October Textiles Limited

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About October Textiles Limited

October is a t shirt printing, screen printing, garment sourcing and embroidery supplier established in 1990. We source a wide range of clothing and accessories to fit the most demanding of specifications. Although we print and embroider for a variety of sectors, our speciality is fashion.

10 ways to stay alive as a fashion business start up
April 3, 2016 12:07 pm Comments Off on 10 ways to stay alive as a fashion business start up
For many new brands, it’s not about 10 ways to stay alive as a fashion business start up, it’s more like 10 ways to cut and stick bits of fuzzy felt, or 10 ways to crayon in pictures with your tongue poking out the side of your mouth. That’s all rather marvelous, but to stay alive in the notoriously impossible world of the fashion business, is another matter.

Here are a few tips for a fashion business start up that might help, you never know.

1) Write a proper business plan. YAWN! Yes we know, writing a business plan is almost as boring as Downton Abbey. This is the fashion business, and it should be more fun! We agree, and although it was thirty years ago, our under parts still twist and shrink at the very memory of writing our business plan. And then it transpires of course that reality bears no resemblance to what you’ve written – how the hell do we know how much money we’ll make in the third quarter of year two? It forces us to consider the main issues however, and that’s the key. What are all our overheads, what might our margins be, who are our customers, what is our marketing strategy, who are our rivals, and might there be enough money left over to eat? It is incredible how many new fashion brands don’t write a proper business plan. Don’t join them.

2) Look carefully at your competition. This does not mean go shopping, and be fascinated that your 10 favourite brands have all released a new vest. Common phrases in our industry when referring to other brands are, ‘They’re smashing it’, and ‘They’re having it away’. Our usual answer to this is, ‘Have you seen their accounts’? And the standard answer is ‘Well, no.’ Many fashion brands are limited companies, whose accounts are available to view at Companies House, online. You won’t get a full picture, but it will give you an idea. If the brand you would most like to be is showing net assets that amount to a conker and some fluff, stop chasing their failed dream, and do it differently. Conversely, if they are ‘Smashing it’ why are they? Figure that out, and follow their lead. Please do this thing, and try not to be arrogant, imagining others can’t do it but you can. If a bunch of people have tried it one way, done a decent job and failed miserably, maybe choose not to go over the same cliff.

3) Range plan. We might be a fashion business start up, but we want to look like a proper brand, so we need a full range of product, which costs money. Where else but here do you get such amazing insight? Ok, but it’s surprising how many new brands don’t plan a range out across the seasons in advance. Get a wish list of product mapped out month by month across the year. We may need to stagger how we buy this to be able to afford it, but the key is, momentum. Don’t release a small run of T shirts until the range and all its costs has been budgeted for in an achievable way, as the year unfolds. Or we will lose momentum = death.

4) Talk to your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband and cat. Have we seen a fashion business start up lead to flying saucepans, divorce, and a small war in Tunbridge Wells? Yes. Look your girlfriend in the eye, hold your boyfriend’s hand, talk seriously to your wife or husband, and have a strong word with the cat. This fashion brand may mean that in month 11, we have planned to release a new polo shirt. It’s lovely, with a high definition woven badge, gorgeous labelling, packaging, and a scented tissue paper insert. But it means we can’t have that sofa, the new car is on hold, the trip to the beach hut in Mustique is delayed, and the cat’s new flea collar will have to wait. Will our significant others truly understand. Will the cat bugger off? It’s a really big thing the fashion business. Talk it through.

5) Collaborate. Make Friends. Follow your instincts. The fashion business you may be amazed to hear, contains a few self-obsessed knob ends who wouldn’t help an old lady across the street (unless it was a good photo opportunity). Give these clowns a big swerve – no matter how influential they might be, they’ll shaft you in the end. Instead, follow your instincts, and if you see a chance to make friends, wade in, go to each other’s house for a barbecue, get drunk. If we collaborate with one other label, then we are twice as strong. Share each other’s social media posts, tell each other which trade shows work, and where to find a nice fabric, or a good manufacturer. Do we really think that if we collaborate it will dilute our brand’s impact? There are a million brands out there, and it doesn’t matter a monkey’s chuff if we work with a few of them. Feel the love, work together, hold hands and take over the world – peace.

6) Never give up. We mean it. Never. Don’t be a fashion business start up, be a fashion business keep going! That doesn’t mean flog a dead horse. If it turns out that the Eskimos are not buying your lightweight summer G-strings, fair dos, try something different and more thermal. But never give up. Always keep a couple of quid set aside for plan B, and you’ll live to fight another day. Which leads us to the main reason why people often do give up.

7) Unreasonable expectations, and time. A recent study at the University of Somewhere or Other, concluded that the secret of happiness lies in having reasonable expectations. Hope for too much, and you’ll be sadly disappointed. Balancing this with ambition is a tricky thing, and one for a therapist rather than an old screen printer. But give it thought. Many a brand gives up because they haven’t bought a Bentley in their first year. It won’t happen, it takes time, but one day it can.
8) The Holy Trinity for the fashion business start up. God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus? Brian Clough Robin Hood and Nottingham? No. In fashion terms it is story, customer, and an affordable marketing channel between the two. Have a story you believe in, a focused group of people who will want to hear it, and an affordable way to bring these two together, and you’re in with a chance. If any one of these members of the Holy Trinity are missing, we will never make it to the Promised Land.

9) Listen to old people. It can take a lifetime to build a fashion brand, and unless you’re James Bond, you only get one. Why waste yours when there are those who’ve trodden the path before you, fallen down a few holes and know where they still are. The best advice we ever had was not from a ‘How to run a business’ book or some fashion buyer in a big fur hat. It was from Harry Harris on Berwick Street, at the back of Fabric Tony’s lock up, and from Henry Posner, who could cut your braces and sell you a belt before your trousers hit the floor. We are invisible in the bright light of their genius, and can only hope we picked up a few tips from them along the way. Stay humble, keep learning. Listen to old people.

