Shirt Design Sizing and T Shirt Placement Guide

Are you wondering what size should you make the design for shirts? Or how far down from the color should be? This free printable t-shirt placement guide will help!

Whenever I am making many shirts in different sizes with the same design I start to question the sizing. How large should the design be on an adult large shirt vs a toddler shirt? If you are there rightnow, here are some tips to get the perfect design size and placement of your HTV design on shirts of all sizes.

Professional looking shirts are coming your way with this guide to t-shirt design placement. This can be used with sublimation shirts, iron on vinyl, HTV, or any way you are making shirts.

Shirt Design Size

When using iron-on vinyl it is important to know where to place the design and what size to make the design.

In my personal experience, it has worked out ok to just eyeball the placement of a design onto a shirt. The proper placement comes into question when I am making the same custom t-shirts in various sizes. If you are making shirts in sizes small and extra-large, will the size of your design be the same? What is the perfect placement when the sizes are different?

In my efforts to make this easier for myself, I began to research all about the standard size and placement for heat transfer vinyl designs on shirts. This saves me from having to search “how far down do you put a design on a t-shirt?” over and over again. Not only will I share what I learned, but I also made a printable cheat sheet for you as well!

Logo Placement Guide: Most Popular Placements

Left Chest Design

Left Chest Design is great for button-down shirts, polo shirts, or a small company logo. From the top shoulder seam measure 7-9 inches down, and eyeball an imaginary line centered between the middle line and the side seam. The center of your design will go in that placement. For a larger shirt size you can also measure 4 inches in from the center line for placement. You want to avoid the design going into the armpit area.

Center Chest

Center Chest. For a center chest design, the common placement for the top of the design is 3-3.5″ from the bottom of the neck edging.

Full Front Design

Full Front Design. This print location can be very tricky. You want to avoid the belly area as a general rule of thumb. Instead, center the design more on the chest area rather than the entire center of the shirt. Align the top of the design the same as you would for a center chest print placement. For a fitted shirt, 9″ x 9″ works for most adult sizes, and a 10″ to 11″ wide design is great for a looser fitting shirt.

Back Collar

Back Collar. This is a great location for smaller sizes of designs. Right at eye level, this is a great location for a logo or graphic element. Designs should be about 2 or 3 inches square. The top of the design should be placed around 1-2 inches from the bottom of the collar.

Upper Back

Upper Back – this placement is across the shoulder blades and is typically seen with security or staff work shirts. It’s also the print area for custom bridal denim jackets (get a tutorial here). Designs are usually 12 inches wide and about 6 inches tall.

Full Back

Full Back – great for large designs 12 inches wide and 14 inches tall. This is a great place for larger designs on adult shirts for women; it’s much easier to read than the oversize front placement.

Sleeve Designs

Sleeve Designs – For short-sleeved shirts the design should be about 3″ square. The bottom of the design is placed about an inch above the hem. For a long sleeve, a vertical design can be about 2 inches wide and up to 11 inches tall.

DOWNLOAD THE T-SHIRT PLACEMENT GUIDE HERE

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