Graduation T-Shirts Help Commemorate the Big Accomplishment
After long years of hard work, you are finally graduating! Whether from high school, college, or trade school, your graduation is a giant accomplishment that you should be very proud of. Now is the time to celebrate a job well done and years with your friends and classmates, now coming to an end. Why not commemorate this special time with some custom t-shirts?
If you are in some organizational position, like class president or student council, or graduation committee, you could consider ordering t-shirts for your entire class. You could design a standard t-shirt with “Class of 2008,” your school name, and perhaps a picture of your mascot or something like that. The shirts could show your school colors, and perhaps some unifying facts about your class—pop culture from the year, class songs, or slogans. In the days leading up to graduation, the class would appreciate a t-shirt to wear together and to keep as a souvenir of their entire class. When will the class be more unified than on graduation day?
You don’t have to be class president to design and order class t-shirts, however. Why not design t-shirts for yourself individually, or for your group of friends, or for a club or team you belong to? If you’re making a t-shirt just for yourself, you could take the opportunity to celebrate your personal accomplishments—best hair, most likely to succeed, high grade point average, captain of a team—or highlight your favorite memories from school. Think of yourself as a walking version of your yearbook write-up. What is your favorite inspirational or funny quote? You could list your favorite songs and movies from the year, or your favorite classes and t-shirts, or your best friends.
If you want to get t-shirts made for a small group of people—like your high school choir, or your softball team, or just the kids you eat lunch with every day—you can get creative and individualize each t-shirt for the specific person. You can put their names on the front or back, and maybe a picture of them that captures their personality. If you already have nicknames for people, you could use those, or you could make new nicknames up. For small groups, you can think about inside jokes you and your friends have enjoyed over the years without having to worry about leaving anyone out. Commemorating jokes and memories on t-shirts will help people go back to the days of school much easier as the years go on and they move on to new parts of life.
No matter how large the group that you decide to make t-shirts for, you can have a lot of fun with the t-shirts after you’ve all received them. Graduation is a great time to let people know what they’ve meant to you, and to wish them well. You could have a t-shirt signing party, or just bring them to school in the final days before graduation for everyone to sign, like yearbooks. Then you will all have a meaningful and fun memento of the years you spent together in school.
Marketing Your Business- T-shirt at a Time
Imagine that you have recently opened a new type of hair salon. Your clients are, for the most part, young families. Your shop offers great kid cuts, a fun atmosphere, and all at a great low price. But how do you market it? Well, you could take out some billboard ads, but that’s pretty pricey. TV and radio spots are up there as well. Since you’re just starting out, you’re probably really watching your pennies, and are operating on a shoestring budget.
Lots of small-business owners decorate their cars to advertise their businesses. Some even go to the extent of having their vehicles painted with the business’s logo and a slogan or two, along with a name, phone number, website and e-mail address that potential clients can use to contact them. This is a good idea, but you can’t drive your car into the grocery store or the mall or the movie theatre, so how else can you get your business out there? You could try handing out leaflets, coupons, etc… which you probably will. I don’t know about you, though, I practically run the other way when someone tries to hand me a flyer or comes at me with a clipboard!
Perhaps the best way for you, the small business owner, to market you business is to use T-shirts. The big companies use it too, but they’re also up on billboards, TV and the radio. Since these avenues of advertising are probably beyond your reach at the current time, getting some custom t-shirts printed up is a great idea.
Chances are, your business already has a logo; all that’s required is for you to take the logo in to a custom t-shirt shop (or upload it to one online), pick some t-shirt colors, and get ready to market your business–all right there on your back! Getting a group of shirts printed up is fairly inexpensive; be sure to order a few in each size so that you can hand them out to your employees (if you have any), friends, and family members. They’ll love getting a new tee to wear, and you’ll be getting some free advertising time in the form of your friend’s or family member’s clothing when they go to the beach, the grocery, the library, or the park (or anywhere else they go, for that matter). While you may not be able to convince them to wear your shirt everyday, once or twice a week will spread the word about your business.
