How To Order Soccer Team Shirts Online

Spring is here and it's time to order t-shirts for your kid's soccer team. I am referring to 'Fun' shirts for the kids. So where do you start? How about online. It's quick, easy, and low priced.

Pick The Right T-Shirt

This part is actually quite easy. The two most popular t-shirts are either 100% cotton or 50/50 blends (50% polyester, 50% cotton). You really can't go wrong either way. I prefer cotton because it is softer. Also, for colored t-shirts, like red, 100% cotton prints better. On blends, white ink on red can turn pink because of the way blends are dyed (this is a whole other topic altogether).

As for Brand, Gildan is the number one selling brand in the world for a reason - great quality and a low price. That said, it comes down to preference. They really are all made pretty much the same, so whether you buy Gildan, Hanes, Fruit of The Loom or Jerzees, you will have a quality t-shirt.

All you need is a basic t-shirt, which comes down to comparing weight & fabric content.

1. 100% Cotton 5.3oz - (recommended Gildan 5000 Adult & Gildan 5000B Youth)
2. 100% Cotton 6.1oz (recommended Glidan 2000 Adult & Gildan 2000B Youth)
3. 50/50 Blend 5.5oz (recommended Glidan 8000 Adult & Gildan 8000B Youth)

The Gildan 2000 at 6.1 oz is just heavier. The 5000 is becoming more popular because the trend is towards lighter weight fabrics. Beyond that, there are a multitude of different t-shirts available, which can get quite confusing. Most are a variety of different fashion forward type styles, that are likely NOT what you are looking for.

Why buy 50/50? It used to be that folks worried about cotton shrinking. This concern is a thing of the past, since all the major brands, pre-shrink their 100% cotton fabrics. The main reason for 50/50 would be wrinkle free drying. Not a huge issue, but if your clothes sit in the dryer for hours after the cycle completes, you will find 50/50 is wrinkle free compared to cotton, which should be pulled out of the dryer while still warm.

Design Your Soccer Shirt Online

Example of Online T-shirt Template Personlized

Use a Stock  Soccer Template

This is where the fun starts. Look for a website that offers templates you can modify. You should be able to change the text, change the colors and swap the graphics. If you have a team logo, you can easily incorporate it into the design. With these customization options, you can make a template look like your own.

Unrelated Template Before Customization

Modify An Unrelated Template

This is a little trick that will give you a lot more options for designing your t-shirt online. Maybe the soccer templates just don't do it for you. So why not modify another template to get what you want? In this example, we start with a generic "Collegiate" style design. We simply edit the text, then added a soccer ball from the website clip-art library. Viola, we have a brand new soccer design.

Unrelated Template After Customization

Have The T-Shirt Printer Design It For You

If you don't have time to design, ask the screen printer to do it for you. Online custom apparel companies will do this, usually for a very small fee. The best way to do this is send the t-shirt company a Quote Request.

Many online t-shirt companies have a quote request feature on their website. If not, just email them. Include the following details:

1. Shirt Details - brand, style #, colors and sizes
2. Design reference - refer to a stock template on the website if possible or include an attached image similar to what you are looking for, with notes about what you want.

You can find templates at www.terrifict.com
For soccer, go here Soccer Templates


What has been your experience ordering t-shirts online?