10) Have fun, that’s what being a fashion business start up is all about, and if we can’t do that at the outset, we’re screwed.
Wild old ladies in a crazy knitting attack
April 1, 2016 11:36 am Comments Off on Wild old ladies in a crazy knitting attack
Crocheted Die Neue Frankfurter Schule

News is just emerging of another crazy crochet knitting attack, believed to have been perpetrated by what the police have referred to as an unstoppable gang of, ‘wild old ladies’ You may wish to take exception with the collective noun used by the authorities, in that such an ensemble would not be a ‘gang’, but perhaps a ‘zimmer’ or a ‘large sherry’ of wild old ladies, but that would be splitting a blue rinsed hair. The point is, that after a recent break out at the Shady Pines Rest Home Chipping Norton, (for Ladies of Local Standing), there had been a marked increase in what is now known as ‘Yarn Bombing’, a kind of textile based graffiti.

According to Detective Superintendent Arthur Werther, of the Chipping Norton Constabulary, ‘If it stands still for more than half an hour, it’s likely to get knitted’. He went on to say that although the handiwork of the swift needled assassins is plain to see, the national network of these craft based attack squads is becoming increasingly tricky to unravel.

History

Fifi – Crocheted Citroen 2CV

The practice does have history however, and was initially conceived of in the US, where Texas knitters were trying to find a creative way to use up yarn leftover from their knitting projects.

The origins of the movement have been attributed more specifically to Magda Sayeg, from Houston, who says she ‘first got the idea in 2005, when she covered the door handle of her boutique with a custom-made cozy’.

This is all well and good, but what began as a clever way to keep a door handle warm, has now warped into a graffiti style knitted vandalism. It is especially prevalent in the Nottingham area, thanks to a clandestine collective called ‘I think I’ve Just Knit Myself’.

Where they differ is in their speed of attack, enabling them to knit otherwise moveable objects, once considered impossible. An undisclosed local has disclosed, that during a recent trip to Asda in West Bridgford to buy a cooked chicken, he returned to the car park to discover that his beloved Citroen 2CV had been mercilessly crocheted.

Crocheted scooter

‘The sight of what had happened to Fifi was almost too much to digest’ the victim reported, ‘but I went into shock on the way home when I saw what had happened to a nearby vehicle’.

‘I was only in the shop for five minutes, who the hell can knit that quickly’?

By the time he had removed the car cozy his chicken was stone cold, but in happier news, Asda have given him a £5 George voucher, to purchase any one of their range of three piece suits.

Wild old ladies in a crazy knitting attack? What next?
Lemony Snicket. The Slippery Slope
March 29, 2016 9:26 am Comments Off on Lemony Snicket. The Slippery Slope
“It is easy to decide on what is wrong to wear to a party, such as deep-sea diving equipment or a pair of large pillows, but deciding what is right is much trickier.” Lemony Snicket. The Slippery Slope

And even that might be debateable Mr Lemony Snickett, where deep sea diving equipment at a fancy dress party, or two large pillows at a pyjama party might go down rather well, and be anything but a slippery slope. But when deciding what is right or wrong to wear to a party so many thoughts rush in, bounce off our hearts, ricochet off our heads, flash back from the bedroom mirror and kick us in the danglers, or wherever your personal, painful place might be.

Who else will be there? What might they wear? Should I entirely fit in, entirely stand out, or walk the impossible line in between? Do I feel brave today, brave enough for something neon? Am I afraid today and hiding, in an undergrowth of beige? Should I be smart, because everyone else will be smart? Should I be casual because everyone else will be casual? Should I be smart because everyone else will be casual and so be more visible in my smartness? That’ll show them! But they won’t care anyway will they? Am I too old for these trainers? Am I too young for this hat? Should I shave, or be grizzly? Big silver ring? Small gold ring? Tie, scarf, cravat…velvet, corduroy, flannel…Fisher, Dogger, German Bight? And so the wardrobe vomits a lifetime of fashion gluttony, and as if by the darkest of magic, my carpet disappears.

The Rules.

That’s why they made them, to make it easy to decide what to wear, whoever they were that made the rules: the Elders of the Cloth; The Druids of the Duds; the Once and Future Kings of a Long Forgotten Style. And Bryan Ferry. They made the rules for this very moment. Hedges, quickly, hand me my dress code manual. So, no checks with stripes. Check. No chocolate with navy. Good. Chapter Three, ‘The Expanding Physics of the Horizontal Stripe’ Chapter Four, thank the Lord, ‘The slimming properties of Black’. Brogues mean a single breasted jacket, yes, but a Loafer can require something more double breasted. Now we’re getting somewhere, is the pain lifting a little, can we see through the fog of self-doubt?

No Chance.

Well of course there’s no chance, everything is wrong to wear to a party once your bottle has gone. We may as well rock up in deep sea diving equipment or a pair of large pillows; at least if we keep the helmet on, with the pillows over the top, no one will have a clue who the hell we are. But there is hope, and I was reminded of it last night by the lovely Margaret, and the gorgeous insanity of her husband’s dress code. We will call him Gerald, because that’s his real name.

I have been noticing him for some time, wafting into the bar in entirely riotous attire. In his seventies I’d say, and still breaking every rule in the book. Last night we were treated to the most chequered of shirts, with the stripiest tie. Flaming red loons sat above a cream slip on silver badged moccasin. And all was wrapped in an aggressive orange tweed over coat, from the Hebridean Island of Dunny Giyafook.

And it all worked, in a so wrong it’s entirely right and supremely original kind of way. How can that be I wondered, as the brandy finally had its way with me and I drifted off, radio on, to the reassuring murmur of the shipping forecast?

It worked, because it was him. Because he was measured, calm, and with all the self-assurance of a proper gentleman. Because forty five years later he still adored his wife, and she clearly rather liked him. While his outfit shouted, he spoke quietly. There was balance, order, and a gentle certainty.

