How to Make Your Own Shirt Logo

There are many reasons why you would want to make your own shirt and logo. Perhaps you are having a long anticipated family reunion and want to commemorate the date. You may also want to create a series of shirts for a fundraiser or you just want to make one shirt for your own personal needs. It is actually very easy to make your own shirt and to design a logo. The article below will show you how to make your own shirt simply without much hassle.

Step 1 – Make the Logo

When you make your own shirt, the hardest part is usually creating the logo or design you will be placing on the garment. Decide what it is you want before turning on the computer and firing up the graphics program. It helps if you know what you want to convey. When you have an idea, turn the computer on and open the graphics program. Start with a canvas that is 900 pixels wide and 900 pixels tall. This will create a very large graphic, but when you print it, the logo will be smaller while maintaining the detail of the design. Use a color background that matches the color of the shirt. For this example choose white as it is the easiest color to use. Create your logo or design on the canvas using text, imported graphics and brushes. Save the document without flattening it so you can go back and edit other elements as needed. You will also want to flatten the image and save as a JPG .

Step 2 – Print the Logo

Printing the logo is a process all its own, because when you use transfer paper you have to be careful or else you can really mess it up. Read the instructions that came with the transfer paper and take note how your printer feeds paper. You want to print on the textured side of the paper and usually this means you put the paper in face down in your printer. If you are unsure of how your printer takes paper then place a black mark on a blank piece of white paper and print a draft of your logo. Once you have determined the proper feed, you can print the logo correctly in order to make your own shirt. Open a program that reads graphics and load your logo. In the printer settings select “mirror image” and choose a printing method that is the best quality. Always do a print preview to make sure the image fits, as you may need to adjust the size. When ready, select "print" and wait for it to finish.

Step 3 – Make Your Own Shirt

Plug in your iron and let it heat to temperature. Once the ink dries on the transfer paper, trim the image. Place the logo on the shirt face down. Iron the image for several seconds and wait for it to cool, then remove the paper to expose the logo.