Whether you’re starting a clothing line or looking to expand your empire, having a strong product creation process is more critical than ever. You may dream of creating an amazing fashion line from scratch but the cut and sew process is plagued with long turnaround times, high minimums and expensive costs per unit. At BELLA+CANVAS, we create high-quality, retail-inspired fashion blanks to make it easy for anyone to start a clothing line. We love that companies using our blanks, like Apliiq, are taking customization a step further, beyond just the traditional printing one would expect on a basic tee.
For today’s guest post, we turn to Apliiq. Discover a wide range of customization options that help small businesses and startup clothing brands create unique designs, right here in the US.
Small Run Production Can Help You Start a Clothing Line
Historically, printing has been the best way to embellish blanks quickly and at a low cost. Apliiq has introduced a number of options to compliment or replace the basic printed t-shirt to give the quality and feel of a handmade, cut and sewn garment, without all the production headaches.
It’s possible for small run production (an order of 1-1000 pieces) with custom artwork or branding, to arrive in-hand in a matter of a few weeks. If timeframe and cost are important, keeping production domestic in the USA and working from existing blank garments like BELLA+CANVAS are valuable strategies that are crucial to small run production.
Design a Custom Pocket Tee
If the name of your game is subtle style, the pocket tee is the ultimate product for growing your brand. Let the pocket be your artwork, printed fabric or some subtle texture can add a level of quality that stands out. Customers will be drawn to your pocket tees because they’re not graphic billboards but simple, elegant statements with a little function too! Because we’ve been making them since 2007 at Apliiq, we’ve managed to make them as affordable as printed tees, sometimes even cheaper!
The BELLA+CANVAS Flowy Boxy Tank, transformed into a Pocket Tee.
Brand Hack: Woven Labels
The woven label has long been a staple for brands to display their logo in a tasteful, elegant way. They can be stitched on the inside or outside of a garment in a variety of placements and styles. For example, you may want a folded flag label hanging off the edge of a pocket, or you could design a simple flat label to be stitched on all sides along the bottom hem of a shirt. Whatever you choose, that simple branding can really make your product pop and elevate it into a new quality bracket far beyond the basic print. Most importantly, they are supremely cost effective. And anyone who is serious about building a brand cannot overlook them.
This New Production Process Replaces Printing
Custom laser cut fabric appliqué is still very seldom used on shirts, but can be a great way to distinguish your brand. Traditionally found on fraternity and sorority letter products and in heavyweight sportswear, this process allows you to create simple bold graphics and turn them into custom laser-cut patches that are sewn onto the garment.
At Apliiq, we have hundreds of fabrics you can use to design a unique custom fabric appliqué out of any bold shape you create.
Try Combining Design Approaches
Now imagine all the tools above COMBINED with print! You can combine woven labels with a print to create an elegant, professional looking piece. A pocket tee with print leaves a ton of room for creativity, and there’s no shortage of combinations to transform your basic printed tees into something really special and high quality.
A Special Offer, Just for You
There’s never been a better time to start a clothing line. You don’t have to be a fashion whiz or a master seamstress to get started and you can definitely make high quality, unique pieces that are a step up from the basic printed tee but won’t break the bank with full cut and sew production.
Start designing your samples, like a custom long body pocket tee with Apliiq and enter “Bella Canvas” at checkout to get 10% off your order.
Check out the video review below for this streetwear-inspired BELLA+CANVAS style.
