christine@hatricksportswear.com
Find Us on Facebook!Custom Apparel Questions, Answered — Norton, MA
The questions we actually get asked.
Minimums, turnaround, file formats, rush jobs, and what to do when you don’t have a logo. If yours isn’t here, call or text and ask.
Most of these came up on the phone, usually from somebody who’d already spent twenty minutes on a national website trying to find the answer. We’ve tried to answer them the way we’d answer them out loud.
And no, we don’t only do sports — the name comes from hockey, but plenty of our work is businesses and workwear, restaurants, nonprofits and events.
If something here is close to your situation but not quite it, that’s normal. Every order is a little different. To start one, call or text 781-727-5417, email christine@hatricksportswear.com, or send the quote form — what you want, roughly how many, and when you need it is enough to get a price and a proof.
Minimum Order and How Ordering Custom Apparel Works
What’s your minimum order?
There isn’t one. One piece or one thousand — on shirts, hoodies, hats, tumblers, all of it. Most shops need you to hit twelve or twenty-four before they’ll turn the press on. We don’t work that way, and we never have.
Can I order just one shirt?
Yes. People do it all the time. A replacement jersey for the kid whose bag went missing, one embroidered polo for a new hire, a single retirement gift. It’s a real order and we’ll treat it like one. Larger runs get better per-piece pricing, and we’ll tell you where those breaks fall so you can decide, but nobody gets turned away for ordering one.
Can I reorder later?
Yes, and it’s easy. Your artwork stays on file. Call and say “another dozen of the navy ones” and we’ll go from there. Reorders are usually quicker than the original because the art is already set.
Mixing sizes, colors and garment styles in one order is normal too — youth and adult, tees and hoodies with the same chest print. If a combination costs more than you’d expect, we’ll flag it before you commit.
Turnaround Time and Deadlines on Custom Orders
How long does an order take?
Standard turnaround is 10 to 14 business days from art approval. Note that it’s from approval, not from the day you call — if the proof sits in somebody’s inbox for a week, the clock hasn’t started. That’s the one part of the timeline you control, and groups that approve same-day almost always get their gear early.
Do you do rush orders?
Often, yes. About a week is doable more often than you’d think. But we won’t promise it before we’ve looked at the job, because rush depends on what the garment is, whether it’s in stock, and what’s already on the schedule. Ask us with your date and we’ll give you a real answer. We’d rather say no than miss it.
We need these by a specific date. Can you tell us if it’s possible?
Yes, and we’d rather you ask early. Give us the date first and we’ll work backward and tell you when we need art approved and sizes locked. If it doesn’t work, we’ll say so instead of taking the order and hoping.
What slows jobs down most often is the same three things every time: waiting on proof approval, a sizing list nobody finished, and low-resolution artwork that has to be rebuilt.
What are your busy times of year?
Baseball and softball order in February and March. Football, soccer and field hockey in July and August. Basketball and hockey in October and November. Beanies run October through December, caps April through July, class shirts and field day in spring, homecoming September and October.
If your season is on that list, ordering two or three weeks earlier than you think you need to is the cheapest insurance there is.
Artwork and Logo Files for Printing and Embroidery
What file format do you need for my logo?
Vector is what we want: .ai, .eps, .pdf or .svg. If you had a logo professionally designed, the designer has one of those even if what you’ve been emailing around is a JPEG. It’s worth asking them for the original files — they’re yours.
What if I don’t have a vector file, or any logo at all?
Send whatever you’ve got. A PNG, a JPEG, a screenshot off your own website, a photo of an old shirt. We can usually work with it, and if we can’t, we’ll rebuild the logo properly so it’s clean at any size — and it’s yours to keep.
If you have nothing yet, we’ll create one. New teams, new businesses, new events: somebody has to make the first logo, and we’ve made a lot of them. A sketch, a couple of examples you like, or a description in a text message is enough to start.
What’s a vector file and why do you need one?