Let’s go back to the car idea. As I said, this is a good one, and gets the name of your business out there to be seen. There is one problem, however, and I think it’s a big enough one that it bears mentioning. The majority of people who will be reading your car will also be driving. It’s awfully difficult to write down the information they need in order to get in touch with you if they’re trying to drive! Of course, there’s always the drivers who are eating, chatting, texting, reading, and putting on lipstick, and can not be relied upon to get the information accurately, all while avoiding an accident. Plus, who can remember all that info from a car speeding past?
So, using t-shirts printed with your business’ logo and basic information is a good idea, and one that will help you market your business with little cost and almost no effort.
How T-shirts are Made
You wear them almost everyday. Whether you put one first thing in the morning, wear on to work-out in or to sleep in; the T-shirt is part of nearly everyone’s daily life. It is definitely present in some form in every wardrobe in every household in America. We pull them on, tug them off, and throw them in the laundry, but have you ever stopped to wonder how they’re actually made? Like almost all products, they are largely made by machines in large factories. But there’s definitely more to it than that.
While making t-shirts is pretty simple and straight-forward, there are still a lot of steps that bolt of cotton, polyester or cotton-poly blend goes through before it becomes a t-shirt for you to wear. Special machines have been designed to integrate cutting, assembling, and stitching. There are different seams that can be used to put the shirt together. One type is the superimposed seams, which use an over edge stitch and results in a flexible finished seam. A second type of seam that can be used is the bound seam, and may be stitched together using the chain stitch, lock stitch, or the over edge stitch. This type of seam is typically found at the neckline of your tee.
Of course, the style of the t-shirt is important. Once the design has been decided on, the dimensions are transferred to patterns, with adjustments made for different sizes.
The different sections of the t-shirt consist of a tube body or separate front and back sections (depends on design, here), sleeves, and optional pockets and trim.
If a tubed body is not being used, the front and back sections are joined first, by stitching them up at the sides. An over edge stitch is most commonly used in this step.
With sleeves, there are a few more steps involved. First of all, the hems must be finished before they are sewn to the body of the tee; it’s much easier to hem the fabric when it’s flat. The seam, however (found on the underside of you arm) is not stitched yet. That comes later, when the sleeve and side seams are done at once. If the sleeve is being attached to a tubular body, the sleeve is completely sewn together (hem and seam) and fit into the body.
Next, the t-shirt body is hemmed. Again, the most commonly used stitch here is the over edge stitch, which helps the tee remain flexible and allow stretching. Sometimes, a combo of edge finishing stitches is used.
After the sleeves have been hemmed and attached (and seamed if going onto a tubular body), and the body of the tee hemmed, the pockets can be added. High quality tees will come with an inner-lining in the pocket; this helps the pocket hold its shape throughout all washing and wearing of the t-shirt. Pockets are simply laid in place, and the machine stitches it.
Shoulder seams are next. They typically require a simple superimposed seam, and may be reinforced with tape or a strip of elastic.
Attaching the neckband varies depending on the style of the shirt. With crew necks, the edge closest to the neck should be a bit shorter in circumference than the edge where it is attached to the garment. Tubular neckbands must be applied by hand; it’s important to prevent bulging, and a machine cannot be relied upon to be that precise. V-necks require an extra step; the point of the V must be overlapped or mitered. Another way of attaching the V-neck is to sew the neck band to the shirt, and then sew a tuck in to form the V.
Labels are inserted next. They are usually found at the back of the neckline, on the inside. More and more, labels are printed directly on the shirt, as opposed to on a tag. Comfort is the main reason that manufactures are moving to this type of labeling.
Now that the shirt is assembled, decorations may be added. Screen prints, air brushed designs, or trim are added last. Snaps or buttons are added to t-shirts made for infants, as these shirts have larger opening at the neck to accommodate baby’s head.
