# What type of t-shirts are you using for your rhinestone designs and were are you purchasing them?



## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

Up until this point I have always just sold the Iron on rhinestone transfer for the customer to put on the item of their choice. But I am seriously thinking of starting 2011 off with offering my customers the choice to purchase the transfer only or the design pressed on a t-shirt. 

I have invested in a heatpress this year so my next step would be to find a t-shirt supplier. I do have a tax id so I can buy wholesale. I live in Michigan and I would like to find someone that would be a 1 or 2 day delivery and also who will not make me purchase large quantities of the same size. I would like to be able to mix and match sizes as well as colors. The style I am looking for would be a ladies medium thickness (nothing too sheer), preferably a longer length shirt with a nice ladies style fit and a cotton blend material. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

<~~~ check the preferred vendor listings

Best Brands to choose from

Anvil- 978 Womens
Bella- B8701 or 8701 longer length
Gilden-64000L Womens Softstyle

Also, the other popular items American Apparel, Tultex and Hanes


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

SanMar - The Nation's Premier Supplier of Wholesale Imprintable Apparel & Accessories has a warehouse in Ohio....Bodek And Rhodes has warehouse in MI and PA


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## LEO (Oct 10, 2006)

I like the LAT brand.
They make Girls/Juniors and Women sizes.
Lots of colors.
Excellent fabric.
I get mine from Virginia tees.

LEO


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## irish (Dec 13, 2008)

One Stop and S & S should both be only 1 day ... maybe 2 for you and have great shirts and prices. One Stop has their own house brand, Enza, which has some great fashions.

One Stop - America's Best Supplier

https://www.ssactivewear.com/


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## Twanabee (Sep 14, 2009)

I use Bodek & Rhodes as I live close to the MA warehouse and no min. I am finding that the Next levil shirts are great to stone and sell well. I little form fitting but look great.


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## Eview1 (Apr 29, 2010)

Since you live in Mich. you could try Alpha they have warehouses in Chigago and PA https://www.alphashirt.com/cgi-bin/online/webalp/alp-index.w


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

I think youll be better off trying to sell it as a completed item in the long run.I always get nervous that they will get ruined in the mail.I know how delicate you need to be with these transfers when making them.


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## jean518 (Sep 23, 2009)

If your rhinestones are meant to be put on with a heat press they may not adhere well with a home iron. Too much out of your control. My rhinestones have a heat press setting of 330 with a 20 second dwell time. Household irons do not get that hot and 20 seconds is a long time to hold an iron in one position. They should also have some type of protective sheet such as teflon pressing sheet. I only supply transfers to those who have a heat press and send pressing instructions along with the transfers. I do allow customers to supply their own garment/item. That happens rarely. The more control you have over the finished product, the better.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

Leg cramps said:


> I think youll be better off trying to sell it as a completed item in the long run.I always get nervous that they will get ruined in the mail.I know how delicate you need to be with these transfers when making them.


I have to tell you that I have been selling transfers only for the past 3-1/2 years and I have never had a customer email me telling me that their transfer arrived in less than perfect shape. They are actually pretty darn each to ship. I sandwich my transfers between two pieces for cardboard, tape it up real good, put them in a clasp type envelope and tape it up and have had no complaints. I actually stopped purchasing bubble mailers about a year and a half ago because they were so darn expensive and just the standard clasp type envelope works great as long as you have the cardboard for protection.

I'm just ready for a change and I do get a lot of inquiries for the people who just don't like to apply the design themselves. Thanks to all of you who have given me some great leads. I'll be spending most of my shutdown time researching shirts and companies.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Home irons definitely get hot enough. I've used mine to heat press stones onto shirts and then laundered those shirts MANY times without losing a stone. You do need to make sure you press the design completely... not missing any spots due to the surface of the iron not completely covering the design. And I avoid using the narrower front of the iron and focus on the main wider base. 

Note that I'm not recommending ANY business depend on a home iron for pressing shirts! It's well worth the investment to get a heat press. But I teach my crafting customers how to do this because they are eager to try out the rhinestone process themselves and make gifts for friends and family. It works just fine for small projects.


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

SandyMcC said:


> Home irons definitely get hot enough. I've used mine to heat press stones onto shirts and then laundered those shirts MANY times without losing a stone. You do need to make sure you press the design completely... not missing any spots due to the surface of the iron not completely covering the design. And I avoid using the narrower front of the iron and focus on the main wider base.
> 
> Note that I'm not recommending ANY business depend on a home iron for pressing shirts! It's well worth the investment to get a heat press. But I teach my crafting customers how to do this because they are eager to try out the rhinestone process themselves and make gifts for friends and family. It works just fine for small projects.


