I have no idea if this is even feasible, but if anyone would know, I figure the forum would know.

I am on my church’s “Safety” team, and they issue us a black T-shirt with the wording of Church Name - Safety on the front and Safety on the back in white lettering. The problem is, these are the thinnest, lightest, cheapest T-shirts there are and after a few washings and dryings, they shrink up badly and look and feel like shit on me. They also expect us to wear these thin things all year around with no outer garment covering it up and often time in the winter I’m freezing because we do have to walk outside as part of our rounds of the place.

What I’d like to do is have this T-shirt re-created in a much heavier, better version and also in a long sleeve version. Something like a Beefy T? They also only offer up to 2XL, I’m a big dude and this is just too small especially after it shrinks.

While I could take my concerns to the church and see if they would be willing to get better T-shirts, I think this is going to take a while and may not go anywhere.

Can I take the existing T-shirt somewhere and have them re-create this in a better version like I’m thinking? Are there places that do this? I’d rather not have to pay for like 150 shirts though.

Any thoughts?

Should be. Check for a local screen printing company.

I had some shirts made on heavier cotton shirts and printed with a team name, 4 of them for like $50 shirts included. Nothing fancy, block letters in one color.

Pasig, check your email.

We have a friend who does karate mom shirts for the other moms...she has a press and cuts the vinyl and heat seals it on the shirt. Like amateur silk screen printing.

Sounds like you just need to find someone who does it on the side and you provide the shirt

Check google maps for t shirt printing in your area. We use a local company for our Cub Scout Pack t shirts. They are a quality material. We normally get 50 at a time, but I am not sure if there's a minimum they require. I'd go local so you can see the material ahead of time.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
They also expect us to wear these thin things all year around with no outer garment covering it up and often time in the winter I’m freezing because we do have to walk outside as part of our rounds of the place.

Any thoughts?

Several.

1) DIY is an approach, and good luck with that, but you'd have to think (assuming your location is correctly listed) that everyone involved in the church hierarchy and in the safety team knows Pennsylvania's winter weather isn't T-shirt-by-itself weather. You are not alone.

2) Consequences of #1. If you polled the safety group, you may find the others agree. That could turn into either a) having more political clout (if making a request for official action) or b) turning your one-shirt order into a group buy, reducing the cost per shirt.

Why not create "panels" with the required lettering to wear instead of just a T-shirt? More options for what to wear for the season. Or could it be a hi-vis vest with the appropriate message?

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
Should be. Check for a local screen printing company.

I had some shirts made on heavier cotton shirts and printed with a team name, 4 of them for like $50 shirts included. Nothing fancy, block letters in one color.

see if you can find out who did the shirts originally, and see if they have a better grade of shirt,


I used a local company to embroider my company logo on some Polo shirts, and they did a great job,
they do Tshirts (not sure if silk screen or not) as well and offer several types, brands and thickness of shirts to use, (and will do the same if you bring in the shirt)


if you can't find local try these guys

https://www.richsstitches.com/

I

My mother-in-law does shirts with heat-pressed vinyl.
Someone local that does that could be an option.

She's done orders as small as 2-3 shirts, more of a hobby for her.

I could ask her, if you're ok with the time to get it done & shipping. Email in my profile if you want me to look into it.

You could tell it to the people about your concerns and what you plan to do. Maybe they'll see the light and work with you on sourcing better clothing or, at least, give you the go ahead or even send you the images they use.