Finally, the shirts must be inspected for flaws and then packaged and distributed to the merchants who will be selling the tees. In the end, you go out and buy yourself a new t-shirt and perhaps wonder just exactly how that shirt was made. Now you know!
What Does Your T-Shirt Say About You?
Americans are addicted to self-expression. Among other things, we have the right to free speech, as recognized and ratified by our founding fathers. While I don’t think they had light cotton shirts that bare the arms and are emblazoned with witty sayings, graphics, and whatnot in mind, I’m sure they’d approve of this most American way of expressing ourselves.
Walk down any street in any neighborhood, town, or city across the nation and you’ll find you can feast your eyes on other folk’s “self-expression” by simply reading their t-shirts. One can buy a t-shirt for any reason, to suit any purpose, and to state any belief.
What does your t-shirt say about you? Well, that depends on the shirt, doesn’t it? If you have a quirky sense of humor, you may choose to wear shirts that show funny situations or have jokes printed on them. You might believe that part of your purpose in life is to spread happiness to your fellow man. Wearing a funny t-shirt is an easy way to achieve this goal. You may be free-spirited and happy-go-lucky, and just want the world to know it.
You may have t-shirts hanging in your closet that reflect your political views. Maybe you are a member of a political party and have graphics depicting a donkey or elephant on your shirt. Maybe you want to support a particular political issue, such as withdrawing troops from the battlefield and choose a shirt that sports a yellow ribbon.
Many people wear shirts that show-off their interests. Lots of these types of shirts include humor; one that comes to mind is the one with three cats or dogs walking on the front, and their rear ends on the back of the t-shirt. You many have participated in a big event, like a hunting convention, and bought or received a t-shirt commemorating your participation. Wearing this type of t-shirt is another way to show the world what you enjoy.
Perhaps you want to share your spiritual beliefs. You might then choose a shirt that has inspiring verses from the holy texts of your religion. Your shirt might show a particular icon that is sacred to your beliefs, like Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.
Still other people wear t-shirts that show their support of a particular sports team, whether it’s a professional or an amateur one, or their kid’s soccer team. This may be one of the most popular types of t-shirts you’ll see coming down the street, especially during play-off time. In fact, when showing their support for “their team”, people will gladly wear their team colors on their shirts, but will also match their shorts, socks, shoes, accessories, and sometime their hair and faces to their t-shirts!
Another group of people who wear t-shirts that will give you a clue about who they are are people who support a charity or a cause. Think about the piles of t-shirts that are given away to participants in Red Cross marathons, Alzheimer’s walks, Green Peace rallies, and so on. Not only do the shirts draw attention to the event’s particular cause, but they show the world that the wearer is aware of the issue, and supports it. A person wearing one of these types of t-shirts is working to raise awareness of their cause, in one of the easiest ways of doing it; by wearing it!
What you’re wearing does indeed say something about who you are. Whether you are supporting your favorite charity or sports team, or want to share your faith or your love for cats, you can do it with a t-shirt. The only difficulty lies in picking one from a nearly infinite number of choices!
The Fascinating History of the T-Shirt
Long ago, in a land far, far, away, some very hot, very sweaty soldiers stripped off their uniform jackets to beat the heat. It was WWI, and the British soldiers knew just how to handle the hot and humid summer days…they stripped down! American troops, stifling in their wool uniforms, were amazed and impressed (and probably envious, too) at the sight of the other men in their lightweight cotton, and the phenomenon of the t-shirt was born.
In the 19th century, the idea of underwear was developed; it was an idea which had not been common before that time. At some point near the turn of the century, the underwear shirt was developed, and for the world of clothing and fashion, a whole new article of clothing was born.
While the actual beginnings of the t-shirt are unknown; there are some common ideas on where it first came from. Many industry insiders say that the t-shirt started out as women’s underwear. When Russell Manufacturing Company incorporated 100 years ago in 1902, the first finished product was a ladies’ undershirt, or summer weight vest. Some people believe that this was the very first tee.
