires permanent, legible care instructions on textile wearing apparel. Who is responsible, what must appear, and how symbols fit in.
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Apparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
Custom kids apparel: CPSIA rules, drawstrings and lead limits
Children's apparel carries extra duties: a Children's Product Certificate, a permanent tracking label, a 100 ppm total lead limit and drawstring restrictions.
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Embroidered polo shirts: why polos are stitched, not printed
Polo shirts are embroidered because pique knit and a buttoned placket suit stitches better than ink. Thread colors, placement, care and when a printed polo makes sense.
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Apparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
Custom hat embroidery: panels, curves and which cap to pick
Cap decoration is limited by the panel you are working on. How front panel, side, back and patch areas differ across baseball, trucker, performance and bucket styles.
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Ordering shirts for an event: a timeline that actually works
Work backward from event day. Collect sizes three weeks out, approve artwork two weeks out, and leave room for template and supplier confirmation on apparel.
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Apparel decoration · 5 MIN READ
Custom aprons for restaurants: placement, colors and wear
An apron is the most looked at garment in a food business. Where the logo goes, why one size changes the design, and how daily washing shapes the decoration choice.
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