Blank basketball jerseys and wholesale basketball uniforms

Returns on basketball orders usually trace back to two faults: a reversible that ghosts the back graphic under gym lights, or shorts cut to the wrong length. Both are pattern decisions, so we settle them before cutting. Reversibles are two layers printed separately, and every pair of shorts is cut to the inseam on the roster, anywhere from 7 to 11 inches. The same blank price applies whether you decorate in your own shop or have us do it.

What blank basketball jerseys are made of: mesh and weights

Game jerseys and shorts are 100% polyester at 130–150 gsm, in micromesh or bird-eye. Micromesh has a tight, smooth face that holds small type, thin pinstripes and gradients in a sublimated print. Bird-eye is a more open knit that moves more air, so it is the better spec for summer leagues and gyms without air conditioning. Both take full sublimation and both run on the same pattern, so fit does not change when the fabric does.

Basketball jerseys are sleeveless because the shooting arm needs to move without fabric pulling at the shoulder. We cut the armhole wide and drop it slightly, since a tight armhole pinches on the release and players notice within one practice. When a program asks for sleeves, quote shooting shirts for warm-ups instead of adding sleeves to the game jersey.

Under the game short, most players now wear a compression layer, and the strip that shows below the hem becomes part of the uniform. Ours is a separate 220 gsm poly-spandex short, 88% polyester and 12% elastane with four-way stretch, made in team colors so it matches the set instead of whatever a player brings from home.

Reversible vs standard basketball uniforms

A standard uniform is one jersey and one short in a single design, usually ordered as a home set and an away set. A reversible is two layers of polyester, each sublimated on its own and then joined at a contrast binding, so one garment covers home and away or both sides of a scrimmage. One-layer reversibles printed on both faces cost less to make, but the back graphic shows through under gym lights, and that complaint lands on the reseller.

Quote reversibles to camps, rec leagues and practice squads that need two colors from one purchase. Quote standard sets to school and club programs that want the lightest game jersey, since two layers hold more heat. Numbers on a reversible belong in the sublimation file before bonding, because heat-applied numbers added later can mark the face underneath.

Before you print numbers, check your customer's league rule. Many US school codes have limited basketball numbers to the digits 0 through 5, some have since relaxed it, and most set a minimum number height front and back. Send the roster with the order and we flag any number that looks out of line before cutting starts.

Youth basketball uniforms, women's cuts and inseams

Youth basketball uniforms come off a separate youth pattern, YXS to YXL, not a shrunken adult block, so the armhole depth and jersey length stay in proportion on a younger player. Adult sizes run XS to 5XL. Women's uniforms are drafted on their own block with a narrower shoulder and more room through the hip.

Jersey size and short size are chosen separately, and inseam is a third column on the roster, so a tall guard and a stocky forward each get a fit that works. Sizes and inseams mix freely inside the 12-piece minimum for a style, and the full body measurements are on our size charts.

Custom basketball jerseys: blank prices, decoration quoted

Every price in the basketball grid is for the blank or color-blocked garment. Decoration is quoted per design, because sublimating a full-bleed reversible and stitching a twill number on a plain jersey have nothing in common on cost. Prices run in 5 tiers per style: 12–50, 51–100, 101–250, 251–500 and 501+ pieces. Shipping by Express Air, Cargo Air or Sea is quoted separately on EXW or FOB terms, and payment is by wire or L/C.

Resellers selling custom basketball jerseys usually take one of two routes. Some order the set fully sublimated, with names, numbers and the team pattern printed into the fiber, which adds no weight and cannot crack. Others order blanks in solid team colors and add numbers in their own shop by screen print, heat transfer or tackle twill. If you screen print light ink on a dark sublimated body, use a bleed-resistant ink, since polyester dye can migrate into it during curing.

Pass simple care notes on to your customer with sublimated jerseys: wash cold and inside out, skip fabric softener, hang dry or tumble dry low, and keep irons off the garment. High heat is the main risk to polyester mesh, not the wash itself.

We send a proof of the design, colors and sizes for your approval before bulk production, and production takes about 2 weeks after approval. Since 2011 we have sold only to the trade: distributors, decorators, team dealers and private-label brands, never to teams or schools direct.

See also: blank jerseys · garment decoration methods · sublimation vs screen printing vs embroidery · wholesale baseball uniforms · esports jerseys