After a lot of experimentation, cotton was found to be the ideal material for underwear, and t-shirts were made from this to prevent the harder, rougher outer clothing that was almost intolerably itchy from coming into contact with the wearer. Immediately, the
t-shirt contributed to an easier, more fitted wardrobe. Despite this practicality, it remained an undergarment, only ever seen on someone’s washing line. One could only buy this new undershirt in the very backs of the stores.
During the 1948 presidential campaign, the t-shirt industry was forever changed. The oldest printed custom t-shirt known is housed at the Smithsonian Institute and bears the mantra “Dew-IT with Dewey”; a familiar phrase from New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s campaign for the presidency. By World War II, the t-shirt was a piece of durable underwear in the United States. Soon after, it came to the forefront of people’s wardrobes through the influence of Marlon Brando’s performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and by James Dean’s bad-boy image. Movie fans everywhere were anxious to copy this new fashion trend. For many, it was an easy one; they already had loads of undershirts in their dresser drawers, and only needed to bring them out of the closet. Once moviegoers saw the comfort and attractiveness of this simple article of clothing, they couldn’t get enough. In fact, since Hollywood used the t-shirt in costuming its actors, the tee’s popularity has soared.
T-shirts are typically made of cotton or polyester fibers (or a mix of the two) and then knitted together in a jersey stitch that gives a T-shirt its distinctive soft texture. T-shirts are often decorated with text and/or pictures. T-shirts are also now being made using organic textiles such as cotton or hemp.
Ideas for Creating School Reunion T-Shirts
Organizing a class reunion? For your five, ten, twenty, or fiftieth class reunions—and all the ones in between—you gather together with former classmates. These are people you haven’t seen in years, and you may be anxious about the event. You want it to go off well—to be a great party, and also a great chance to catch up and share life stories.
Trying to think of some way to tie the whole thing together? Some way to start the reunion off on the right foot? Some way to send everyone home at the end with a token of the time you’ve spent together? Are you working on a budget?
One great, affordable idea for class reunions is to order custom t-shirts for the event. Whether you are planning a reunion for high school, college, trade school, or any other type of group learning experience (summer camp, dance school, etc.), you can surprise the guests with matching t-shirts to commemorate the occasion in the future.
If you’ve got a big class, you probably want to make the t-shirts matching—trying to personalize t-shirts for 200 people might be too much of a headache to think about! So, for a large group, think about unifying phrases and images that you could include on the t-shirts. What would grab everyone’s attention and jog everyone’s memories? The standard “Class of 2008” is always a great thing to include on the t-shirt. You also should include the name of the school, and perhaps the date and location of the reunion. Think about the t-shirt as an entry into a diary, or a scrapbook. Include information that will remind the wearers of the reunion—and maybe even his or her time at school—whenever they wear it in the future. You could include school mascots, quotes, song lyrics, or perhaps facts about the years you were in school together: what was happening in 1978? What were the current events, who was the president, what were the popular movies and songs? These are things that can remind the reuniting class of things that bound them together back in school, and now bind them together now as shared memories.
If the class is smaller, you can have some fun with personalizing the t-shirts, either for individuals or groups. One idea is to keep the fronts of the t-shirts uniform—this way, there is a common thread running through the reunion for everyone who’s wearing them. On the other hand, though, you could perhaps personalize the front of the t-shirts and use them as nametags, with each person’s name on the front of their shirt so everyone knows who they are. Consider putting the last name of each guest on the back of the t-shirt, as if it were a sports jersey. A funny idea for the fronts or backs of the t-shirts would be to include each person’s yearbook picture from the graduating year. Potentially embarrassing: but what reunion isn’t?
Having t-shirts as party favors for your class reunion is a great way to start the event off with a laugh, and to unify your classmates as they reminisce and reconnect.
