Choosing a blank: weight, fit and fabric before you design
Most new creators spend days on the design and thirty seconds on the product it goes on. Then the reviews talk about the fit, the feel or the shrinkage, and nobody mentions the artwork. The blank is half of what you are selling.
Weight tells you how it feels
Fabric weight is the quickest guide to how a garment feels in the hand.
- Lightweight tees feel soft and drape well. They suit fashion fits and warm climates, but can look thin in lighter colors.
- Midweight is the safe middle and the most common choice for a first range.
- Heavyweight tees feel structured and durable. They suit streetwear, workwear and boxy fits, and they hold a large print well.
If your buyers describe themselves with words like "premium" or "oversized", start heavier. If they want something to wear every day in summer, start lighter.
Fabric decides the print method
The fabric and the printing process have to suit each other.
- 100% cotton gives the best results with direct-to-garment printing, which is ideal for detailed, full-color artwork.
- Blends are softer and shrink less, but colors can print slightly muted.
- Polyester and light colors are what sublimation needs. It produces all-over prints that never crack, but it does not work on dark cotton.
- Embroidery suits caps, polos and jackets. It needs simpler artwork with fewer, bolder colors.
Choose the method first and the design second. A design with fine gradients will not survive embroidery, and a dark cotton hoodie cannot be sublimated.
Fit is the most common complaint
Unisex sizing runs larger than women's sizing, and different brands cut differently. Two medium shirts from two brands can be very different garments.
Put a measured size chart on every product, not a generic one. Say whether the fit is regular, slim or oversized. Buyers who know what to expect send far fewer items back.
Color changes the design
The same artwork looks completely different on black, white and heather gray. Before you offer a color, look at your design on it. Thin dark lines vanish on dark shirts. Pale colors wash out on white. Heathered fabric gives a slightly vintage, faded look to anything printed on it.
Offering fewer colors that all work is better than offering every color and letting a buyer pick the one where your design looks wrong.
Order a sample
Always order one of each product before you sell it. Wash it. Wear it for a day. Check the print after the second wash, the collar after the third, and how the size compares with the chart.
A sample costs a few dollars. A batch of returns costs much more, and so does a review that says the shirt shrank.
The checklist
- Pick the weight for how your buyers want it to feel
- Match the fabric to the print method your design needs
- Publish a real size chart and the fit
- Only offer colors where the design works
- Wash and wear a sample before you launch