How To Order The Right T-Shirt Sizes For Groups

Whether you’re organizing a school event, company outing, or family reunion, matching group t-shirts can bring your group together and make events even more memorable. 

But figuring out how to order group t-shirts can be overwhelming—there are sizes to collect, designs to finalize, and delivery deadlines to meet. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step, so you can get great-looking shirts for your group without the stress.

T-Shirt Size Distribution

Depending on why you need group shirts, it’s possible that you may not have the ability to collect sizes upfront. So, how do you determine the quantity of each size to order?

If you need to order a large quantity of inventory and offer a range of sizes, you can use our t-shirt size calculator to estimate the number of products to order in each size. Just enter in the total number of shirts for your group into our calculator below, and voila! It’ll tell you exactly how many shirts you should order in each size.

However, keep in mind that this is just an estimation, so it’s always good to get a few extra shirts in each size to be safe. 

Pro tip: review your previous orders to see how many you ordered in each size. Do you remember if you ran out or needed more of a certain size last time? Use this to gauge how many products of each size to order this time around.

Order Your Shirts the Easier Way with Bonfire

Let’s be honest, having the ability to easily collect orders from your group ahead of time will save you time, money, and heartache. The easiest way to offer group tees is by having a way for your group to order online through a company like Bonfire. With Bonfire, you can upload your artwork, pick the styles and colors you want to offer, and set your selling prices. From there, simply share the campaign link with your group, and each individual can place their own order.

By using Bonfire’s Group Shipping feature, you can have orders sent to a central location chosen by you. With this option, supporters can still place their own orders, but the items will be sent to you, and you’ll have full control of distributing them amongst your group. 

If you prefer to pay for the orders or sell offline, you can place a custom order through Bonfire. Check out these handy t-shirt order forms that we’ve created. Order forms are a great option if you want to place a bulk order, and they work for any occasion!

Other Factors to Consider

When determining how many shirts to order in each size, it’s important to remember that the calculation is not the final answer, and you should consider other factors that may impact the number of products you need. 

Youth events are great opportunities for group shirts. Matching t-shirts can help promote camaraderie and make it easier to spot one another in crowded spaces or on a field trip. With these events, you’ll likely need more youth styles and smaller sizes. 

When offering Women’s styles, these tend to be more slim-cut and fitted. It’s always smart to pay close attention to the garment’s sizing chart, as sizing up one or two sizes in this style may be needed for most of your group. 

For pre-teen and teen events, think about the current styles and trends. They may want a more oversized fit and something more stylish than your classic tee. Consider going with a more fashionable tee, like a Comfort Colors, which has a soft wash and an array of trendy colors. 

There’s so much to consider when ordering group tees. Thankfully, custom apparel sites like Bonfire.com make the process simple and take out the guesswork. Ordering custom shirts for a group or an event can be a daunting task, but by using these tips, you can place a t-shirt order for your group as easy as 1, 2, 3! At Bonfire, we want you to succeed, and we’re proud to offer a simple and easy way for you to create and place your t-shirt order or start a campaign.

Written by: Katie Davis
Illustrated by: Tess Miller