Why Choose Organic T-Shirts?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you know about “going green”. There is a huge movement across this country to change and improve the way we are treating and using our environment. Folks are waking up to the fact that our natural resources are not inexhaustible. Take a walk down the aisles of your local grocery store; you’ll find that there are more and more products available that are “organic”. From potato chips to cereal, consumers can purchase products that are organic–basically meaning that the food crops from which they are derived have not been treated with any chemicals, and have most likely been harvested locally.
Amazingly, the clothing industry is also getting into the mix. Consumers are not only demanding organically-grown foods, they want their clothes and other household goods like towels and sheets to be “organic” as well. There are several companies who sell organic t-shirts. But why should you buy these shirts, as opposed to the traditional t-shirts we are all accustomed to purchasing?
There are several reasons why choosing organic t-shirts is a good idea. First of all, it’s good for the planet. Literally, the earth - the ground you walk on - is improved and protected through the cultivation of organically grown cotton. Traditional cotton farming is the one of the most destructive farming practices there is. Cotton farming uses some of the largest amounts of pesticides of any crop–it’s in second place, in fact–and also uses large amounts of both herbicides and insecticides, many of which are known to be cancer-causing. Cotton crops that are grown organically, however, are farmed using sustainable farming practices and help save the earth. For every 100% cotton organic
t-shirt that is produced, 1/3 lb of pesticides and chemicals stay out of the environment. Taking care of the environment by buying and wearing organic t-shirts is an excellent reason to make the switch to organic clothing.
Another reason to buy and wear organic t-shirts is that, in most cases, the manufacture of these clothing items support fair trade. Most of the clothes we wear today are made in sweat shop conditions in poor, third-world countries. These workers are not paid decent wages, and must work long hours in factories that have no labor, environmental, of safety laws. Buying an organic t-shirt, or 3 or 10, helps provide these workers with a decent income, as well as employment and basic services, like healthcare and education.
Comfort is definitely something we look for when choosing clothes to wear. Organic
t-shirts, which are made of 100% organic, natural cotton, are extremely soft and pleasing to the touch. These shirts are typically non-dyed, and come in the natural color of the cotton itself. While you may not want to wear the same color t-shirt every day of the week, adding even one or two of these t-shirts to your wardrobe is one way you can “go green”. If you’re looking for some color in your organic t-shirts, you may decide to choose one that is made from other organically grown crops that may have natural colors besides the pale cream color of a natural cotton shirt. Some companies not only make t-shirts from organically grown cotton; they use other types of materials as well. For example, hemp, tencel, flax, recycled cotton and soda bottles, spandex blends and organic wool (meaning that the sheep and goats are eating grass that has not been treated by any chemicals) are all different materials that are being used to make organic tees.
As you can see, there are many reasons to pick up an organic t-shirt or two over the traditional variety when it’s time to update your wardrobe. Choose an organic t-shirt, and you will not only be helping your fellow man, but the earth itself.
Custom Church Retreat T-shirt Ideas
Church groups often spend a significant amount of time together. It’s not just in church services, but in extracurricular events, such as Bible study, youth groups, and church events. These occasions call on church members to unite and form special bonds. They share common ideals and beliefs. There’s no limit to the memories they make or the experiences they go through together.
Especially on church retreats there are more memories made than at any other time. The youth groups will stay overnight on camp grounds and go through different exercises, workshops, or discussions that bring them closer together. These landmark occasions are usually decorated with the commemoration of a cool custom t-shirt. In fact, the practice of having custom t-shirts made is becoming increasingly common. More and more people feel that the t-shirt is an appropriate representation of the memories they make. Plus, custom t-shirts are fun, cool, and inexpensive.
As a youth leader or as the director of a church youth retreat, it might fall to you to make the decision to purchase the custom t-shirts. It’s your responsibility to make sure that the participants have a fun way to remember the time they spent together. Custom t-shirt companies are becoming more popular than ever. Most of the custom t-shirt business is conducted on line. You can make all your decisions and specifications over the internet. It’s simple, easy and very efficient.
