Creativity meets Athletics
Tips on Designing Your Own Athletic Shirt
Go for the gold by designing your own athletic shirt! Whether you're part of a sports team looking for a uniform, want to thank the fans in the stands, or are a solo weekend warrior, you deserve custom athletic t-shirts.
After all the blood, sweat, and tears you've put into your sport, a custom t-shirt shows off your efforts and can inspire you to push harder. And custom athletic shirts are made for performance as well as style, so they can keep up with you on early morning runs or during long practices.
TeamShirts is a home for all teams — including your team. You can order your athletic shirts in just minutes and save big, whether you're ordering for yourself or for a whole stadium of fans.
What Makes a Good Athletic Shirt?
Designing your own athletic shirt means starting with the right shirt for your sport or activity, and TeamShirts has a huge array of options for you to consider. Here's what you'll want to look for:
Comfort
Above all, your athletic shirt needs to be comfortable, whether it's for you or your fans. Fans need to stay happy to keep cheering, and comfort is essential to your sports performance, whether you're running on outdoor trails, playing football, or taking part in any other activity.
Comfort means you shouldn't even notice your shirt. It shouldn't pull, tug, itch, or get uncomfortably sweaty. TeamShirts offers shirts in different cuts, so you can find one that's comfortable on your body. Keep in mind that you can order a free sample so you can make absolutely sure comfort is handled before you order more shirts!
Performance
Athletic shirts need to be able to withstand a lot. Fans may be cheering in the hot sun, and you may be sweating in your athletic shirts every day. Sportswear tends to be washed after every use, and it can be exposed to sweat, mud, rain, sunblock, and more. A shirt that washes well and looks good even when you throw everything at it is worth its weight in gold.
And you need to make sure when designing your own athletic shirts that your performance is handled, too. Choose the right sportswear for your sport. That may mean choosing a baseball shirt for your baseball games, for example, to protect you from the sun. Or it can mean choosing a sleeveless polyester shirt to keep you dry and cool on summer hikes.
TeamShirts has customizable athletic shirts from Champion, Under Armour, Adidas, and others. These are some of the same top brands that pro athletes wear when they need performance and reliability. These shirts come with performance-enhancing features like moisture-wicking fabric, tear-away labels, bright colors (for safety and visibility), anti-fading color protection, odor- and stain-resistant fabrics, and more. You can choose the shirts with the performance features you need — every time.
Style
Look, you could choose any off-the-rack shirt for your practice or game, but a customized shirt can make a huge difference. An attractive, custom athletic shirt can build team spirit, get fans in the game, promote your team, and help you fundraise for your sport. A custom shirt can also make you feel good every time you gear up, so you're inspired to give 100%.
When designing your own athletic shirt, start with an already stylish shirt — one with an attractive cut and a flattering color. TeamShirts has tons of styles, including fitted sports shirts, loose fit and unisex styles, tie-dye shirts, and more. We make sure your style is as solid as your game.
Selecting the Right Product for Your Custom Athletic Shirt
Before you start designing your own athletic shirt, you need to select the right shirt to design. Here are a few things to consider.
Sizes
If you want shirts for your fans, you want everyone to feel included. TeamShirts has athletic apparel and shirts from baby sizes to 6X and more, so fans of all sizes can get into the game. And for your own team, we have children's sizes as well as women's, men's and unisex sizes to make sure that hems, sleeves, and seams fall exactly where they should for each athlete.
Affordability
You can order more shirts when you don't spend as much, and all your team members can have their own custom shirts, no matter their budgets. And if you're designing your own athletic shirts for fans, it's crucial to make sure people from all walks of life can support you. TeamShirts not only makes shirts affordable, but we have shirts at different price points, too.
With TeamShirts, we save you even more money with free samples, free standard shipping (or rush shipping for a bit more), and volume discounts (even on smaller orders). You can save up to 60% when you order more! We also price match and work hard to make sure we bring you the lowest prices on customizable shirts. We can sometimes save you 10% when compared to competitors.
Fabric
The fabric of your athletic shirt will determine its durability, performance, and comfort. Here are a few options to consider:
- Poly and Moisture-wicking fabrics. Synthetic materials like polyester and nylon move sweat away from the skin, so moisture evaporates quickly, and you stay dryer. Athletic shirts made from these materials are made to be breathable, light, and fast drying. This makes them comfortable for sports activities and allows you to wash them every day. Some fabrics are even resistant to odor, stains, and bacteria, so you can feel more comfortable in intense play or training.
- Cotton. Some athletes prefer natural materials, and cotton provides excellent breathability and softness. This thick fabric also stands up well to many washes and can be printed or embroidered with your design. Some cotton fabrics are even treated to be fade-resistant, so your team logo or other design stays bright for many wears. Cotton absorbs sweat and moisture, but it doesn't wick it away, so your shirt will stay wet.
- Organic cotton. For children and athletes with sensitive skin, organic cotton is made without harmful pesticides and other chemicals that can leach into the skin. This fabric is also environmentally friendly, very soft, and breathable.
