How much does a t shirt weigh? Awesome question. You're probably looking for a cheap way to ship your t shirts for your business. But, maybe you're just curious. The average tee shirt weighs between 3.5 and 7 ounces.
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How is t shirt weight advertised?
Most companies report a general fabric weight. For example: the Fruit of the Loom 3930 seen here available from Jonestshirts.com is reported as 5 ounces.
The fabric used to make this shirt is 5 ounces per yard, the actual shirt might weigh more or less than 5 ounces depending on size. Most manufacturers don't report the exact weight of each size shirt. To really know the exact weight you'd have to weigh them yourself. But you can get a general idea and I'll show you how.
Yards of fabric in a T shirt by size:
| Size | Small | Medium | Large | XL | 2XL |
| Yards | 0.9 | .96 | 1 | 1.13 | 1.22 |
Using that guide to get a rough estimate you can calculate the weight of any t shirt. First, grab the fabric weight from the manufacturer's website. Next, multiply the fabric weight by the number associated with that size.
For example: A Bella Canvas Jersey Fabric is 4.2 Ounces/Yard. If I want to know roughly how much an XL weighs I can calculate the weight as
4.2 Ounces/Yard X 1.13 Yards = 4.75 Ounces.
It's not perfect but will get you pretty close most of the time.
Looking for a good tee shirt blank? I recently compared the Bella Canvas 3001U with the Gildan 64000. The results may surprise you.
How much does it cost to ship a T shirt?
If you were wondering what the weight was because you're looking to ship a shirt, don't forget to add in the weight of your shipping container. I use a 10″ x 13″ poly mailer that weighs .25 ounces. If you're including inserts or an invoice don't forget to weight those as well.
What is the cheapest way to ship a tee shirt?
You can ship a poly mailer as a First Class Large Envelope via the USPS, it's almost always the cheapest way to ship a tee shirt. Here's the rates as of 5/20/19 to ship a large envelope first class:
As you can see, it's going to cost you under $3 to ship a tee shirt in most cases. But, first class shipping isn't nearly as fast as some other more expensive options.
Now that you've answered your first question, How much does a T Shirt Weigh, can we answer any more of your questions about the tee shirt business? Check out our guide on starting your own custom tee shirt business with zero money here.
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Doug has been an entrepreneur for years, starting several businesses. Doug is a web developer, father of 2 great kids and husband to the best wife ever. I've been working on building my custom tee shirt business for 3 years.