If you’re worried about the complications of a design, or choosing a look that will please everyone, don’t be. The custom t-shirt companies are ready and willing to help you make the perfect choice. To begin with, there are hundreds of pre-drawn selections and suggestions that you might choose from. On the other hand, the image or print that you decide to go with might be of your own creation. Better yet, it might be something that members of the retreat came up with. Hold a contest to pick the best design from the participants, involve everyone in the creation of the custom t-shirt. The group involvement will make the t-shirt that much more of a memory.
Cost wise, there’s not much to worry about either. The custom t-shirt business is a bulk buying experience. You pay a fee and must purchase a minimum amount of t-shirts, but other than that, there’s no limit on the quantity you can purchase. The style of the t-shirt is the last important factor for consideration. Seeing that everyone enjoys a different fit of shirt, it would be wise to take into account the preference of girls to guys. Formfitting styles, baggy styles, traditional t-shirt styles, long sleeved styles etc. Once again, because the custom t-shirt is a bulk buying purchase, you shouldn’t have any problem including all the different styles that you think should be made available to the youth retreat participants.
The custom t-shirt is a part of the experience that all people involved in the retreat will continue to wear and treasure. It’s a way to keep the memory of those few days alive for many months to come. In fact, the custom t-shirt is such a wonderful tool for memory and such a cool keepsake, they could be wearing it for years.
Raise Awareness with Custom Breast Cancer T-shirts
“I walk for my mom”
“Walk for Bust!”
“You don’t scare me: I’m a cancer survivor”
“New and Improved: Now Cancer Free”
“I wear pink for my mom”
You’ve seen the catchy slogans dot the street whenever tens of thousands of women march to raise awareness for breast cancer. It’s hard to miss the messages from survivors and supporters. Even if a woman is wearing her shirt while shopping alone at the grocery store, that t-shirt sends a message to all shoppers to do their part to help. That could mean participating in a local event, making a donation or a reminder to all women to do a simple breast check.
The shirts not only raise awareness to people driving and walking by, they unite and empower participants. A transformation takes place when a patient, survivor or caretaker puts on a t-shirt that says, “Beating Cancer, Priceless” or “Squeeze a boob: Save a life.” Some shirts make us laugh while others are provocative and feisty. They send clear messages about beating cancer, raising awareness and the camaraderie that goes with being a survivor.
The best part is that most of the money raised from the sale of Breast Cancer awareness shirts actually goes to helping patients, research for a cure and prevention education. You can buy shirts from organizations like the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. You can also sell your own designs to make money for local and family organizations or to send a pool of cash to the big national groups in the name of your friends and family.
There are a lot of resources to buy t-shirts online. It’s typically easy and inexpensive to create and buy t-shirts over the internet. And, you can do the designing and shopping from the comfort of your own home. You can choose from a wide variety of shirt and ink colors, and you can customize shirts for your walking team or family by putting team names on the back. You can also create your own design decked with the face of your survivor. This allows you to get the exact t-shirt you want. And of course, the end result is quite professional, and will be something that you are proud to wear day in and day out.
With most online design sites it’s easy. You pick your t-shirt color, add text, pictures, and names. You can choose from ideas and ready-made art and slogans or use your own. Choose different styles and sleeve lengths. Then, get a quote. In some cases there is a minimum order. But, usually, the more t-shirts you buy, the better the discount. It typically takes about two weeks for your shirts to arrive.
For one group, the t-shirts started as support, turned into a fundraiser and then into an empowering memorial as they continued to raise money for cancer. Here’s what Ellen B. said about their custom t-shirts, “We originally made T-shits as a support to our hero and friend Sara who battled breast cancer twice. After so much interest we upped the order and developed a fundraiser for her and her family. We sold over 100 shirts and provided the family a means to help pay for medical expenses. We wore our shirts during the Relay for Life event. Sara came to cheer us on. We took a team photo and now it’s on this year’s team t-shirts. Sara died this year. But, we honor her and wear her memory as walk this year. We are very proud to have known her and what it means to give support to a family who is in need. The T-shirts were and still are a voice in her honor.”