I have to agree with Sandy...I did not purchase my first heatpress until just this summer and a home iron worked great for all of the designs that I pressed for myself and my friends. I think the key for me was to make sure enough pressure was applied to the iron and not use to thick of a cloth for over the top of the design. Actually I recommend using a thick piece of paper towel and apply the iron at a cotton setting for 30 seconds. Works like a charm and no complaints from my customers


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## jean518 (Sep 23, 2009)

What prompted my statement is that I have talked to many at shows/bazaars, etc who say "those just fall off as soon as they are laundered". When I ask how were they applied, the answer is always with my home iron. I have no clue where they got their transfers. I applied transfers that I purchased from vendors at quilt shows with my home iron. They always seemed to hold up well. In fact, I have a couple that have been on for five years or more and are just now beginning to come loose. When you get the human factor in there, you never know how they are going to apply the stones. If I do sell a transfer to someone who has a home iron, I caution them that strict adherence to the pressing and laundering instructions is necessary for good results. I am glad you have had good results. I just know what I have encountered when dealing with the "human element". All it takes is one person saying that the stones fell off and you are doomed even if the transfer did not come from you. I have never had complaints about my items that I have sold since I have been using a heat press. I did not sell transfers or items with rhinestones on them before getting my DAS system. Just did not want to deal with it.


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

This thread is funny cause a Rhinestone company just called me. They sell RhineStone transfers and also apply them to the garments for you. 

I don't know what they charge, but they're local to me. I'll see if I can go buy and check out their shop. I'm sure they're planning on coming by my shop too. 

Maybe I should get into selling rhinestone products. After all, it worked for the Cowboy! Lol.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

I think the problem is that people aren't using pressure... they think they're supposed to just "iron them on", like they are ironing wrinkles out of a shirt, versus pressing firmly for a specific length of time and then moving to the next spot. Even when I email out my tutorial, I still emphasize in the email how important it is to PRESS and not iron. So, it doesn't surprise me to hear this.


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Sandy, Phone Classes? How interesting is that? Does it work?

Have you tried having Skype Classes? Then you could see their setups too. Do you give them free classes when they buy your products?


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

95% of my online sales are for transfers only. I sell very few items with the transfers applied online. My instructions for application advise people that to obtain the maximum "life" for their transfers, they should be applied with a heat press. However, I do include instructions for using a household iron. For those who don't have a heat press, I recommend that they purchase the shirt/design combination, or they can ship me their specific items and I will apply the transfers for an additional pressing fee.

ALL of my local work is apparel/transfer combination, unless it's a decal


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Yes, I give at least 3 hours of private classes with the purchase of a cutter... more depending on which cutter. KNK and ACS Studio have VNC built-in, so I can connect to my customers' computers to show them things while we're having the phone class. It's worked great for the past 4 years.


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Good for you Sandy. Also glad to see you have a retreat. That's cool too.


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## My Shirt Connect (Jan 24, 2010)

Bodekandrhodes.com has a new brand called Next Level. The are cut like Bella but the prices are much less. We've had much success with Next Level and would recommend this brand to anyone.

Brian : )


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

We like BodekandRhodes too. I love their contest.


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## Downtowndesignz (Jul 29, 2010)

good info thanks!!


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

Just remember that the Next level shirts and bella's are a tight fit ,,tee,, they are awesome shirts, but i would size up, 

At our retail Store, we have a tee there in each brand and and sizes so they can be tried on when orders are being made,,,
So insure that they are getting the sizes they really want,,

Also remember on these thin shirts and burnouts to put something inside the shirt,, so you dont have glue flow thru the shirt,,, and glue the shirt together,,, 

Gildan softstyle are a nice shirt as well. 

MMM


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## Amandazon247 (Dec 2, 2010)

next level has their own site too if you want to use them .. Chris is super nice and they ship pretty fast.. I havent had a problem with anyone I have ordered from.. Jiffyshirts and next level.. I am looking at ROYAL I think the proces might be better but they require an account .. I really love the next level burnouts and deep vnecks.


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## RhinestoneFetish (May 8, 2009)

Bella's do run small, but they seem to be what I get the most requests for


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## CyberSultan (Aug 25, 2008)

We use and get a lot of requests for Bella as well. LAT is another brand we use and one that our customers really like. We purchase mostly from JiffyShirts.com. Great customer service and it only takes 1 day for delivery to us. Haven't used the Next Level shirts yet, but will be trying those out based on others comments about them here at TSF!


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Sizing people and getting them a shirt they like can be a challange. I have been working with alot of bella,(the city girls are skinny ,young and like the fitted styles).then i have what I call unisex shirts.these are the basic gildan line of shirts.
Just had another conversation with an event planner.His marketing girls that he hires to do events are looking into rhinestoning the bella line.Things like cotton spandex boyshorts,ect...
everyone wants something different...when people start asking can you do this can you do that I interupt them and say hey listen...I can put your name on toilet paper if thats what ya want,how about your own chocolate bar?Trick to this is you gotta know how to get these things done.if you dont youll find yourself into trouble.
Different manufacturers have different sizing.find a couple vendors and styles that cover all women/men.Ill have to check out that LAT line see if there is anything good.


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