So what does Gerald teach us? That if we carry ourselves with care and some consideration Mr Lemony Snickett, it doesn’t matter what is right or wrong to wear to a party. Be it deep-sea diving equipment or a pair of large pillows, a little measure and decency will always avoid, the Slippery Slope.
Embroidered caps & screen printed hooded sweatshirts, for Redbet
March 25, 2016 6:33 pm Comments Off on Embroidered caps & screen printed hooded sweatshirts, for Redbet
We’d admit to being more knowledgeable on Snap and Gin Rummy than high stakes poker, but when Redbet Online Casino approached us to produce their embroidered caps and screen printed hooded sweatshirts, it was a very welcome challenge.
Redbet started their business in 2002, launching their online casino in 2004. They have subsequently established themselves as one of the top gaming websites on the European market. They offer a variety of gambling options, with poker, casino games and sports betting. Immediately apparent was the simplicity of their website, unlike many of the alternatives which have enough flashing banners to make you wonder if you need to gamble, or start dancing. As such it was only right that their embroidered caps and screen printed hooded sweatshirts, were equally simple and clean. But the level of quality they required, meant that we were able to go the extra mile.

Screen printed hooded sweatshirts.

Challenge number one, was that they wanted a high build white ink, screen printed across the zip of hooded sweatshirts. This would be highly unwise to attempt with an off the shelf garment – the ink would spread over the zip and look untidy. So a full garment manufacturing process was the way forward. The hooded sweatshirt needed to be a heavy bright red fleece, so 400 gram fabric was used. Panels were then cut prior to manufacture, meaning we could screen print the design first onto one flat panel, and then cut that down the middle to insert the zip. This means that the print fits neatly into the zip seam. Redbet specified a wide calico cord for the hooded sweatshirt, back neck labels and high definition woven hem tabs. These were all added to give the finished garment a high end retail look. It goes without saying that as usual, our hooded sweatshirt featured a straight cut body and sleeve, with wide cuff and hem seams to give a clean line and a tailored finish. (Why do we say ‘it goes without saying’, and then say it – will have a think about that one).

Embroidered caps.

Challenge number two, was that Redbet wanted red, New Era quality, flat peak snap back embroidered caps. They required a high build 3D front embroidery, woven hem tab, inner Redbet printed taping, and last but most importantly, the red of the cap, needed to match the red of the hooded sweatshirt! This meant that we needed to get the red twill of the cap right first, and then lab dip the fleece fabric of the hooded sweatshirt until we were happy that the dye colour of the two fabrics matched. Once we were happy with that, we could get to work laser cutting the foam which sits behind the embroidered cap logo, to lift it up, and give it a 3D feel. Inner tape was printed with the Redbet logo text, high definition woven labels stitched over the seams, and there we go – clean, minimal punchy graphics, onto a retail quality finished product.

It’s fairly regular, but not every day that corporate customers show this attention to detail when making a cap or hooded sweatshirt. So although we don’t profess to take any bigger gambles than running a screen print and embroidery business, we can quickly assume that should one want to gamble responsibly, that www.redbet.com is a fun, safe, and professional place to be.
Hopefully our embroidered caps and screen printed hooded sweatshirts for Redbet Online Casino, not only look at home in a high stakes gaming room, but would also stand up as high end retail pieces.
How to choose headwear?
March 24, 2016 3:27 pm Comments Off on How to choose headwear?
When we’re wondering how to choose headwear, let’s assume we’re breaking it down into a baseball cap, or a beanie. You may well be considering a Trilby or a Homburg, a Stetson, Fedora or Fez, and God bless you if you are. If so, a quiet chat in the back room of a pub is required. It’s all possible, but it’s going to get more complex.

Let’s start with how to choose a baseball cap.
This is a tricky one, far harder than choosing a beanie. Do we want a flat peak with a snap back – Gangsta? Or a flat peak with a flexfit? Or a pro peak with a fabric tab? Should it be 5 panel? Do we want a contrast underpeak? Contrast button and eyelets? A nice heavy twill, or a Melton wool, and let’s not forget all those truckers out there, steaming the cab up on Route 66. Do we want it to be distressed? And are we getting distressed trying to figure it all out?
To relieve a little stress, would you hate us for saying that although it really matters, in a way, does it really matter? In our humble opinion, and as with trainers, when most people choose their headwear they are extremely brand loyal. We may struggle to get a New Era 39 Thirty disciple into a Supreme cap, or a Norse Projects fan into an Obey Maximus (unless of course New Era hook up with Supreme and start making caps out of Loro Piana wool, giving you the best of both worlds). As such, the chances of us becoming a massive cap brand are slim/probably none. BUT, they are amazing when it comes to getting our brand name across when we have access to a superstar DJ, who’s agreed to be flipping the occasional disk while flashing his cap at the crowd. So just pick the one that you and the mandem will feel happiest reppin, and relax.

What about bespoke caps?
What about bespoke caps, I thought you said we could relax? Well yes, but to make a truly authentic cap, you need to make them from scratch. An off the shelf cap is fine for putting that brand name out there a bit, but if you do really want to try and ‘sell’ them with pride, we’ll need printed inner tape, labels, stickers, contrasts and the full English headwear breakfast. Minimums of 144 per style, gorgeous, and we can totally do it, if you want to go next level.

How to choose a Beanie
When the leaves are falling and the wind is whistling up our sarong, we all start to wonder about how to choose a beanie (and why we still live in England). Do we want wool or acrylic? To turn up, or not to turn up? Should it be a slouch beanie, a classic beanie, or a trawler beanie? Do we want it plain, or in a marl, or with a stripe? How about a standard flat fabric, or maybe with a few raised cable knits. Pom pom? No Pomp pom? Vintage or clean? And what about those nice Nordic patterned, let’s go fishing in the fjord efforts?

