How to Order Custom Apparel: Sizes, Fabrics, and Decoration
A step-by-step guide to ordering custom branded apparel. Learn about fabric choices, size runs, decoration methods, and how to avoid common mistakes.
Ordering custom apparel for your team, event, or customers sounds straightforward until you're staring at dozens of fabric options, trying to figure out how many mediums versus larges you need, and wondering if your logo will look right embroidered versus printed. Here's a practical walkthrough of every decision you need to make.
Step 1: Define the Purpose
What the apparel is for determines everything else. Different purposes call for different products:
- Employee uniforms: Durability matters most. Polos and button-downs in wrinkle-resistant fabrics with embroidered logos look professional through daily wear and repeated washing.
- Event t-shirts: Comfort and cost-per-unit matter. Soft cotton or cotton-poly blend tees with screen-printed graphics are the standard.
- Corporate gifts: Perceived value matters. Quarter-zips, fleece jackets, and premium hoodies in quality fabrics make people feel appreciated.
- Workwear: Function and safety matter. Hi-vis vests, work jackets, and performance fabrics that handle job site conditions.
Step 2: Choose the Right Fabric
Fabric choice affects comfort, durability, decoration quality, and cost. Here are your main options:
100% Cotton: Soft, breathable, and comfortable. Takes screen printing beautifully. Wrinkles more than blends and can shrink if not pre-shrunk. Best for casual wear and event shirts.
Cotton-Polyester Blend (50/50 or 60/40): The workhorse choice. Combines cotton's comfort with polyester's durability and wrinkle resistance. Holds shape better through repeated washing. Works well with both printing and embroidery.
100% Polyester / Performance: Moisture-wicking, quick-drying, and wrinkle-free. Ideal for athletic wear, outdoor events, and workwear. Requires special inks for screen printing (sublimation or water-based inks work best on polyester).
Tri-Blend (Cotton/Poly/Rayon): The premium casual option. Incredibly soft with a vintage feel. More expensive but produces the most comfortable t-shirts. Great for retail-quality merchandise.
Step 3: Get the Size Run Right
This is where most first-time orders go sideways. Order too many smalls and not enough XXLs, and you're stuck with inventory nobody wants.
If you're ordering for a known group (your team, a specific event with pre-registration), collect sizes in advance. Use a simple form and give a deadline. Don't guess.
If you're ordering general inventory for giveaways or retail, here's a standard distribution that works for most adult mixed-gender audiences:
- Small: 10%
- Medium: 25%
- Large: 30%
- XL: 20%
- XXL: 10%
- 3XL: 5%
Adjust based on your audience. A construction company's crew will skew heavier toward L-3XL. A yoga studio will skew toward S-L. If you're unsure, we can help you plan based on our experience with similar clients.
Step 4: Pick the Decoration Method
Your logo's complexity, placement, and the garment fabric determine which method works best. See our full screen printing vs. embroidery comparison for details, but here's the quick version:
- Screen printing: Best for colorful graphics, large designs, and high-volume orders on t-shirts and casual wear
- Embroidery: Best for corporate logos on polos, jackets, and hats. Adds a premium, professional look
- Heat transfer / DTG: Best for full-color photos, small quantities, or designs with many colors
Logo placement matters too. Left-chest logos are standard for corporate wear (3-4 inches wide). Full-front or full-back prints make a bigger visual impact for events. Sleeve prints add a subtle, modern touch.
Step 5: Review the Artwork
Your logo file needs to be in the right format for decoration. Vector files (AI, EPS, SVG) work best for both screen printing and embroidery because they scale to any size without losing quality. JPG and PNG files work for digital printing but may need to be redrawn for other methods.
Don't have a vector version of your logo? We offer free artwork and design assistance. Send us what you have and we'll clean it up at no extra charge.
Step 6: Approve a Sample
Before committing to a full production run, request a sample. This lets you check the fabric feel, color accuracy, decoration quality, and fit. Adjustments are easy at this stage and expensive after production.
For screen printing, ask for a pre-production proof showing exact colors and placement. For embroidery, a sew-out sample shows how your logo translates to thread.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ordering the wrong garment weight. A 4-oz lightweight tee feels like tissue paper. A 6-oz heavyweight tee feels substantial. Ask for the garment weight and request a blank sample if you're unsure.
- Ignoring tag/label options. Tear-away and tagless labels give a retail feel. Standard sewn-in tags look cheap on premium garments.
- Skipping the size chart. Sizes vary between brands. An XL in one brand fits like a Large in another. Always check the specific brand's size chart.
Ready to start your custom apparel order? Contact VP Promos for a free quote and we'll walk you through every step.