A vector file is built from shapes rather than pixels, so it stays sharp whether it’s an inch wide on a hat or fourteen inches across the back of a hoodie. A JPEG is a fixed grid of pixels — blow it up and the edges go soft and jagged, and that softness prints. It’s the difference between a logo that looks professional on the field and one that looks like it came off a phone screen.
Do you charge for artwork or setup?
Most of the time it’s included, and we’ll tell you upfront either way. If a job needs real design work — building a logo from scratch, redrawing something complicated, or a multi-color separation that takes serious time — we’ll say so when we quote it. You’ll never find a fee on the invoice you didn’t know about.
What is digitizing?
Embroidery machines don’t read a picture — they read a stitch file telling the needle where to go, in what order, in which thread color. Turning your logo into that file is digitizing, and it’s done once per design. The digitizer sets stitch direction and density, which is why the same logo can look crisp from one shop and lumpy from another. Once it’s digitized, it’s on file and every reorder runs off it.
Will you send me a proof before you print?
Always. Nothing goes on a press or a machine until you’ve seen it and said yes. Check the spelling, the size on the garment, and the colors — those are the three things people wish they’d looked at.
Can you print a college or pro team logo?
Not without permission. Licensed marks — pro teams, colleges, big brands — need authorization from the license holder, and school logos usually need sign-off from the school or district. If your group has the rights, send the approval along. If not, we’ll design something that’s clearly yours.
Choosing Between Screen Printing, Embroidery and Other Methods
Screen printing or embroidery — which should I choose?
Rough rule: if it’s cotton and it goes on a torso, screen print it. If it’s a polo, a jacket, a hat, a bag or a fleece, embroider it.
Screen printing lays ink into the fabric, so it’s the right call for tees, hoodies and anything you want in quantity. Embroidery is stitched thread, so it reads as more finished on collared and outerwear pieces and survives industrial laundering. More on screen printing and embroidery.
We’re doing 40 hoodies for a youth hockey team. What would you actually recommend?
Screen print the big logo, one or two colors, on the front or back. At forty pieces screen printing is comfortably the best value and the print will outlast the season by years.
Then embroider the coaches’ quarter-zips — three or four pieces where embroidery makes them look like staff, and where the piece count is too low for screen printing to be worth the setup. If parents want last names on the back, that’s a heat-applied name in team colors, and we’ll ask you to lock the roster before we start, because a name added after the fact costs more than a name added before.
What is DTF and when is it better?
DTF is a transfer printed in full color and heat-pressed onto the garment. It earns its place in two situations: full-color artwork with photographs, gradients or a dozen colors, where screen printing would need a screen per color; and small counts spread across mixed garments, where you’d otherwise pay setup on every variation.
For a hundred two-color tees, screen printing wins on price and feel. For twelve pieces across eight garment styles, DTF wins outright. More on DTF and other methods.
Can you match my exact colors?
Usually, yes. On screen printing we mix to standard ink references and hold a specific team color reliably. On embroidery we match to the closest thread in the range — very close, but the range is fixed. On DTF and full-color printing the colors are strong, though ink on fabric never looks identical to the same color on a backlit phone screen. If you have a Pantone or a team color, tell us at the start and we’ll show it on the proof.
What holds up best in the wash?
Properly cured screen printing and embroidery both go years, not seasons. Print cracking after four washes is a curing problem, not a screen printing problem. If a set of shirts you owned before flaked apart, that’s what happened.
Hats are the same story — embroidered caps and beanies survive a season without complaint, and puff or 3D embroidery makes the logo stand up off the front panel.
Still Have a Question About Your Custom Order?
Send us a logo, a quantity and a date. We’ll tell you what’s possible.
Garments, Brands and Sizing for Custom Shirts
Do you carry youth sizes?
Yes — youth through adult 4XL on most items. Youth and adult in the same order is normal for a school or a youth program, and we’ll sort the delivery so you’re not opening every bag to find out what’s in it.
Can you print on shirts I already have?