To kick off, we’d go for a nice classic turn up. We can do a couple of dozen, but within that 24 if we want an experiment why not do a mix up of some of the above mentioned styles. Say 18 classics, with a couple of slouchers, a few pom poms and a vintage. Launch them out there, and see what the good people say.

Boring Stats
Not our favourite subject, but if you like the boring stats, we should say that in our experience there is a sell through of beanies against caps of around 3-1. So beanies are more successful because a beanie is a beanie, whether you’re DKNY or DKN Nothing, it’s a knitted thing you pull on your head. No instruction manual is required to get in on, even in Derby.

When how to choose headwear turns into how to choose a cap however, it’s more complex, but don’t call Jeremy Kyle, call us 01159 585000
HOW TO CHOOSE A SWEATSHIRT OR A HOODED SWEATSHIRT?
March 23, 2016 11:55 am Comments Off on HOW TO CHOOSE A SWEATSHIRT OR A HOODED SWEATSHIRT?
HEAVYWEIGHT, SEMI FITTED, SWEATSHIRT

HEAVYWEIGHT, SEMI FITTED, POUCH POCKET HOOD

HEAVYWEIGHT SEMI FITTED, ZIP HOOD

We’ll look at these two together perhaps, because deciding how to choose a sweatshirt, or a hooded sweatshirt only has one variable – and it’s called er, a hood. Other than that the same questions apply to both garments, fit, weight, fabric, texture and construction, so maybe let’s not get any trickier than necessary.

Compromise.

When we talked about how to choose a T shirt, we introduced the idea of compromise in the face of all the weights, cuts and fabrics available, but when it comes to sweatshirts and hooded sweatshirts, we’re not going to be so open to variation. We might be a bit stubborn and unreasonable, and just recommend the best option.

Fit – semi-fitted, standard.
Fit – whether they are semi fitted or a more standard cut, this is the first area we’re not going to be flexible about. The only time we’d recommend a standard cut is for workwear, when a right old selection of sizes is required, just in case we’re kitting out the lads at the pie factory. For all other uses we’d go semi fit, mainly to avoid the baggy sided, ballooning sleeve effort, that is the poorly fitting sweatshirt or hooded sweatshirt. Get this wrong, and we’ll look like we’ve been thrown in a big fleecy bag, and then kicked around the car park for fun. They need to fit!

Weight – light weight, mid weight, heavy weight, and grams per square metre (gsm)

Sweatshirt fleece fabric weight is measured in grams per square metre, or gsm, just like a T shirt, where a lightweight sweatshirt might be 220 gsm, a mid-weight 300 gsm, a heavy weight 400 gsm. You could argue that the light weight or mid weight summer sweatshirt or hooded sweatshirt has its place; although where exactly that is in the British fridge is sometimes in doubt. They would tend to be more fitted, soft, textural pieces, to throw over a T shirt on the way back from doing a full cocktail menu at the beach bar. Generally though when it comes to a hood or sweat, we want to be in no doubt that it’s a properly expensive thing. On that basis we always say ‘the heavier the better’. Feel free to disagree, if you enjoy being wrong.

Fabric content – 100% cotton, 50/50 cotton poly, 80/20 cotton poly.

We’ll confess a leaning towards the 100% cotton lovelies, but they’re not always the easiest to find. There are plenty of 80/20’s about though, and we wouldn’t dilute the cotton any more than that for anything fashion based. The only time you might consider a 50/50 is if it’s for workwear, and a really good colour fastness is required during multiple hot washes. If boiling the sweatshirt or hooded sweatshirt up like a bag of old Brussel sprouts isn’t an issue, go 80/20. The only other fabric question is would you like it brushed, or un-brushed? Un-brushed, or loop back as it’s often known, can be preferred by the fashion types with its cleaner looking, non-fluffy insides. The sweat fleece fabrics that have had a damn good brushing however, will give an increased sense of weight. Fabric brushing is a real skill – happy to bore you to death with that one, feel free to give us a shout – 0115 9585000

Texture – peachy, carbon sueded?
What does my sweatshirt or hooded sweatshirt feel like, is it nice and peachy, and has it been carbon sueded? In fact, what the hell is carbon suedeing? Texture in all things is rather important. We want a heavy fabric for sweatshirts and hooded sweatshirts as a rule, but sometimes we want a crisp Scandy look, nice and minimal, and then again we might want something a bit heavier but vintage, soft, and with distress. These fabrics are sometimes made more peachy feely by machinery, that creates abrasion on the top side of the fabric to give it a lovely soft feel – if you like the sound of that, ask for carbon suedeing, and we’ll try and sound knowledgeable.

Construction – how is a sweatshirt or a hooded sweatshirt built?

The biggest down side to some sweat construction, in our ever so humble view, is the narrow rib at cuff and hem. This, with a curved sleeve and body cut, gives a shape that won’t be doing us any favours. There’s an awful lot of it about. Rule one is a straight cut body and sleeve, with wide ribbed cuff and hem to elongate the silhouette and give a clean, fitted line. Anything other than that will be baggy and horrid, and you’ll be looking like a bunch of students after a three legged pub crawl.

Ethics – how many pandas were saved by using bamboo fabrics?

Probably not many as we keep using their food to make garments, but as always we will be looking for carbon neutral, organic fabrics, made under the accreditation of the Fairwear Foundation, Eco Tex 100 on dye stuffs, Soil Association accredited and without any Uzbeki cotton, maybe recycled and trucked, not flown in. Ethics and panda saving…it’s just a given, so we won’t be waving any big green flags.

To zip, or not to zip?
When wondering whether to zip, or not to zip, that is the question, be it a hood or a sweat track jacket, perhaps just be guided by the graphic. If we’ve already got a load of across the chest plastered imagery, perhaps lean towards a zip with a discreet left breast icon. If we’re happy with our left breast action and want a bit more punch, a pouch pocket hood it is, with a big brand carrier print walloped across the chest. Trust in the graphic Luke, it will guide you.

What do I do next – is there really just one way?

