Choosing a decoration method for team kit

Every custom kit order reaches the same fork: how does the design get onto the garment? Adaki Sports runs six decoration methods — dye sublimation, screen printing, embroidery, tackle twill, heat transfer vinyl and rhinestone transfer — and the right one depends on your fabric, your artwork and how the kit will be used. This guide covers what each does well, where it struggles, and when to walk past it.

Start with three questions

1. What is the garment made of? Sublimation only bonds to polyester; embroidery and tackle twill need fabric with enough body to carry stitching.
2. What does the artwork look like? Gradients and photographic detail point one way; a two-colour crest or block numbering points another.
3. How will the kit live? A soccer uniform machine-washed all season has different demands from a tracksuit jacket or an event t-shirt worn a handful of times.

The product pages in our full range list the standard fabric for each garment.

Dye sublimation

How it works: the design is printed onto transfer paper with dye inks, then heat turns the dye to gas so it bonds into the polyester fibres — the graphic becomes part of the fabric rather than sitting on top of it.

Best for: full-coverage designs on performance polyester. This is the default for most of what we make: soccer, basketball, volleyball and 7v7 kits, rash guards, cycling jerseys, swimwear and compression wear. Names, numbers, sponsors and crests print in the same pass, so design complexity does not change the price and there are no per-colour setup fees.

Fabric and colour constraints: it needs polyester (or a high-poly blend) and works from a light base, because the dye is transparent — you cannot sublimate onto a finished dark garment. Colour range is effectively unlimited, including gradients and photographic artwork.

Durability: the strongest of the six. The dye is in the fibre, so it cannot crack, peel or flake, and it adds no weight or stiffness — an advantage on lightweight and stretch knits.

Relative cost: for polyester teamwear, usually the best value per garment for anything beyond a simple one-colour design, since cost does not rise with colour count.

Skip it when: the garment is cotton-rich, or you specifically want a raised, textured, premium finish — sublimation is completely flat by nature.

Screen printing

How it works: ink is pushed through a stencilled mesh screen directly onto the fabric, with a separate screen prepared for each colour in the design.

Best for: bold, flat artwork in a few solid colours — chest prints on custom t-shirts, tank tops and training tees, plus panel prints on team sports bags. Screen ink is opaque, so it works on darks and on poly-cotton blends where sublimation cannot go.

Fabric and colour constraints: works on most fabrics, including cotton blends and dark garments. Each colour needs its own screen, so designs with many colours or fine gradients become impractical.

Durability: good for the life of a casual garment, though heavy ink coverage can crack over time on high-stretch fabric.

Relative cost: per-piece cost is low once screens are made, but setup is per colour — a six-colour design on a small run is expensive; a one-colour print on a larger run of event shirts is very economical.

Skip it when: the artwork has gradients or photographic detail, the order is small and multi-coloured, or the garment is a high-stretch performance knit.

Embroidery

How it works: the artwork is digitised into a stitch file and sewn directly into the garment with polyester thread.

Best for: crests and logos where a premium, dimensional finish matters — the left chest of a team tracksuit jacket (crest embroidery comes as standard on our tracksuits), club crests on tennis polos, script lettering on baseball jerseys and logo hits on sports bags.

Fabric and colour constraints: needs fabric with enough body to hold stitches without puckering — tracksuit shells, polos and heavier jerseys rather than featherweight knits. Thread colours are plentiful but solid: gradients do not translate to stitching, and very small text loses definition.

Durability: excellent. Embroidery routinely outlasts the garment.

Relative cost: priced by size and stitch count. A standard chest crest is affordable; large back designs get expensive quickly because machine time scales with every stitch.

Skip it when: the design is large-area, gradient-heavy or full of fine small text, or the garment is a lightweight stretch fabric such as compression wear, where dense stitching distorts the knit and irritates skin.

Tackle twill

How it works: letters, numbers and crest shapes are cut from twill fabric and sewn onto the jersey, usually with a zigzag border stitch.

Best for: the classic pro-sport look — front scripts and numbering on baseball uniforms, sewn numbers on American football jerseys, stitched lettering on basketball kits and twill crests on ice hockey jerseys. The raised, layered finish is the traditional standard in those sports.

Fabric and colour constraints: the garment needs enough weight to carry sewn-on layers — heavyweight mesh football jerseys, pro-weight hockey knits and baseball builds rather than featherweight tops. Twill comes in solid colours only, and shapes must be bold and simple — fine detail cannot be cut and sewn cleanly.

Durability: outstanding. Sewn twill survives seasons of contact and washing, which is why hockey and football lean on it.

