How to Sample Blank T-Shirts Before You Place a Bulk Order

To sample blank t-shirts properly, order the exact style, weight and colour you plan to sell, in at least two sizes, and put them through the same journey your finished product will take: measure them, wash them, print or embroider them, then wash them again. Record the results and compare them side by side. A sample is only useful if it tells you how the garment behaves after your decoration and after a customer's washing machine, not just how it feels straight out of the bag.

Below is the checklist we'd work through before committing to a production run, with tests you can do at home or in a print shop without a lab.

Why sampling is worth the time

A bulk order locks in four things at once: fabric weight, fit, colour and decoration. If one of them is wrong, you usually find out from customers, in the form of returns, sizing complaints or prints that crack after a few washes. A handful of sample garments costs very little next to a run of stock that doesn't match your size chart.

Samples also give you something to photograph, wear-test and hand to your printer before any real money is committed. Your product pages, size guide and launch content can all be built from garments you've actually handled.

What to order as samples

• The exact product, not a near relative. A 300 GSM oversized tee and a 230 GSM boxy crop are different garments, even if they look similar in photos.
• Every colour you plan to stock. Black, ecru and washed colourways can feel, shrink and print differently, even within the same style.
• At least two sizes. Your expected best seller plus one size either side lets you check grading: how the measurements step up from size to size.
• A spare for destructive tests. If you're going to cut a weight swatch or wash a garment repeatedly, buy an extra so you still have a clean one to wear and photograph.

Bundles make this quicker. Our 11-tee heavyweight bundle covers the full t-shirt range from 230 to 325 GSM, including oversized, boxy cropped and long sleeve styles. If you've already narrowed it down, the 300 GSM oversized 3 pack (black, ecru and stone wash charcoal) or the boxy cropped t-shirt bundle (four colourways) lets you compare colours within a single style. And because there's zero MOQ, you can add individual sizes to fill any gaps.

The sampling checklist

1. Weight: check the GSM yourself

GSM is grams per square metre, and it's the headline spec on any heavyweight blank. You can verify it with a GSM circle cutter, which cuts a 100 cm² disc of fabric: weigh the disc in grams and multiply by 100. No cutter? Cut an accurate 10 cm × 10 cm square from a spare garment and do the same sum.

Take the swatch from the main body panel, away from seams, rib and print. Moisture and finishing can nudge the figure slightly, so treat it as a check rather than a lab result. If you're weighing up which weight suits your decoration method, our GSM guide for DTG, DTF, screen print and embroidery covers that in detail.

While you have the swatch out, hold it up to the light and look at the surface. Lots of loose, hairy fibre ends usually point to carded yarn; a cleaner, flatter face points to combed. Our guide explains how to tell whether the cotton is combed or carded, and why it matters for printing and pilling.

2. Fit and measurements

Lay each sample flat on a table and measure:

• Chest, pit to pit
• Body length, from the high point of the shoulder to the hem
• Shoulder width, seam to seam
• Sleeve length

Write the numbers down for every size. They become the basis of your own size chart. Then wear the samples, and get people of different builds to try them on too. Oversized and cropped cuts are meant to fit differently from a standard tee: our 300 and 320 GSM oversized tees have a boxy cut, and we suggest sizing down one for a less oversized look, while the 230 GSM boxy crop is short in the body and sizing up gives a more relaxed, less cropped fit. Our boxy cropped vs oversized fit guide explains the difference.

Check that the jump between sizes is consistent. Once you're happy with the fit, use your measurements to plan a sensible size breakdown for your first drop.

3. Neckline, seams and construction

• Collar. Stretch it gently and let go. It should spring back and lie flat. A 2x1 rib collar (two knit ribs to one purl) has more structure than a flat 1x1 rib, which is why you'll find it on heavier tees, including our 320 GSM tees and 325 GSM long sleeves.
• Stitching. Look for even stitch lines, secure seam ends and no loose threads at the shoulders, hem and cuffs.
• Labels. Note what's already inside the garment. Our heavyweight tees and long sleeves are unbranded, carrying only a size label and a care/wash label, which leaves room for your own. Our guide to adding your own neck labels covers the options.

4. Wash test: shrinkage, twist and colour

This is the test people skip, and it's the one that matters most. Your customers will wash the garment, so you should too.

