How Do I Order Kit for Children and Adults Together?

Order them together in a single run. The 20-piece minimum applies per order rather than per size or per style, so a junior squad and a senior squad can share one order and one set of setup costs. The two things to plan for are that children's and adults' garments are separate products with different size grids, and that the artwork almost always needs a second, smaller version for the child sizes.

Two Size Grids, One Order

Adult garments are sized by chest measurement and labelled S to 3XL. Children's garments are sized by age or height, typically in bands such as 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-11 and 12-13 years. They do not overlap neatly. A 12-13 year size is not the same as an adult XS, and the fit is cut differently across the shoulders. When you collect sizes from a group, ask for the age band for children and the adult letter size for everyone else. Mixing the two systems in a single column of a spreadsheet is where most ordering errors begin.

Teenagers are the awkward middle. Many will fit either the top children's band or an adult small, and the two garments will look different next to each other. If the group photo matters, decide which range the borderline cases go into and be consistent.

The Print Size Mistake

This is the one that ruins otherwise good orders. A chest print laid out at 280mm wide looks right on an adult large. On a 5-6 year old tee it will run from armhole to armhole and over the hem. Children's garments need the artwork scaled down, usually to somewhere around half to two-thirds of the adult width, and sometimes repositioned higher on the chest so it is not swallowed by the waistband when the shirt is tucked in.

Ask for two proofs, one on an adult garment and one on the smallest child size you are ordering. If a supplier only sends you the adult layout, that is the layout you have approved, and the child sizes will be produced to whatever the operator judged reasonable.

How the Second Artwork Size Affects Cost

This is where the decoration method matters. Screen printing needs a separate screen for each artwork size, so a two-colour design in adult and child sizes means two sets of screens and two setups. That can turn a modest saving into no saving at all on a small junior batch. DTF and DTG scale the artwork digitally with no additional setup, so a mixed-age order at these quantities is often cheaper and simpler on DTF even though screen printing wins outright at high volume in one size.

Embroidery sits in between. A logo can usually be scaled within limits, but shrinking a design significantly is not simply a matter of typing a smaller number: fine detail and small text stop working, and the file often needs re-digitising for the smaller size.

Colour and Fabric Will Not Always Match

Children's ranges carry fewer colours than adult ranges, and the same colour name across two ranges is not guaranteed to be an identical shade, particularly in the mid greys and navies. Fabric weight often differs too, with children's tees usually lighter than the adult equivalent. If everyone will be standing together in a photograph, confirm at brief stage that the colour exists in both ranges, and consider choosing a colour from the narrower children's range first and matching the adults to it, rather than the other way round.

Collecting Sizes Without Losing Your Mind

The administration is usually harder than the printing. A few practical habits make a large difference.

• Use one form with two separate dropdowns, one for children's age bands and one for adult sizes, so nobody can type '12' and mean either.
• Set a closing date and treat it as real, because production starts at artwork approval and late entries mean a whole second run.
• Add a few spare pieces in the most common child and adult sizes rather than ordering exactly what the form says.
• Publish the actual chest and length measurements from the size guide, not just the labels, since age bands vary between manufacturers.
• If you are adding names, collect the spelling in writing from the parent or player, never from a verbal list.

“"Nobody remembers who organised the kit. Everybody remembers the child whose shirt came down to their knees."”

Names and Numbers for Junior Squads

Personalised names and numbers are done with vinyl, which is applied per item, so it works equally well on a child's shirt and an adult's. Keep the character height smaller on junior sizes, and be aware that long surnames on a small back panel force the text down to a size that looks weak from the touchline. Shortening to an initial and surname is usually the better call on junior kit.

Putting the Order Together

Build the whole thing as one order to reach the quantity bands, where bulk discounts climb towards around 40% as volumes rise. Use the free Design Studio to lay out both artwork sizes and see them on the garment shape, then check the effect of method and quantity in the instant price calculator. Once artwork is approved, screen printing and embroidery typically run around 10-15 working days before dispatch, with UK tracked delivery usually taking a further 2-5 working days, so work backwards from your first fixture or event date rather than forwards from today.