At the risk of sounding arrogant, we feel on this one that there is just one way. We’d stick all our cash on a semi fitted, heavy weight, 80/20, optionally carbon sueded, straight cut, wide hemmed and cuffed, lovely old school garment. Just our opinion, but that’s how we see it when it’s time to choose a sweatshirt, or a hooded sweatshirt.
How to choose a polo shirt?
March 16, 2016 12:38 pm Comments Off on How to choose a polo shirt?
Deciding how to choose a polo shirt, is arguably less complicated than the decisions surrounding the endless shapes, weights and textures of a T shirt. None the less, the same caution we exercise when moving from beer to wine before finishing off with a restorative brandy, should still be applied.

Semi Fitted Jersey Polo Shirt

Semi Fitted Pique Polo Shirt

Compromise, is it fit for purpose?
We discussed, or at least I dictated, the importance of compromise when choosing a T shirt. For a polo shirt however, it’s more about they’re intended use, and so as long as we make them fit for purpose, perhaps less compromise is required. The two simplest polo shirt categories are work wear, or fashion. The former clearly needs to come in a wide variety of colours and SIZES. A work wear polo shirt must be made from fabrics which will not disintegrate in a small cabin, containing a crane driver after a large vindaloo, Fashion polo shirts however will need to be all about the fit, especially a snugness about the guns. Waffty sleeves are usually a no no. They must be available in more lux textures, and compromise is not an option,

Fit – fitted, semi- fitted, and standard polo shirts.
We used the fitted, semi-fitted and standard classifications as our T shirt criteria, and they can serve us again in our choice of polo shirt perhaps. There are some very fitted polo shirts available for fashion use. They have a firm grip around our rippling biceps, with just the right amount of tattoo peeking out from beneath the cuff. It’s a look, and again if your customer lives in the gym, stays on the weights and avoids doing anything aerobic, it could be for you (avoid a white polo shirt however, it’s a nightmare with the fake tan). A semi fit polo is perhaps the safest however, with the widest market appeal. By semi fit, think of a Ralphy and we’ll be on the same page. For workwear though, with a nice left chest embroidery and a matching half zip fleece, we have to go for a standard fit. We might have some fine lads in there at up to 5XL, and it’s not kind to try and force them into a textile drain pipe.

Weight – lightweight, mid-weight, heavy weight, and grams per square metre (gsm)
Polo shirt fabric, just like T shirt fabric weight is measured in grams per square metre, or gsm, where a lightweight polo shirt might be 165 gsm, a mid-weight 250 gsm, and a heavy weight 300 gsm. The lightweight versions again tend to be more fitted or semi fitted. The heavyweight with a few exceptions are the squarer more workwear cuts. Hardly surprising that the work wear versions, unless you’re an attendant at the local sauna, need to be heavy weight, more robust, and able to take a big blob of concrete without bursting into tears.

Fabric content – jersey or pique polo shirts.
A nice straight choice here for once, it’s jersey or pique fabric for your polo shirts (yeah ok, you can have them in pima cotton, or maybe even a modal, but generally). The jersey fabrics are the softer smoother option, like a heavy T-shirt fabric, and as such will hold the detail in a screen print better than a pique. Generally, a jersey polo shirt would lend itself better to a fashion option, and may be a touch more fitted. Unless your brand is a more old school Fred Perry vibe, in which case only a pique will do. The pique fabrics with their waffle look are more robust, and as such tend to be the obvious workwear option. So if you want really soft, go jersey, if you want fashion heritage or a strong work wear fabric, go pique.

Texture
If you were fascinated by our look at texture in the ‘How to choose a T shirt’ section, then the same rules apply when it comes to jersey fabrics in a polo shirt. They can be combed or ring spun, which will remove all the chunks of shizzle from the yarn and make them soft and smooth. We like that. When it comes to a pique, (pronounced pee-kay as you well know), there is of course a slightly more textured feel. Even this can be minimised though by a real tight knit micro pique. Not all pique fabrics are the same, so feel free to ask us about the difference.

Construction – how is a polo shirt built?
We’re going to make a personal comment here about polo shirt construction. Probably shouldn’t, but it’s never stopped us in the past. Polo shirts for us are all about the subtle detail. Many have contrast plackets, different under collar colours, drop tails, shoulder pads and revolving bow ties. Not necessary for us – as we tell our girlfriends, less is more. So a simple detail in the collar knit, just a little same coloured ridge of fabric perhaps. Or an understated vent, that says I’ve thought about it, but I’m not a total bloody show off.

Ethics – were any children or animals harmed in the making of this polo shirt?
As with our T shirts, in a perfect world we want a polo shirt to be carbon neutral, organic fabric, made under the accreditation of the Fairwear Foundation, Eco Tex 100 on dye stuffs, Soil Association accredited and without any Uzbeki cotton, maybe recycled and trucked, not flown in. These ae all things we’ll be looking for when making our polo shirt choice. We can’t totally change the world, and by the time you read this Mr Trump may be in charge of it, but we can have a good old bash.

What do I do next, my polo shirt check list?
Is it fit for purpose, is it for fashion or for work wear?
Fitted, semi fitted, or standard shape?
Do I want light weight, mid-weight, or heavy weight?
Would we prefer a jersey or pique fabric?
Am I after super soft texture, or something a little more old school?
How much construction detail do we really need?
Is it ethical, will I go to heaven?

We hate doing a tick box, it all feels a bit like a dating site – Height? Weight? Hair colour? But tick off the above when considering how to choose a polo shirt, and you shouldn’t go too far wrong.
How to choose a T shirt ?
March 14, 2016 6:55 pm Comments Off on How to choose a T shirt ?
Many a good soul has gone totally mad, and wandered the world backwards wondering how to choose a T shirt.

It’s ok, we’ve all done it, been really specific and wanted light but heavy, fitted but loose, soft but strong and all things to all people. It can be painful, so we’re here to help by sharing the road, on our endless choose a T shirt journey.