• Measure first. Mark your measuring points with a fabric pen so you measure the same spots every time.
• Wash as a customer would. Follow the care label, and if your customers are likely to tumble dry, include that in the test.
• Re-measure after one wash, then after three to five. The first wash shows the initial change; repeated washing tells you whether it keeps going.
• Work out the percentage. Shrinkage % = (measurement before − measurement after) ÷ measurement before × 100. Do it for length and width separately.
• Check for twist. Lay the washed tee flat. If the side seams have rotated towards the front, note how far.
• Check colour. Wash dark samples with a white cloth to spot dye transfer, and compare washed against unwashed for fading.
• Sample washed finishes more than once. Stone washed and vintage washed blanks are meant to vary slightly from piece to piece, so order two or three and compare them. Our guide to sampling washed finishes like stone wash explains what variation to expect and how it affects printing.

Textile labs use standardised procedures for this, such as ISO 6330 for domestic washing and drying and ISO 5077 for dimensional change. If you're supplying a retailer that asks for documented results, a testing lab can run them. For a small brand, a careful and consistent home test tells you most of what you need.

5. Decoration test

Decorate a sample with your real artwork, using the method you'll use in production, then wash it.

• DTG: check the hand feel, how well the ink has bedded into the fabric and whether it cracks or fades after washing.
• DTF: check the transfer edges for lifting, especially on curved areas and fine detail.
• Screen print: check the ink has cured properly and stretch the print gently to look for cracking.
• Embroidery: check for puckering around the design and how the backing feels against the skin.

Heavier fabric behaves differently under a heat press, so settings that work on a lighter tee may need adjusting. That's exactly what a sample is for.

6. If you're garment dyeing

Garment dyeing changes the garment, not just the colour, so the sample that counts is a dyed one. Our ecru tees and long sleeves are cut slightly larger than the black colourway to account for shrinkage during the garment-dyeing process. Measure the ecru blank, have it dyed, then measure and fit-test the finished piece. If you haven't settled on a base colour yet, our comparison of ecru vs white blank t-shirts explains why ecru is the usual starting point for dyeing. The 265 GSM ecru oversized tee is built as a base for exactly this. We can garment dye to your own Pantone shade, with custom colours from 30 units.

Score your samples side by side

Check	How to test	What to record
Weight	Weigh a 100 cm² swatch and multiply by 100	GSM for each colour
Fit	Flat measurements, then wear tests	Chest, length, shoulder and sleeve per size
Shrinkage	Measure, wash once, then three to five times	% change in length and width
Twist	Lay flat after washing	Side seam position
Colour	Wash with a white cloth; compare to an unwashed sample	Fading and dye transfer
Collar	Stretch and release, before and after washing	Whether it lies flat and recovers
Decoration	Print or embroider, then wash	Cracking, lifting or puckering

Common sampling mistakes

• Sampling one size. A medium that fits perfectly tells you nothing about the XL.
• Sampling the wrong colour. Testing black, then ordering ecru for dyeing, skips the step where most of the change happens.
• Judging unwashed garments. Every blank feels good out of the bag.
• Not keeping a reference. Keep one approved, unworn sample, labelled with the date and spec. This "golden sample" is what you check bulk deliveries and reorders against.

FAQ

How many samples should I order before a bulk order?

Enough to cover every colour you'll stock, in at least two sizes, plus a spare for wash and weight tests. For a single style in two colours, that's typically five or six garments.

Should I wash-test blank t-shirts before printing?

Yes. Test the blank on its own and again after decoration. The first tells you how the fabric behaves; the second tells you how your print or embroidery holds up.

How do I check the GSM of a t-shirt?

Cut a 100 cm² swatch from the body panel with a GSM circle cutter (or an accurate 10 cm square), weigh it in grams and multiply by 100.

How much should a cotton t-shirt shrink?

There's no single figure. It depends on the fabric, how it was finished and how it's washed and dried. Measure your own samples before and after washing, and build any change into your size chart.

Can I order a single blank t-shirt as a sample?

Yes. There's zero MOQ on our blank clothing, so you can order one garment in the exact size and colour you need. In-stock blanks are dispatched the next working day from our UK warehouse.

What is a golden sample?

An approved, unworn garment kept as the reference for weight, fit, colour and finish. When bulk stock or a reorder arrives, you compare it against the golden sample.

Sample first, then scale

The brands that get their first run right are usually the ones that tested properly before ordering. Start with a few pieces from our range of heavyweight wholesale blanks, put them through the checklist above, and order your run once you know exactly how they perform. As a UK supplier established in 1972, we offer zero MOQ, next-working-day dispatch on in-stock blanks, and DTG, DTF, screen printing, embroidery and garment dyeing when you're ready to scale.