Cut-and-Sew T-Shirt Manufacturing From 50 Pieces

NO FUGAZI is a t-shirt manufacturer based and managed in London, producing custom t-shirts from 50 pieces at our own dedicated overseas facility. Every tee is cut and sewn from patterns developed for your fit, not printed onto a ready-made blank. Samples take 2-3 weeks, bulk production takes 3-8 weeks after you approve your sample, and no tech pack is required to get a tailored quote.

This is not print on demand, and it is not printing onto blanks. If you want one tee with a logo on it, or fifty of somebody else's blanks with your artwork applied, a print-on-demand or garment-decorating service is the right tool for that job and it will cost you less.

This page is for a founder producing a real run. Cut and sew means the t-shirt itself is made for you: your block, your fabric weight, your yarn, your collar, your side seams, your labels. We hold no stock garments, so nothing is pulled off a shelf and decorated. Patterns are developed for your fit, graded across your size range, then cut, stitched and finished by hand.

That difference does not show in a mockup. It shows when your customer holds the tee, and again after the tenth wash, when a decorated blank has a wavy collar and a body that twists and yours does not.

You do not need a tech pack to start. A sketch, a moodboard, a reference photo or a t-shirt you already own is enough. We handle the pattern and fit development from there.

T-shirt production at a glance

T-shirt manufacturing specification

Everything below is standing policy, not an estimate. Where a figure is a range, the range is real and depends on your spec.

Minimum order: 50 piecesSpecific designs, colours and fabrics can affect the MOQ. Send your design and we will confirm it for yours.
Production method: Cut and sewT-shirts are made from patterns developed for your fit. We hold no stock garments and do not decorate ready-made blanks.
Sample lead time: 2-3 weeksSampling always comes first. Bulk starts only once you approve.
Bulk lead time: 3-8 weeks after sample approvalPlus shipping to your destination.
Tech pack: Not requiredA sketch, a moodboard, a reference photo or a t-shirt you already own is enough. We handle patterns and fit development in house. No tech pack needed.
Fabric: Sourced or produced per orderWeight, knit and yarn are your call. Pantone colour matching and custom-dyed fabrics are available. Yarn is from OEKO-TEX certified suppliers.
Decoration: Embroidery, screen print, sublimation, DTF, chenille patches, acid wash
Branding: Custom labels, woven tags and custom trimsPrivate label and white label both available. Your t-shirts carry your branding, not ours.
Based: London, UKManaged from London and manufactured at our own dedicated overseas facility.
Quality control: 4 stagesFabric inspection, in-process checks, post-production inspection and a final pre-shipment review.
Payment: Bank transferTerms are agreed as part of your quote.
Shipping: WorldwideThe UK is our priority market. We also ship to the USA, Canada, Australia and Europe.

Get a t-shirt quote on WhatsApp

Send a sketch, a moodboard or a t-shirt you already own. All three work.

Choosing Your T-Shirt Fabric

A t-shirt is one layer of knitted cloth. There is nowhere for a poor fabric to hide, which is why three decisions do almost all the work: how heavy it is, how it is knitted, and what yarn went into it.

Fabric weight, measured in GSM

GSM is grams per square metre, the standard measure of how heavy a knitted fabric is. On a tee it decides opacity, drape, and whether a boxy block reads the way it was drawn or collapses on the body.

Weight	How it feels	Typically used for
140-160 GSM	Lightweight. Fluid and soft, sits close to the body and moves with it. On pale colours it can read slightly sheer.	Fashion tees, layering pieces, warm-weather drops.
170-200 GSM	The standard midweight. Opaque, stable under a print, and what most people picture when they picture a t-shirt.	Core range staples, a first drop, everyday brand pieces.
210-250 GSM	Heavyweight. Substantial in the hand, stands away from the body and holds a boxy block in shape.	Premium streetwear tees, boxy fits, garment-dyed and washed pieces.
260 GSM and up	Very heavy for a tee. Structured and firm on the first wear, then it breaks in and keeps its shape.	Statement pieces and limited runs.

Heavier fabric uses more yarn and adds weight to your shipment, so it changes your quote. If you are unsure, send us a t-shirt whose weight you like and we will match it. One thing worth knowing: GSM should be quoted after finishing, because washing and compacting change both the weight and the measurements of a knitted fabric.

Single jersey and the heavier knits

Nearly every t-shirt in the world is single jersey. What separates a cheap tee from a considered one is usually not the knit structure but how heavy it is knitted and what yarn went into it.