FITTED, HEAVYWEIGHT

SEMI FITTED, LIGHTWEIGHT

SEMI FITTED, MID WEIGHT

Compromise.

The sad fact is, and it grieves us but truly, we can’t have it all, and we have to compromise when we choose a T shirt. Actually, compromise is the wrong word, we have to list all the features that relate to a T shirt, and then pick the ones which are most important to us in order of preference. Maybe that is compromise, anyway, here is one way of isolating all the key considerations in a checklist that you can work through, if like us, you feel that this stuff matters.

Fit – fitted, semi-fitted, standard.

Broadly speaking we have three choices of fit – fitted, semi-fitted, and standard. Pretty self-explanatory, fitted is what it says, verging on the spray on, hello sailor would you like a quick look at what I’ve got. A limited market perhaps for the bunny that lives in the gym, but if that is your market, worth a look. Semi-fitted, a contoured silhouette that just sits nicely, not too cling film, not too waffty. This would be our most commercial recommendation – you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but this will please most of the people for most of it. And standard, by which we mean a classic old school boxy American fit. The sleeves on these can be peaky, the body boxy – perfect for a certain very urban streetwear swag, but we must consider our market wisely. There are exceptions to the rule, but generally the more fitted and semi-fitted T shirt tends to be a lighter weight fabric, the standard T shirt is more likely to be heavy weight. Fitted, semi-fitted or standard – which do we prefer?

Weight – lightweight, mid-weight, heavy weight, and grams per square metre (gsm)

T shirt fabric weight is measured in grams per square metre, or gsm, where a lightweight T-shirt might be 115 gsm, a mid-weight 165 gsm, a heavy weight 215gsm. The lightweight with the odd exception as we mentioned above tend to be more fitted or semi fitted, and often with a neat, smart, narrow rib at the neckline. The heavyweight with a few exceptions are a squarer cut with a wider rib at the neck, to add stability for the heavier fabric. The lighter weights are very generally softer and more liquid in their movement, the heavier weights more stable in shape. Light weight, mid-weight, heavy weight – how do you feel?

How to choose a T shirt – Fabric content – cotton, polyester, elastane, bamboo, modal, Tencel.

We’ve chosen a weight and a fit, but made from what kind of fabric, is it cotton, a cotton polyester mix, with elastane, bamboo, modal, and what in God’s name is Tencel? If you’re serious about your clothing brand on this subject we would probably pick up the phone to be really safe, because if the garments are going to be decorated the choice of fabric can dictate the print method, and so the texture of the image. !00% cotton is good for everything, safe safe safe, polyester however won’t take a nice soft discharge screen print (although it is good for sublimation), bamboo, modal and Tencel take most screen print inks, but they’re so light and gorgeous we like a nice light soft ink. (Oh, and like we wouldn’t tell you – Tencel is a sustainable fabric, regenerated from wood cellulose obtained from eucalyptus trees). But we need to choose our fabric content, do we want cotton, polyester, elastane, bamboo, modal, or Tencel?

Texture – is the fabric combed or ringspun?

You may see when leafing through our product descriptions, that some fabrics are combed or ringspun, which will dictate the texture of the fabric. If you have an electron microscope in the back bedroom, pop a T shirt under it and you’ll see big boulders of impurity amongst the fibres. If these are combed or ringspun out, the fabric will feel softer, more pure and decent. We don’t have anything on our site which isn’t softer than your average Spaniel’s ear, but it’s worth considering and discussing. Often the lighter weight fabrics in bamboo tend to be softest, but then there is the heavyweight brushed T to be the exception to that rule. Mmmmm….Texture, do you want the fabric to be combed or ringspun, how soft do you want to go?

Construction – how is a T shirt built?

Not something that a lot of us pay as much attention too perhaps as we should, but how a T shirt is built and its overall construction is of course important. Side seams or tubular knit fabric? We have no real beef with either. Some might say that a tubular built T shirt doesn’t look so obvious if it twists, unlike a misaligned side seam which will show – but a quick flick into shape when they come out of the washing machine and that’s no issue either way. We would recommend a taped shoulder seam however. This will give good stability. Sleeve cut is important, do we like a raglan or drop shoulder, but the biggest issue for most is neckline. Do we want a thin neat rib that looks smart under a jacket, or a wider more down with the kids neck rib? Do we want the neck fitted, or a more slouchy just fell off the sofa look? Construction – how do we want our T shirt to be built?

Ethics – do we care about the polar bears?

Of course we care about the polar bears, we have ethics, and we care about the pandas, and the people, and the world, as best we can. So this section will be short and sweet. We will be looking for carbon neutral, organic fabrics, made under the accreditation of the Fairwear Foundation, Eco Tex 100 on dye stuffs, Soil Association accredited and without any Uzbeki cotton, maybe recycled and trucked, not flown in. Ethics, we don’t shout about it like some holier than thou Cliff Richard fans, but yes we care about the polar bears, and think such things should just be a nice quiet given.

Customer – what does the market sector want?

While we’re considering fit, weight, fabric, texture, construction, and ethics, we of course never take our eye of our customer, and what the market sector we intend to target really wants. It is very common to forget the customer and think about what we look for personally in a T shirt. I may prefer something very lightweight, soft and semi fitted (my personal favourite is the poetic flow of a bamboo T), but if I’m targeting the hard core chopper riding motorcycle clubs of the American mid-west, that would be tantamount to questing their sexuality. A nice old school bullet proof piece of kit that goes up to 10 XL would be the way forward.

What do I do next – the Magnificent Seven?

The above is all very interesting, but what do I do next you might wonder. Grab the pen, paper and thinking cap, and list the above – fit, weight, fabric, texture, construction, ethics, and customer, the Magnificent Seven. Decide which order they come in for you, it can’t be perfect and there is sacrifice, but list it as best you can. When we chat, you can then start with the top two and say ‘my priorities are fit and weight’, or ‘my priorities are ethics and construction’ and we will be well on the way to making the right recommendations.