- Blends. A blend of cotton and polyester is as soft and breathable as cotton, but with some of the moisture wicking properties of polyester. Shirts from a blended material tend to hold their color well and tend to be light and comfortable, too.
Ultimately, the fabric of a sports shirt is very personal. Different athletes may prefer different fabrics for their skin, so it can be useful to offer some options for your team.
Design Tips and Tricks
Designing your own athletic shirt is simple when you use TeamShirts. Start by choosing the style, color, and type of shirt you want. Then, use the TeamShirts free online wizard to create your shirt. The online wizard makes it simple for anyone to create a custom shirt — even child athletes.
Access tens of thousands of stock images and graphics you can use or tweak yourself and play with your designs until you get the exact look you want. Then just press "order" to get your shirts on their way to you.
Using the TeamShirts wizard when designing your own athletic t-shirt? Here are some design tips to get you started:
Try Lots of Looks and Options
One of the best ways to design an athletic shirt is to try lots of designs. The TeamShirts design wizard makes it easy because you can put together a look in minutes and save it. Try different looks with a logo, slogan, photo, or another design.
When you try lots of looks, you can see what you like and what doesn't work. You never know when you'll stumble upon the perfect design! Or, you might realize you have a few athletic shirt ideas — maybe one for practice and a few for different seasons.
Use the Names and Numbers Feature
The TeamShirts Names and Numbers feature makes it a snap to add every team member's name and number to their shirt. It's the perfect way to build a team uniform!
Get Your Team to Vote
TeamShirts has a voting feature that lets everyone on your team (and even your fans, if you like!) vote on what shirt designs and styles they like best. This way, you get shirts everyone loves.
You can even set up a design contest among your fans. Narrow it down to a few designs and use the voting feature to choose the winner.
Go Simple
The best design advice is to go simple. Try not to cram too much on your shirts. After all, you're going to be moving fast, so no one will be able to take in a logo, a quote, a slogan, and some pictures.
Instead, choose one or two things — like a team logo or a short quote — and include plenty of white space around it to make it highly visible. If in doubt, try to simplify your design and take a second look. You just might find that you like the simpler version better.
Use a Color Wheel
The colors on opposite sides of a color wheel are complimentary, which means they always look good together. Always check out a color wheel (you can find one online) when you're creating a shirt to make sure the colors of your design are complementary to the color of the shirt.
Consider Embroidery and Printing
Both give you very different looks. Printing is the right choice for photos or complicated designs with lots of colors. If you want a more durable shirt with a simple logo and just a few colors, embroidery can look classic.
TeamShirts makes it clear which shirts are right for printing and which are perfect for embroidery. And don't worry: we make sure we choose the right printing or embroidery method for your design, so you always get a great-looking athletic shirt.
Get Help
Things are just better with a team, aren't they? That's why when you order at least five items, TeamShirts gives you free access to our professional design team. We're a home for all teams, after all.
Just order at least five shirts and you can get free design services from our pros. They can help you digitize or vectorize images and more, so you get a terrific looking shirt without paying more.
Athletic Shirt Design Ideas
Need a little inspiration help with your athletic shirt design? Here are some ideas to get you started:
Create a logo. A simple team logo can go on your shirts and your hats, backpacks, and all the other cool custom gear you can order from TeamShirts.
Choose a slogan. What does your team (or your own solo athletic effort) stand for? What would you want people cheering at a big game or at the finish line? Both of these could give you a great slogan you can rally around.
Print a motivational quote. Motivational quotes are everywhere. Your coaches and teammates may have a few up their sleeves, and there are whole books filled with quotes. Choose one you want to remember when the going gets tough.
Make it funny. Slogans like "we're having a ball" or "runner's high" or "we're a slam dunk" are all fun ideas for shirts, especially for kids' teams.
Support a worthy cause. Let your fans know what cause you're playing for. You can even include a URL or QR code to help your fans connect with a charity they can donate to.
Celebrate a big event. It could be a championship game, marathon, or fundraising sports event. Print your names, the location, and the dates for a souvenir to remember the big moment.
Designing your own athletic shirt is easier when you have a solid team behind you, which is why you need TeamShirts. We help you create your team moment with state-of-the-art printing and embroidery processes, quality shirts, affordable prices, and customer service you just won't find anywhere else. The big win is waiting for you, so start designing today.
Team shirts UK
Easy website to use. Shirts good value. Be aware if ordering from UK shirts are shipped in from Germany and may be subject to import duties. My order was hit with 40% additional costs. Team shirt UK do however promise to refund customs charges and did so in a few days.
shaun powell
Fantastic Customer Service
What fantastic customer service this company has! I cannot compliment them enough, and the product I received was very well done. I highly recommend this company.
Jane Maday
I absolutely love the activewear
I absolutely love the activewear! The fit is perfect, super comfy, and the fabric is really breathable. I’ve been wearing it for my workouts, and it holds up great! Highly recommend for anyone looking to elevate their active wardrobe!
Georgann Gonzalez
Shirts fit well and look amazing
Shirts fit well and look amazing. thank you
David Sisneros
Amazing product and price
Amazing product and price
Tiffany Saiia