How to order custom teamwear: a practical brief for your next order
Ordering custom teamwear is easier when you have the right information ready before you ask for a quote. If you are coordinating a school, club, sports team or company order, the main challenge is often not the design itself. It is gathering the details that let us build the right garments, artwork and production-ready brief from the start.
At CRC Clothing & Branding, we support custom apparel manufacturing and design from Rosslyn, Pretoria. That means we can help you move from an idea to a clear order brief for custom sportswear, teamwear and coordinated apparel. The more complete your information is, the smoother the custom teamwear order process becomes.
Start with the garments you actually need
The first step is to decide what you want to order. Before you think about logos or names, confirm the garment types and the purpose of each item. That helps you avoid mixing up a sports kit order with a casual team clothing order, and it makes it easier for us to guide the design and production steps that follow.
Common options include sports kits, tracksuits, hoodies, polo shirts, T-shirts and jackets or other outerwear. Some groups only need one item type, while others need a coordinated range for different uses. A school might need teamwear for sport and staff apparel for events. A club might need match wear and warm-up layers. A business might want branded clothing for a group or campaign.
When you are preparing to order custom sports kits or other custom teamwear, list each garment separately. That gives you a clearer brief and helps us understand what belongs in the order. If you already know that some items should be produced with sublimation printing and others with embroidery, include that too. If you are not sure, send what you have and we will help you work through the options.
It also helps to confirm which garments are essential and which are optional. If some items depend on budget, this is the point to separate the must-have pieces from the extras. That keeps the order focused and avoids confusion later.
Set quantities by group and garment
Once you know what you are ordering, the next step is quantities. This is where many teamwear orders slow down, because the total number is not always the same as the number for each garment type. A full order might include a different quantity for shirts, shorts, tracksuits or jackets, depending on who needs what.
Think in terms of the actual group. Are you ordering for one team, one school year, one club squad or a company group? Then break the total into garment quantities. If only some members need certain items, note that separately. That helps us prepare a more accurate quote and gives a clearer picture of the full order.
It is also worth checking whether the roster is fixed or still changing. If players, learners or staff are likely to be added or removed, confirm that before you submit the brief. A small change in the group can affect the quantities for every item in the order. The more up to date your list is, the easier it is to move forward.
If you are managing more than one size run or more than one team, keep each group separate in your notes. A simple breakdown can save time later and reduce the chance of order errors.
Collect sizing before you request the quote
Sizing is one of the most useful parts of a team clothing checklist, because it affects both fit and production planning. It is also one of the easiest details to miss if you are rushing the order. Before you contact us, make sure you have a size for every person or a clear size distribution for each garment type.
A practical method is to create a list of names with sizes next to them. If you do not need individual names, you can still note sizes by quantity. For example, you may have several small, medium and large items in one garment type, and a different size run for another. That is enough to help us understand the order structure.
If your group uses size charts, share the measurements or the chart reference that guided your choices. If you are collecting sizes from many people, ask each person to confirm their preferred fit before you finalise the list. This is especially useful for schools, clubs and companies where the order includes different body shapes and age groups.
Good sizing information helps us design and prepare the order correctly. It also reduces the chance of rework caused by missing details or unclear size allocations. In a sportswear order guide, sizing is not just a technical step. It is one of the main ways to keep the full process organised.
Choose your colours and team identity
After sizing, move to colour. Your colours help define the team identity, so it is useful to decide early on the main colour and any supporting colour combinations. If your group already has established colours, use those as the starting point. If not, decide what should feel consistent across the full range.
Share your colour references with us as clearly as possible. That might include existing garments, branding references or a simple note on the colours you want to keep. If your order includes multiple items, confirm whether every garment should match exactly or whether some pieces can vary while still staying coordinated.
Colour decisions matter because they affect the overall look of the final teamwear. They also help us prepare the design approach for your order, whether you are producing custom sportswear, staff apparel or coordinated apparel across different team roles.
If you are ordering for a school, club or business with an existing identity, list the approved colours in one place. That makes the next step easier and keeps the rest of the brief aligned.
Prepare logos and branding files
Logos are often the part people leave until the end, but they are central to the design process. Before you send your brief, gather every logo or branding asset that needs to appear on the garments. That includes school, club, team, sponsor or company logos, depending on what the order needs.
Send the clearest version you have. If there are multiple versions of a logo, name them so they are easy to identify. Simple file names such as ClubLogo_Primary or SponsorLogo can help keep everything organised. If you know which version should be used on which item, note that in the brief.
It also helps to include any placement ideas you already have. You do not need to finalise the full artwork layout on your own. We can help guide the design support process once we know where the branding needs to sit and which garments it will appear on.
If you only have a low-resolution image or a basic logo file, send it anyway. What you have is still useful as a starting point. The important thing is to include the branding early, not after the rest of the order has already been discussed.
Add names and numbers only if the kit needs them
Some teams need names and numbers on their garments, while others do not. If your order includes personalised kit, collect that information before you request the quote. The easiest way is to build a table that includes the name, number and size for each person.
Check every spelling carefully. A single incorrect letter can create problems later, especially when you are ordering for a full squad or a large group. If numbers are involved, confirm whether each number is already assigned or still needs to be allocated. If your group uses a specific numbering system, include that as part of the brief.
You can also note any preference for placement if you already know it. For example, some orders may need names and numbers in a specific position on the garment. If you are unsure, we can help you work through the options once we see the order details.
For larger group orders, a simple spreadsheet is often the easiest way to stay organised. Keep the list clean and consistent so that nothing gets lost between the request and the proof stage.
Get the artwork and approval details ready
Once the garments, quantities, sizes, colours, logos, names and numbers are in place, the final step is to prepare the artwork details and approval information. This is where the order becomes production-ready. It is also where a complete brief saves time, because we can confirm the details with you more efficiently.
At this point, the goal is not to overcomplicate the design. It is to make sure the information is clear enough for us to guide the next stage properly. If you have reference files, mock-up ideas or layout preferences, include them with the brief. If you do not, send the core details first and we will help shape the artwork with you.
- garment types confirmed
- quantities listed per item
- sizes confirmed for each person or group
- colours and references noted
- logos and branding files attached
- names and numbers checked for spelling and accuracy
- placement preferences included where needed
- any special instructions written clearly
This is the point where the order brief becomes easy to review. If something is missing, it is much simpler to fix it here than after the design has already been discussed. A clear approval stage keeps the custom teamwear order process moving in the right direction.
Build the custom teamwear brief, then request your quote
Before you ask for a quote, build the order information first. That means gathering your garment choices, quantities, sizes, colours, logos, names, numbers and any artwork details that matter to the final result. When you send a complete brief, we can support you more effectively through design and production planning.
CRC works with custom apparel, custom sportswear, sports kits and coordinated teamwear from Rosslyn, Pretoria. If you are ready to order custom teamwear, gather the details, review them once, and then send us the brief together with your quote request.
Request a quote with a complete teamwear brief
If you have the order details ready, send them through to CRC and we will help you move from brief to artwork review with less back-and-forth. A complete team clothing checklist makes the process easier for everyone, especially when you are managing a school, club, team or business order.