Often, yes — it depends on the garment and the method. Standard cotton or cotton-blend tees in good condition we can usually print.
The catch is that customer-supplied garments carry risk on both sides: we don’t know how that fabric will behave under heat, and a piece ruined in production can’t be replaced from our stock. We’ll walk through it with you before taking the job, and we’ll say so when buying blanks is the safer call.
Which t-shirt should we pick, and what brands do you carry?
Depends who’s wearing it. For a fundraiser or giveaway where cost per shirt matters, a standard cotton tee. For something people will wear again — a class shirt, a reunion, staff gear — a softer retail-fit tee is the single easiest upgrade to make an order look expensive. For anyone sweating in it, performance fabric.
We carry Nike, Carhartt, Port Authority, Sport-Tek, New Era, Under Armour, OGIO, District, Bella+Canvas, Independent, Richardson, Comfort Colors, YETI, Boxercraft and many more, so tell us the use and we’ll narrow forty options down to two. See products and brands.
Can you do names and numbers on jerseys?
Yes — names, numbers, captain patches, sponsor logos on the back. Lock your roster before we start. That’s the one that saves everybody money.
Online Team Stores and Apparel Fundraising
How does an online team store work?
We build a store with your group’s designs and garments, you share one link, and everyone orders and pays for their own item in their own size. No order forms in backpacks, no cash in an envelope, no sizing spreadsheet. The store closes, we print everything and get it to you.
Free to set up, no inventory to buy, and your group never handles any money. There’s no minimum group size either: if three people order, we print three. Your only job is sharing the link and reminding people before the store closes. Full detail on online team stores.
How long does a store stay open for?
Two weeks is the sweet spot — long enough that everyone gets to it, short enough that it stays urgent. We can leave it open longer, and year-round stores work well for companies and larger programs.
What percentage does our group keep on a fundraiser?
You choose how it works. Either you add a set dollar amount to each item, or you take an agreed percentage of the store’s sales. Both are common and neither is better — the flat amount is easier to explain to parents, the percentage scales better across mixed items.
When the store closes, we cut your organization a check. We’ll talk you through the numbers for your specific store on the phone. More on fundraising.
How do orders get delivered?
Three ways, your choice. One bulk drop sorted and ready to hand out — most schools and teams pick this. Individual shipping straight to each person, useful when your group is spread out. Or pickup by appointment. Plenty of groups mix the two: bulk for the roster, shipping for the grandparents in Florida.
Working With a Local Custom Apparel Shop in Norton, MA
Do you have a storefront I can visit?
We’re in Norton, by appointment only. It’s a working production space rather than a walk-in shop, and an appointment means you get someone’s full attention instead of catching them mid-run. Call or text and we’ll set a time.
Can I text you?
Yes, please do. 781-727-5417 takes calls and texts. Texting a photo of a logo, a screenshot of a sizing list, or a quick “is this doable by the 14th?” is completely normal here and it’s usually the fastest way to get an answer.
What areas do you serve?
We’re based in Norton and work across Southeastern Massachusetts — Attleboro, North Attleborough, Mansfield, Foxborough, Taunton, Easton, Plainville, Wrentham, Franklin, Bridgewater, Raynham, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Sharon, Stoughton, Canton and Walpole among them. We ship anywhere, but the local advantage is real: we can drop the boxes at the school. Full service area.
Who will I be dealing with, and when are you open?
The same people every time — family owned and operated, no account manager rotation. If you called us three years ago, you’ll be talking to the same person. Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, with appointments outside those hours when that’s what works. A lot of our customers are coaches and business owners who can’t take a call at 2pm.
What happens if something is wrong with our order?
Call us. Mistakes happen in any shop that makes physical things — the difference is whether you can reach someone who can fix it. We’d rather hear about it and make it right.
Didn’t See Your Question?
Call, text, or send us the details. You’ll get a real answer from a person who knows the job.
Family owned in Norton, Massachusetts since 2006 · No minimums · Monday–Friday 9–5, by appointment