T-shirts are one of the most common clothing pieces worn by everyone. T-shirts are considered a necessity for men and women. Whether you are at home or going out, t-shirts remain one the leading clothing apparel that people wear in a routine. Almost every clothing brand has its line of t-shirts. If you are looking forward to making wholesale slim fit t shirts for your brand or are a newcomer in the industry who is curious about how t-shirts are made, in this article, we explain all the steps involved in making the t-shirts.
There are a lot of different styles of t-shirts, but the basic process of making a t-shirt is almost the same. Various fabrics are used to make t-shirts, and the choice of fabric depends on its use. T-shirts used for casual use are different from t-shirts used in the sportswear industry. The difference is mainly in the fabric, but styles can be somewhat similar.
In the following paragraphs, we have explained all the steps involved in making t-shirts.
Fabric Hunting:
The first step is to find a suitable fabric for the t-shirts. There are a lot of fabrics available in the market for t-shirts. But cotton jerseys or single jerseys in different blends remain the most popular fabric for the t-shirts.
Cotton jersey is mainly used in the fashion industry because cotton is a natural fabric, very comfortable, and skin-friendly. Cotton is also joined with polyester to make a blend that joins both cotton and polyester properties. This kind of blend is primarily used in workwear since adding polyester to cotton enhances the fabric’s durability.
Other blends like polyester/lycra and rayon are also used to make t-shirts. Polyester/Lycra blends are primarily used for sportswear and activewear since they provide a tremendous amount of stretch, which does not cause any effect on the movement. Rayon is used in the fashion industry as it is like silk and gives a luxurious feel.
So the first thing is to choose the suitable fabric for your t-shirts depending on the use of the t-shirts.
Designing and Pattern Making:
The next step is to choose the right design for your t-shirts. There are different designs in t-shirts like crew neck tees, v neck tees, loose fit tees, and slim fit tees. Once you have chosen the design, you move forward to designs that you want on the t-shirt. It can be printing, embroidery, or anything else that you can use to customize t-shirts for your brands. So you decide the right design for your t-shirts and get the mock-ups ready for your t-shirts.
Once the designs have been decided, and customization has been chosen, you go for making the patterns. Patterns are basically cardboard cut into different styles, and those cardboards are used to place on the fabric, and you do the cutting of fabric after that.
Cutting the Fabric:
You have bought the fabrics, and the patterns are ready. You move on to the cutting of the fabric. If you are making samples, you can use scissors to cut fabric for samples, but if you are making t-shirts in bulk quantity, you can start piling up layers of the t-shirts, and then you can start cutting using an electric cutter which can cut through bundles of the fabric.
It would be best to be careful when it comes to cutting because it is a crucial process, and any mistake can lead to a disaster. The design and ultimate shape of the t-shirt depend on the cutting. If cutting is done right, the end product will also be used.
Customization:
Now, there are two schools of thought; clothing manufacturers go for customization right after the cutting, while companies who have printing shops buy t-shirts in bulk and customize the finished product.
You should go for it after the cutting if you want high-quality customization. The benefits are this,
- The quality of customization will be uniform and high.
- Even if something goes wrong or there is a problem with embroidery or printing, you only have to waste one panel instead of a complete shirt.
There are multiple options for the customization when it comes to t-shirts, and some of these options are embroidery, screen printing, sublimation, tackle twill, heat transfer stickers, DTG, and DTF.
It would be best if you chose the right customization option for t-shirts, and the process of customization is done as per the designs that were made earlier.
Stitching:
This is where all the magic happens. You should use high-quality machines and thread for the stitching of the t-shirts. The quality ultimately depends on the person that is stitching the t-shirts. You should choose a company that has been doing this for a long time since there is no place for the errors.
During the stitching process, you should have a strict quality checking team that evaluates the quality of the t-shirt throughout the stitching process. This helps to tackle all the mistakes present in the t-shirts so that they can be fixed before packing of t-shirts.
Quality Checking:
Once the t-shirt is ready, the next step is to check the quality. It would be best to have highly skilled people who could pick up all the anomalies to fix them. It is the final step of quality checking. It’s wise to place some checkpoints during the process of making t-shirts which means instead of checking quality after the complete product is made, you should have a quality control team who should check the panels during their stitching.
This process has a significant impact since the ultimate quality of t-shirts depends on this process. Hiring highly skilled people who have been trained in this domain is the best policy. Once the quality is checked, the t-shirts move on to the following process.
Threading:
The next stage is to cut all the extra threads present inside and outside a t-shirt. This process enhances the quality of the t-shirt and gives it a tidy and clean look. It is done using clippers or threading machines. You should have highly trained staff that does not leave any threads for this process.
Quality and Threading:
Once threading is done, the t-shirts should go through the quality checking process once again, and if there are any loose threads or any other anomalies, they should cut them. If there are loose threads t-shirt is sent to the threading department, and the threads are cut, and then again t-shirt goes through the checking.
This kind of quality control helps you achieve the highest level of quality. If a t-shirt manufacturer wants to become the best t-shirt supplier, they should prioritize quality.
Pressing:
The following process is pressing. Once the t-shirts get through the quality and threading, they go straight for the press. It is vital to have highly skilled personnel because some printing, like heat transfer stickers, is sensitive to heat, so the pressman should know where not to apply heat.
The pressman will press the shirts and keep folding them according to the size of the packing. It is good to have professionals because the press gives an ultimate look to the t-shirts, and t-shirts will look good if pressed adequately.
Packing:
This is the last stage of t-shirt manufacturing. The packing team receives the t-shirts from the pressing team, already folded, and they start putting the t-shirts into the plastic bags. You should have highly trained staff because the t-shirts should look good in the packing. It will boost the overall look of the t-shirt. Once t-shirts have been packed, they are put in the boxes, ready for their journey to their respective clients.
All these processes are crucial, which will impact the quality of the t-shirts. The best policy is to hire professional people who have good experience on their resumes. Quality speaks for itself, and if you are making good quality t-shirts, clients will keep buying t-shirts from you.
If you are looking for a t-shirt manufacturer or supplier, consider Duskoh. They are a clothing manufacturing company based in Pakistan. They helped us write this article for newcomers and people who are keen to know about the process of t-shirt manufacturing. You can visit their website at www.duskoh.com and email them at info@duskoh.com. They are a team of highly skilled people, and they can help you make high-quality t-shirts for your brand.