How to choose a T shirt is a tricky thing, but if we do go totally mad and wander the world backwards, let’s at least do it together.
Celebrity and T shirt printing
March 2, 2016 5:58 pm Comments Off on Celebrity and T shirt printing
Well it’s a match made in heaven isn’t it, celebrity and T-shirt printing, like peaches and cream or Morecombe and Wise, put them together and you’re onto a sure fire winner, stand back and wait to get hit by a truck load of cash. Any celebrity who endorses your T shirt printing efforts, is bound to fire you into an orbit of total success, or are they?

There’s very little academic research.

Amazingly, if we agree with the market research that in the US one fifth of all adverts contain a celebrity, and that Nike’s celebrity endorsement bill each year is half a billion dollars, there’s very little academic research on the relationship between celebrity and sales, which will also include the world of T shirt printing! It’s fairly accepted amongst the larger public companies, that a celebrity endorsement can boost a stock value, but does a celebrity ambassador actually increase sales?

Roger Federer and Michael Phelps.

Anita Elberse and Jeroen Verleun have released a new study, which suggests that a celebrity can raise stocks by about a quarter of a percentage point, but that celebrity endorsement, by athletes for example, will only push up sales by an average of 4%. Not exactly massive unless you have a multi-million pound turnover. They can be refreshed by success, for example a Grand Slam for Roger Federer, or an Olympic Gold Medal for Michael Phelps, but the researchers also assert that the sales dip with each win – so maybe not a game changer (bad puns are free, as always).

Exceptions to the rule – Kate Middleton

There are exceptions to this rule, and none more so than Kate Middleton. A few pics of her wearing Marks & Spencer Shoes, and that style has sold out within hours, as have certain dresses. It’s generally accepted that she’s the reason J Brand Jean’s sales have gone fairly bonkers. Which reminds me, I haven’t called her for over a week and she owes me a tenner bless her…while I’m on, I’ll see if she’ll endorse some T shirt printing for me.

The dangers of Bieber and Beyoncé.

You might be pretty happy if either of the above wanted to endorse your brand, but there can be dangers associated with getting Bieber and Beyoncé, or any other celebrity involved, especially the biggies. It might not be related to T shirt printing, but it could get a bit sticky when you ask Justin Bieber to endorse your car brand, just before he gets nicked for drunk driving, resisting arrest and not having a valid driving licence. Or equally uncomfortable to get Beyoncé to endorse Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move fitness campaign, around the time she signs a $50 million dollar deal to promote Pepsi. That couldn’t actually happen, could it?

Celebrity and T shirt printing Evidence.

None of us would say no to a big name celebrity endorsing our T shirts, but trying to find evidence of how sales are affected is rather tricky. Our own experience, and dare we humbly say we have a reasonable amount, is that there is no clear link between a celebrity wearing a brand and being plastered all over social media, and said brand ordering a great deal more product. Celebrity and T shirt printing, perhaps it’s nice for brand building, but sadly may not be an easy fix, so we’ll keep on grafting!
Garment embroidery for workwear
March 1, 2016 9:15 am Comments Off on Garment embroidery for workwear
It’s a standard solution, using garment embroidery for workwear, and it’s often an equally standard result when it arrives from an online supplier – ‘I hate my corporate workwear.’ But other than a badly embroidered polo shirt or sweatshirt, twinned with a baseball cap that makes me look like a mad chef who’s just had a fight with a customer, what are my options? I’ve been online, and typed in something sensible, like garment embroidery for workwear, that should do the trick. Hello, there’s an enormous offering available, where everything looks pretty much the same; and the options to decorate the garments all seem pretty standard (you can have a print, or an embroidery) and everyone is saying ‘look at our awesome baseball caps.’ But I’m worried that awesome could be a misspelling of awful, and until the box arrives I’m not going to find out. What am I going to do?

Think like a clothing brand.

Just because your workwear garment is for staff to wear in a restaurant, or a nice embroidery for Barry to model while he’s out in the van, doesn’t mean you can’t think like a clothing brand. But it will mean having a proper conversation with your supplier, rather than filling in an online form and praying that God remotely cares about your workwear. Pick up the phone, and start with the reference point of an established brand. If you love Superdry (and we do offer counselling for that – 0115 9585000), but if you do love Superdry, there’s nothing wrong with you calling your supplier and saying I want my embroidered polo shirt or sweatshirt to look as close to one of theirs please. If your workwear supplier doesn’t engage with you in a good old chat about embroidery, and try and offer you a nice heavyweight carbon sueded garment with ribbed side panels, a straight body and tailored sleeve, or a polo shirt with a little velvet taping in the back neck…wrong workwear supplier.

Garment embroidery for brands.

We’ve already had that, but another part of thinking like a clothing brand is range planning. That’s a bit over the top for five blokes with a sponge and a hosepipe isn’t it? Not really. They’re going to need a range of workwear garments, a polo shirt, maybe a sweatshirt, and while they’re washing someone’s Bentley and flashing off your corporate embroidery, they’ll be needing a nice water repellent piece of outerwear. Why shouldn’t they look like all those garments fit together as part of a workwear collection, rather than looking like they’ve just knocked off a charity shop? And high viz vests and cheapo bobbly bobble hats, come on, there’s got to be something more stylish for embroidery to sit on, and there is.

Get a garment sample.

A lot of suppliers charge for a sample workwear garment these days, fair enough, they send out thousands, but for the sake of a tenner or so, get a sample. Or if you’re really serious, get a full garment size set, and then they’re won’t be any grumbling from Big Dave on the loading bay or Little Pete in finance, who will have tried before you buy. Better still, go and see your supplier and have a look at the whole range – having called them first to make sure they stock a cool garment range, and you won’t get there to find all they sell is polo shirts from El Shito, fresh in and still steaming from somewhere up the Dung Dung River.

