Buying Guide

Cut-and-sew vs. printed blank underwear

Two routes to branded underwear. Here is which one fits what you are making.

The short answer

Choose printed blanks when the underwear is a giveaway, a merchandise item or a test of your design, because it is cheaper and faster and starts from just 12 pieces. Choose cut-and-sew when the underwear is a product you are selling, because you specify the fabric, colour, cut, waistband and trim from scratch. Get Custom Underwear makes both. See custom boxer briefs.

Side by side

	Printed blanks	Cut-and-sew
What it is	Your logo printed on an existing stock garment	A garment made from scratch to your specification
Fabric	The fabric the blank already is	Any fabric you specify, from combed cotton and modal to microfibre, organic cotton or bamboo
Cut	The blank’s cut	The cut you choose, drafted for your range
Waistband	Printed	Jacquard woven, printed or self-fabric
Colours	The blank’s colour range	Unlimited
Minimum order	12 pieces	Larger runs per colourway, stated on the quote
Cost approach	Cheaper	The investment that makes sense for a product you sell
Speed	Faster	About 2 weeks, longer for woven jacquard elastic
Best for	Merchandise programmes, short runs and testing a design	Apparel labels and retail ranges

When printed blanks are the right call

Printed blanks start from a garment that already exists, so there is no pattern to cut and no fabric to source. That makes them cheaper and faster, and it is why the minimum order is just 12 pieces, enough to test a design. The trade-off is that you are limited to the fabric and cut of the blank. They suit merchandise and brand programmes, short runs and full-colour artwork. A printed waistband is the usual choice here, and a woven one needs a larger run. For the difference, read jacquard vs. printed waistbands.

When cut-and-sew is the right call

Cut-and-sew builds the garment from scratch, so you decide the fabric, the colour, the cut, the waistband and the trim. That is what you need if the underwear is a product you are selling rather than giving away, whether it is a boxer brief range or the four cuts in women’s underwear. Colours are unlimited, and the waistband can be jacquard woven so the name is built into the elastic. Full cut-and-sew ranges need larger runs per colourway, and the quote says so before you commit.

Can you start small and scale up?

Yes. One sensible route is to order a small batch of printed blanks, wash it several times and check the waistband and seams, then move to a cut-and-sew run once the design is proven. If you are building a retail range, multipacks and packaging can be added to either route.

The verdict

Pick printed blanks for merchandise, short runs and testing a design.

Pick cut-and-sew for underwear you sell as your own product.

Not sure which fits? Send your artwork and quantity and you get a free mockup within 24 hours, with orders starting from 12 pieces.

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