Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
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Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
I looked high....I looked far....but I couldn't find any blank maternity T-shirts for sale. So I decided to import them and go wholesale. I have already contacted a half dozen distributors in China when it occured to me I don't have a clue how to do this. If any of you people could help me out here I would appreciate it.
I'm assuming 100% cotton is the way to go. Are there different grades of cotton? What's the best? What weight should I order? Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking to buy the best t-shirts for printing & comfort.
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
If you are in the USA you can start here. http://www.itds.treas.gov/Import2.html
Understand most have miniunm order of a 20' shipping container.
Have fun!
Have you check for local/nationwide for cut & sew shops?
People have posted on the forum of using local cut & sew shops.
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
Are there different grades of cotton?
Yes, there are different grades of cotton. The quality of the raw cotton varies, the way it is processed (i.e. spun, carded, etc.) varies, and then when it's made into fabric the weave varies. There are a lot of variables.
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
Try a local cut and sew place that work with knits and NOT wovens.... small/medium size operation. Most will have patters for a lot of styles (if they dont, go out and buy the patterns from Frabic Land and adjust it to your liking). They can also use their in house pattern maker to custom make your style.
t-shirt patterns are very simple, even for maternity t-shirts. They also have all types of fabric samples and scraps from other jobs and know who you can buy the fabric from.
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
I see, so it's preference rather then quality.
What about for printing, do some cottons print better then others?
What is the ideal weight for a T-Shirt?
ETA: It just dawned on me that these are maternity shirts and should be as stretchy as possible. What type of cotton am I looking for when I want a stretchy shirt?
Last edited by maae10; September 7th, 2006 at 08:55 AM.
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
I see, so it's preference rather then quality.
A lot of it is preference, yes, which is why it's important to know the what's and why's. Unfortunately it's not possible to just get a list of the three best features and go from there. Sampling would go a long way if you don't have the academic knowledge to know what's best straight off the bat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
What about for printing, do some cottons print better then others?
Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
What is the ideal weight for a T-Shirt?
That's very subjective, and may vary for maternity shirts vs. everyday wear. What an individual considers ideal may also be seasonal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
It just dawned on me that these are maternity shirts and should be as stretchy as possible. What type of cotton am I looking for when I want a stretchy shirt?
Cotton isn't particularly stretchy: if you want real stretch you'll want a cotton spandex blend (or similar).
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
ETA: It just dawned on me that these are maternity shirts and should be as stretchy as possible. What type of cotton am I looking for when I want a stretchy shirt?
...oh, and if you want stretchy you want a rib knit. They're harder to print on (not impossible, just harder), but they're a lot stretchier.
Actually 100% cotton may have enough stretch if you use a 2x2 rib. Try and get a sample of some fabric and see what you think. It depends how much stretch you want... if you just want a little give then even a smaller rib would be fine... 2x2 should actually give you quite a lot of stretch.
Re: Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process?
Quote:
Originally Posted by maae10
Thanks for the Info! How do I get a pattern or sample for a simple maternity T-Shirt.
You might try google searches for "pattern makers". I think that's what they are called. Also fashion colleges may have students who can make patterns for you.
This is a discussion about Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process? that was posted in the Wholesale T-Shirts and Other Imprintable Products section of the forums.
Importing my own maternity blanks from China: help with the importing process? 
