Customize Your Products with Work+Shelter

Work+Shelter offers a variety of options when it comes to customizing your products. Whether you’re looking to add a logo to our promotional staples or develop an original textile for a seasonal collection, we manage the entire journey. By working directly with the mills, dyers, and printers, we quality-check every link in the supply chain to ensure your vision translates perfectly to the finished sewn good.

If you’re still in the early stages of your project, be sure to explore our previous guides on Product Development and Sourcing. Otherwise, let’s dive into the specifics of how we customize your products.

Custom Fabric Development

Before a single stitch is made, we can work with our suppliers to create a fabric that is uniquely yours. Depending on your order volume and timeline, our pre-production customization includes:

• Custom Color: Precision yarn-dyeing matched to any Pantone color.
• Custom Weave: Developing specific textures like dobbies, jacquards, twills, or satins.
• Structural Patterns: Integrating stripes or checks directly into the weave or knit.
• Fabric Weight: Engineering the “hand-feel” and drape to meet your specific requirements.

Printing & Embellishment

Once the fabric is set, we offer several paths to bring your artwork to life. Choosing the right method depends on your design’s complexity and your production volume.

Screen printing

A timeless, manual process that relies on the artisan’s skill.

• Benefits:Low minimums (starting at 50 units) but also very cost-effective when printing in large volumes.
• It is the superior choice for printing vibrant colors onto dark or saturated base fabrics.
• Great for placement prints.

Challenges:

• Each color requires a separate screen ($40/screen), so we recommend keeping artwork to under 12 colors to manage setup costs.
• This process is not suited for individual pieces or very small, one-off volumes.
• Because screens are physical tools, any artwork changes made after the sampling process will require new screens to be burned, resulting in additional costs.

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One of our screen-printers printing a one-color design on cotton canvas.

Digital printing

For projects requiring high-definition artwork, photographic detail, or an expansive color palette, we recommend going digital. Unlike other methods, digital printing has no economies of scale so the cost to print the first meter is virtually the same as the thousandth.

• Benefits:No screens involved means a significantly lower entry point (just a one-time setup fee of $40).
• There are virtually no limitations on the number of colors you can use in a single design.
• Whether your design is a simple logo or a complex mural, the cost of manufacturing remains the same.

Considerations:

• It is not possible to digitally print on pre-colored fabrics. Because the yarns are already saturated with dye, digital inks cannot “overtake” the base color.
• To maintain production efficiency, minimums are higher than screen printing—typically 100 meters per print design.

Rotary Printing

The gold standard for high-volume, all-over patterns. If your project requires massive quantities of fabric with a repeating design, rotary printing is the most efficient and consistent method available.

• Benefits:Delivers high, uniform print quality across thousands of meters of fabric.
• This is our most cost-effective method for large-scale production runs once you reach the required volume.
• Challenges:Due to the industrial scale of the machinery, minimums are at least 1,000 meters of woven fabric or 500 kgs of knit fabric.

Embroidery

Unlike printing methods that apply ink or dye, embroidery becomes a physical part of the fabric’s texture, creating a raised, dimensional design that is both durable and timeless.

• Benefits:Designs are stitched directly into the fabric, making them resistant to fading and wear.
• Adds a sophisticated, high-end feel and dimension to any product.
• We offer a wide range of colors in both viscose and polyester to achieve the most accurate results.

Challenges:

• Our machinery can embroider up to nine colors at a time. While we can accommodate more, exceeding this limit requires extra steps that will increase both production time and cost.
• Highly intricate details or very small text can be difficult to replicate perfectly with thread compared to ink.

Bulk Dyeing

If your brand requires a specific, signature color that isn’t available in our stock fabric collection, bulk dyeing allows us to saturate the material to your exact specifications before production begins. This process ensures a professional, high-quality finish for your custom apparel or accessories.

• Benefits:We can offer bulk dyeing in custom Pantone colors, ensuring your product aligns perfectly with your brand identity.
• Unlike printing, dyeing penetrates the fibers entirely, providing a consistent, deep color across the entire fabric lot.

Challenges:

• To ensure color consistency and chemical efficiency, minimums are typically 100 meters per color.
• Because the fabric must be dyed and dried before cutting and sewing can begin, this adds a few weeks to the overall production timeline.

Tie-Dyeing

For brands looking for a more organic, artisanal, or “retro-modern” aesthetic, we offer custom tie-dyeing services. Because this is a hand-applied process, it creates a unique, one-of-a-kind look for every single piece in your order.

• Perfect for seasonal collections, event merch, or standout streetwear pieces.

Challenges:

• Due to the nature of the hand-dyeing process, no two pieces will be identical. This is part of the beauty, but important to note for brands requiring strict uniformity.
• Minimum order quantities for tie-dye depend on the specific product and design; these are available upon request.

Have a specific customization in mind that isn’t listed here? We love a creative challenge. Drop us a line at hello@workshelter.co to discuss how we can build it together.