Don’t chisel over a quid extra.

Well we would say that wouldn’t we, but believe it or not, we don’t make any more or less money by using nicer workwear garments and charging a quid extra. The margins are the same, we pay more for it, you pay more for it, it’s not top level economics. Will the gear last longer? Yes. And like a lot of people we’d say either make it right if your embroidery carrier, or don’t do it at all. We’d genuinely rather you just tell them to rock up in their own clothes, which will always be a damn sight nicer than some dodgy online workwear garment.

Share your vision.

Most importantly perhaps, don’t be too embarrassed to chat to your supplier and share your vision. If your bar or restaurant is all about old school values, and you want your clothing to reflect a sense of an England where a lady could expect a bus seat to be given up for her, then feel free to say so. You may prefer your clothing to have an extra whiff of gentleman. Ask for it, it can be done.

When choosing garment embroidery for workwear, and if you want to avoid a badly embroidered polo shirt or sweatshirt, pick up the phone and tell your story, and imagine you’re a big clothing brand, because there are those out there who will listen.
Pocket T Shirts to help educate children in India
February 24, 2016 7:24 pm Comments Off on Pocket T Shirts to help educate children in India
Pocket T Shirts – Fashion label Joe & John’s believe that every child in the world should be entitled to an education as a basic human-right, so it was a great pleasure to welcome them to October Textiles in Nottingham to discuss pocket T shirts for their clothing brand.

A brand new product

Their revolutionary idea is a brand new product, called a Pocketbag, – a detachable pocket that attaches onto a range of different garments and bags. With regard to October’s involvement, this would be a digitally or screen printed pocket with press studs, produced in Nottingham in conjunction with a special T-shirt with corresponding press studs on the pocket area. This allows customers to wear a different pocket detail every day of the week, or throughout the day according to their mood!

Creating jobs in India

Although October Textiles will help with initial production, the long term plan is to be creating jobs in India by employing local Delhi tailors to produce the Pocketbags, providing a much needed, sustainable, fair income for local people. Joe and John will be working closely with their bag providers (and non-profit care organisations) who will help them distribute the bags, making sure they are going to the children who need them the most.

Pocket T shirts and bags – How do the children benefit?

For each Pocketbag that is purchased, a less fortunate child in India will receive a school-bag filled with the essential tools they need for the classroom, but put simply and with inspiring ambition in the words of founder Joe Vine,

‘We are not just providing school-bags, we are providing life-changing futures for those who need it most….and if for every pocket I sold I could help a child into education, that would be a start’

Each schoolbag received will be waterproof for the rainy season, made from recycled materials, and contain 3 pencils, 3 pens, a pencil sharpener, eraser, pencil case, colouring crayons, a poster, an inspiring story, and the most important school lesson of all, that it can all be fun, so they will also include a tennis ball for break time.

October Textiles will of course be lending their full support to the pocket T shirt production, and wish Joe and John all the luck in the world, starting with India!

http://www.joeandjohns.co.uk
T shirt printers
February 15, 2016 11:32 am Comments Off on T shirt printers
What do we think of when we are looking for T shirt printers?

Price

Price is perhaps the first thing we consider when we’re looking for T shirt printers. How cheap will it be? The better the price, the more money we’re going to make when we sell our T shirts, and in search of the best price should we order larger quantities, or is that too big a commitment for designs which are as yet un tested, which may or may not sell. And then sometimes another little voice whispers in our ear…’If the price is too good, is it too good to be true, what about the…’

Quality?

We want the best quality, but what does that mean? One T shirt printers idea of quality is another T shirt printers idea of disaster. Do we want a T shirt to be light weight and semi fitted, heavy and fitted, light weight and oversized, heavy and square cut, is it soft, will it wear well, can it be vintage, can it be more clean and minimal, is the neck too tight, is the neck too loose, in fact…what is the best quality, and if we find it, if it exists, how will we embellish it, do we want….

Screen print?

With all its craft and its story and its multitude of textures, in the hands of the right T shirt printers, is screen print the answer with its initial set up costs and yet cheaper unit costs, will screen print give us all the water based and solvent based and discharge inks that bring our collection to life, will screen print be best if we have many colours in our image, can we screen print full colour photographs, well yes we can but do we need…

Digital print?

Without set up costs will digital print be cheaper in the long run, will digital print (direct to garment printing or digital t-shirt printing) give us every colour under the sun from our friendly neighbourhood T shirt printers, but equally will digital print set us apart, is it too easy, can anyone buy a digital print online and will we all look the same and then again, we hear of a technique to rival digital print, someone has told us about…

Sublimation

Sublimation, what does that even mean? Sounds almost like subjugation and yet it’s not, though some say we can have infinite colours again, and a soft texture sounds nice, and large format images, and yet to use a sublimation print we must have polyester based garments and do we want that from our T shirt printers, do we not prefer 100% cotton, we’re not sure, especially if our printer offers us…

Litho transfers

Or even screen printed transfers….litho transfers, screen printed transfers, amazing brochure quality detail, but did our T shirt printers tell us that that we may get a more papery feel and do we want that? We’re not sure that we do perhaps, and what if any of the above might work well as…

Embroidery

Our T shirt printers offer embroidery, but does that mean they’re as good at embroidery, or is it an afterthought they’ve bolted on…at heart, are they really T shirt printers or embroiderers, in fact will they even do it in house, or take our cash and give the embroidery to a bloke…

Down the road

Are my T shirt printers down the road, and does that matter? Well no, but if they’re not down the road will they invite us into their secret space to see all their screen printing equipment, will we be able to be there and watch them when they are printing so we’re sure we’re getting what we want, so we don’t just wait for a box to arrive and it’s a whole big box of disappointment… will they give us tea, and coffee, and help, and what happens if we feel a bit emotional?

What do we think of when we are looking for T shirt printers?

T shirt printers – Is it people who in another time and place, and under different circumstances, we think we might just call friends?