Relative cost: the most labour-intensive of the six, and priced accordingly. Every letter and number is cut and sewn, so it sits at the premium end of any quote.

Skip it when: budget is the priority, the fabric is light or high-stretch, or the artwork has fine detail, gradients or small text. A sublimated number gives the same colours at lower cost and zero added weight.

Heat transfer vinyl

How it works: the design is cut from coloured vinyl film, weeded, and bonded to the garment with a heat press.

Best for: crisp names, numbers and simple logos in one or two colours — especially where sublimation cannot go, such as dark finished garments and poly-cotton tees. It suits player personalisation on goalkeeper kits, flag football jerseys, youth kits and warm-up wear, and handles small quantities well because there is no screen or stitch-file setup.

Fabric and colour constraints: works on most fabrics, including darks, since the vinyl is opaque. Each colour is a separate layer of film, so multi-colour or gradient artwork is a poor fit.

Durability: good with normal care, but it is a surface application — over many wash cycles vinyl can lift or crack, particularly with hot washing and drying. It will not match sublimated or sewn decoration for lifespan.

Relative cost: low setup and modest per-piece cost, which makes it economical for small runs and one-off name-and-number personalisation.

Skip it when: you want large solid coverage (big vinyl panels feel heavy and stop the fabric breathing), the design has many colours, or the kit will take seasons of hard weekly washing.

Rhinestone transfer

How it works: stones are arranged into the design on a transfer film, then heat-pressed so their adhesive backing bonds to the fabric.

Best for: sparkle where presentation is the point — walkout and ring wear such as boxing and fight shorts, and retail-style embellishment on tees, tanks and sports bras for gym and event merch lines.

Fabric and colour constraints: applies to most smooth fabrics, including satin and darks. Artwork is built from dots in the available stone colours — bold shapes and lettering work, fine linework does not.

Durability: the most delicate of the six. Stones can shed with abrasion or rough washing, so wash gently, inside out.

Relative cost: scales with stone count. Small logo hits are reasonable; dense full-front designs get expensive.

Skip it when: the garment is for contact play or training. Keep rhinestones for ring walks, presentation and merch.

Side-by-side comparison

Method	Best for	Fabric fit	Colour range	Durability	Relative cost
Dye sublimation	Full-coverage kit designs, numbers, sponsors	Polyester, light base	Unlimited, incl. gradients	Highest — in the fibre, cannot peel	Best value for complex designs
Screen printing	Flat chest prints on tees, tanks, bags	Most fabrics, incl. cotton blends and darks	Solid colours; setup per colour	Good; can crack on stretch fabric	Low per piece at volume
Embroidery	Crests on tracksuits, polos, bags	Stable, heavier fabrics	Solid thread colours	Excellent	By stitch count; crests affordable
Tackle twill	Baseball scripts, football, basketball and hockey numbers	Heavier jerseys	Solid twill colours, bold shapes	Outstanding under contact	Premium — most labour
Heat transfer vinyl	Names and numbers, small runs, dark garments	Most fabrics	1–2 colours ideal	Good, but a surface layer	Low setup, small-run friendly
Rhinestone transfer	Fight shorts, merch embellishment	Smooth fabrics, incl. satin	Stone palette, dot-built art	Delicate; gentle wash only	Scales with stone count

Mixing methods on one garment

The methods are not either-or. Some of the strongest kits combine them: a sublimated baseball jersey body with a tackle twill front script, a sublimated basketball kit with stitched numbering, or a hockey jersey with a sewn twill crest over a sublimated base. Tracksuits typically pair an embroidered chest crest with heat transfer or sublimated detailing. Our football, basketball, baseball and hockey programmes all offer sewn or sublimated numbering, so you can put the premium finish where it shows and keep cost down everywhere else.

The free 24-hour digital mockup shows which method is used where, with unlimited revisions before anything is produced. See how the process works for the full order path from artwork to delivery.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Asking for sublimation on cotton. It will not bond. For cotton-rich tees, use screen printing or vinyl instead.
• Screen printing a six-colour gradient logo on 15 shirts. Per-colour setup will dominate the price — sublimate on polyester, or simplify the artwork.
• Embroidering compression wear. Dense stitching fights stretch fabric; sublimation decorates it without changing how it moves.
• Putting twill numbers on a featherweight kit. On a 140 GSM flag football jersey the sewn weight works against the garment; save twill for heavyweight builds.
• Sending low-resolution artwork. Vector files (AI, EPS, PDF, SVG) let any of the six methods reproduce your logo cleanly — see the FAQ for what to send.

Know your garment and your artwork, and the right method usually picks itself. Still torn between two? Ask for the mockup in both — it costs nothing and settles the question with your own crest rather than a theory.