Construction	What it is	How it wears
Single jersey	The standard t-shirt knit. One set of needles, a smooth face and a looped back.	Light, breathable and fluid. The default for most tees. Its cut edges curl, which is why the collar and hems are worth specifying properly.
Heavyweight single jersey	The same structure knitted at a higher weight from a thicker yarn.	Keeps the clean tee face but with body and structure behind it. The usual choice for a boxy premium tee.
Interlock	Two jersey fabrics knitted together, so both faces look identical.	Denser, smoother and more stable, and it does not curl at the edges. Heavier and slower to produce than single jersey.
Slub jersey	Jersey knitted from yarn spun with deliberate thick and thin sections.	An uneven, textured surface with a worn-in look. Takes garment dye and wash finishes especially well.

Composition matters alongside the knit. Cotton takes garment dye and acid wash best and feels the most natural. Blends resist shrinkage and hold printed colour. Sublimation needs a polyester-rich fabric to work at all.

Combed, carded and ring-spun cotton

This is the decision most brands never make, and the one their customers feel. Two tees at the same GSM in the same colour can feel completely different because of the yarn inside them.

Yarn	What it means	What you feel
Carded, open-end	The fibres are cleaned and aligned, then spun on a rotor. Short fibres stay in the mix.	A coarser surface with more fuzz, and pilling comes sooner. The cheapest yarn in the room.
Combed	An extra combing step pulls out the short fibres and remaining impurities, leaving the long fibres only.	Smoother and stronger, with a cleaner surface for print and far less pilling.
Ring-spun	The fibres are twisted continuously into a finer, more even yarn rather than spun open-end.	Noticeably softer, with better drape at the same weight.
Combed ring-spun	Both steps together. The usual specification for a premium t-shirt.	The smooth, dense, soft handfeel people mean when they say a tee feels expensive.

Yarn choice does not show in a photograph. It shows on the third wash, which is when a customer decides whether to buy from you again. If your reference tee feels right, send it and we will match the yarn as well as the weight.

The Decisions That Define Your T-Shirt

These are the questions we will ask when you send your design, and they are the ones you never get to answer when you buy a blank. Having a view on them, even a rough one, turns a vague enquiry into an accurate quote. If you have no view at all, that is fine too, and we will guide you through each one.

The Block: Boxy or Fitted

The block is the base pattern your tee is cut from, and it sets everything else. A boxy block is wide through the chest with a shorter body and a straight side line, and it needs a heavier fabric to hold that shape. A regular or fitted block is narrower through the chest with a longer body and works at lighter weights. Send a t-shirt that fits the way you want yours to fit and we can replicate or adjust it.

Shoulder Seam and Sleeve

A drop shoulder moves the seam down the arm for a relaxed, oversized line, and it only works if the body is cut wider to match. A set-in shoulder keeps the seam on the shoulder point for a cleaner, more tailored look. Sleeve length and opening width are set here too, and a wide short sleeve reads completely differently from a narrow one at the same length.

The Collar, Where Cheap Tees Fail First

A collar that stretches and waves makes a t-shirt look finished long before the body has worn out. What prevents it: rib knitted with enough recovery to spring back, set at a considered depth rather than the thinnest option available, and attached under even tension so it lies flat. Neck drop, rib depth and rib composition go on your spec as their own lines rather than being left to default.

Shoulder and Back-Neck Taping

A narrow tape stitched into the shoulder and back-neck seam. It carries the load so the shoulders keep their line and the neck does not stretch out from being pulled on and off, and it covers the seam allowance so the inside of the garment looks finished. Self-fabric or a contrast tape, which is a quiet place to put a brand colour.

Side-Seamed or Tubular

A tubular body is knitted as a continuous tube with no side seams. It is quicker and cheaper to make, but the fabric can twist around the body after washing and the fit stays straight-sided. A side-seamed body is cut from separate panels, so the pattern can be shaped through the chest, waist and armhole and the tee keeps its line. Almost every considered tee is side-seamed.

Hems, Sleeve Finish and Stitching

Most tees run a twin-needle hem at the sleeve and the bottom: two parallel rows of stitching that hold a curling jersey edge flat and let it stretch without popping. Hem depth, whether the sleeve is hemmed or finished with a rib cuff, and whether the body is cut straight or with a curved tail are all decided on your pattern before sampling.

Decorating and Finishing a T-Shirt

A tee is a single thin layer of knitted cloth, and that changes what each decoration method does to it. The right one depends on the artwork, its scale and where it sits on the garment, not on personal preference.

Method	How it reads	Best for	Worth knowing
Screen print	Flat, opaque ink laid onto the surface. Strong, consistent colour across a whole run.	Large front and back graphics in a small number of solid colours.	The workhorse of t-shirt decoration. Each colour is a separate screen, so colour count drives the work.
Embroidery	Raised and textured, stitched into the cloth. Reads as premium at small scale.	Chest logos, sleeve hits and back-neck marks.	Dense stitching pulls on light jersey, so a heavier fabric or a smaller design gives the cleaner result. Fine detail and thin type get lost in thread.
DTF (direct to film)	A printed transfer heat-applied to the garment. Full colour, fine detail.	Photographic or multi-colour artwork, and runs carrying many different designs.	Sits on the surface with a defined edge rather than sinking into the cloth.
Sublimation	Dye bonded into the fibre, so there is no hand feel at all.	All-over prints and panel graphics on a tee.	Needs polyester-rich fabric and light grounds. It cannot print white.
Chenille patch	Thick, tufted patch with a varsity texture.	Big letters, collegiate and heritage looks.	Heavy relative to a tee, so it wants a heavier fabric underneath and real scale to be worth doing.
Acid wash	A finish rather than a graphic. The made-up garment is washed for a faded, mottled ground.	Vintage-look drops where variation is the point.	Every piece comes out slightly different by design.

Garment dye and wash finishes

Dyeing the t-shirt after it has been made up, rather than dyeing the fabric before it is cut, gives a softer handle and a lived-in colour that a piece-dyed fabric cannot copy. It works best on cotton-rich fabric, and slub jersey takes it particularly well. Acid wash goes further again, producing a faded, mottled ground where every piece varies slightly.

Both are planned in before production rather than added afterwards, because they change the pattern itself. The garment has to be cut with the process allowed for, so this is a decision made at pattern stage and confirmed on your sample.

You can combine methods. An embroidered chest mark with a screen-printed back graphic is a common t-shirt spec, and custom labels, woven tags and custom trims sit alongside any of the above. Pantone colour matching runs across all of it, so your brand colour is the same on the fabric, the print and the trims.

From Sketch to Delivered T-Shirts

Six steps, and no tech pack needed to begin.

The lead times below are real ranges rather than best cases: samples in 2-3 weeks, bulk in 3-8 weeks after you approve your sample, plus shipping time to you.

1. Send Your T-Shirt Idea

WhatsApp Is Quickest

Send whatever exists: a sketch, a moodboard, a reference photo, or a t-shirt you already own that fits the way you want yours to fit. We will ask about weight, yarn, block and decoration, then send a tailored quote. If your design is not finished, our team provides full design support and handles the technical development.

MOQ is 50 pieces. Specific designs, colours and fabrics can affect it, so ask about yours

2. Pattern and Fit Development

Your Block, Graded Properly

Once the quote is agreed we develop the pattern: body width and length, shoulder position, sleeve length and opening, neck drop and rib depth, hem shape. It is then graded across your full size range, so an XL is the same t-shirt as a small rather than a different garment.

Pattern cutting, fit development and grading are included as standard

3. Fabric, Trims and Decoration

Sourced to Your Spec

We hold no stock, so fabric is sourced or produced for your order at the weight, knit and yarn you chose. Pantone colour matching and custom-dyed fabrics are available. Neck rib, shoulder tape, custom labels and woven tags are specified now, and decoration is planned in before anything is cut.

Pantone colour matching and custom-dyed fabrics available

4. Your T-Shirt Sample

2-3 Weeks

You get a t-shirt in your hands before anything goes to bulk. Wear it, wash it, put it on someone at the other end of your size range, then look at the collar again afterwards. A free sample of each design is included with every committed bulk order; a standalone sample without a bulk commitment is charged. One sample revision round is free, further sample revisions are chargeable, and changes to your quote are always free.

Nothing goes to bulk until you approve your sample

5. Bulk Production

3-8 Weeks After Approval

Your approved sample becomes the reference for every piece in the run. T-shirts are cut, stitched and finished by hand at our own dedicated facility, with your labels, tags and trims applied to spec.

3-8 weeks after sample approval, plus shipping

6. Quality Control and Shipping

4 Stages, Then Worldwide

Every order passes fabric inspection, in-process checks, post-production inspection and a final pre-shipment review before it is packed. Your t-shirts then ship worldwide. The UK is our priority market, and we also deliver to the USA, Canada, Australia and Europe.

Checked at four stages before anything leaves the factory

T-Shirt Manufacturing FAQs

Straight answers to what brands ask before commissioning a t-shirt run.

Che Lingo
Blanco
King Promise
Grace Ajilore

READY TO MAKE YOUR T-SHIRT?

Send a sketch, a moodboard or a t-shirt you already own. We will come back with a tailored quote, make your sample first, and start bulk production only once you approve it.

Get Your T-Shirt Quote on WhatsApp

Custom T-Shirt Manufacturer UK