Made in USA production
Made in the USA · T-shirts & knit topsCut-and-sew tees, long sleeves, tanks and knit tops from US factories, from 100 pieces per style. Send a brief and we place it with a factory that already sews your fabric and weight, then check the Made in USA wording before bulk.
Free brief · Reply within 24h · No commissions. Directory: one-time payment, instant access.
Spec tag · T-shirts
Tees are made in all three hubs, but not equally. Where your jersey is knitted matters as much as where it is sewn, because it decides the label.
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Product, fabric, quantity and timing decide the factory first; the hub follows from that. You get the factory’s name and direct contact, and you can visit before you sign off a sample.
Los Angeles is the largest US apparel cluster, and cut and sew for knits is its core. The first place we look for fashion tees, boxy fits, tanks and knit tops.
Hub strengths Cut & sew, denim and washes, knits, activewear
Los Angeles hubKnit fabric mills and tee production in one region. Jersey knitted and sewn here is the most direct path to a plain “Made in USA” label on a basic or blank program.
Hub strengths Knit fabric mills, fleece, tees, socks, activewear knits
The Carolinas hubNew York sample rooms are where we look for a fast first sample or a small, fashion-led knit capsule rather than a basics program.
Hub strengths Sampling, patternmaking, womenswear, wovens and dresses, small runs
New York Garment District hubFrom a plain crew-neck blank to a garment-dyed heavyweight: pick the style, the jersey and the finish, and we place it with a factory that already runs it.
Crew-neck tee
Regular, boxy, oversized or fitted, short or long sleeve.
V-neck and scoop neck
Softer necklines for fitted and womenswear programs.
Tank and muscle tee
Racer, standard or dropped armholes.
Pocket and ringer tees
Chest pocket, contrast ringer neck and cuffs.
Baby tee and crop
Fitted womenswear cuts, short body lengths.
Knit tops
Rib tanks, henleys and long-sleeve layering tops.
100% cotton jersey
Combed or ring-spun, from lightweight to heavyweight. Name the weight in gsm or oz per square yard.
Cotton-poly and tri-blend
Softer drape and less shrinkage; common for retail basics.
Rib knits
1x1 and 2x2 rib for fitted tops and neckbands.
Slub and specialty yarns
Slub jersey, pima or organic cotton, where the mill stocks it.
Stretch jersey
Cotton or modal with spandex for fitted womenswear tops.
US-knit or imported
Both work. The choice decides the label wording (see below).
Neckband and neck tape
Self-fabric or rib neckband, taped or covered back neck.
Neck label
Printed (tagless) or woven, with size, origin and care.
Care and content label
Fiber content, origin and care, as the FTC requires.
Hang tags and stickers
Size stickers, hang tags and barcodes for retail.
Screen print
Best for runs of one design; ink type and colors set the price.
DTG
Direct-to-garment for detailed or many-color artwork on small runs.
Embroidery
Chest logos and small marks; stitch count drives cost.
Heat transfer
Labels, small graphics and numbers.
Garment dye and pigment dye
Dyed after sewing for a lived-in color; allow for shrinkage.
Enzyme or silicone wash
Softer hand and less stiffness out of the bag.
Pre-shrunk fabric
Ask for the shrinkage allowance on the quote.
Fold, bag and label
Folded, polybagged and size-labelled, ready for your warehouse.
Decoration is done in-house by some factories and by a nearby print or embroidery shop for others; the quote says which.
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A US-made tee costs more at the factory than an imported one, with no ocean freight, customs or import duty on top. Here is what the calculator estimates today, before decoration.
Calculator estimate, full package, ex-factory; your quote may differ.
$9.60–$26.40
USD per piece, t-shirt
Quantity multiplier ×1.20
$8.00–$22.00
USD per piece, t-shirt
Quantity multiplier ×1.00
$7.04–$19.36
USD per piece, t-shirt
Quantity multiplier ×0.88
What “full package” means
The factory buys the fabric, cuts, sews and adds standard trims, and quotes one price per piece at its door. Decoration, premium fabric, a complex build and shipping move the number; the cost calculator shows by how much. A heavyweight or garment-dyed tee sits toward the top of each range; a plain lightweight blank toward the bottom.
Made in the USA, step by step
The steps your order goes through at a US factory. Photos show the production steps, not a specific factory.
01 · KnittingJersey knitted on circular machines
02 · SewingKnit panels joined at the machine
03 · HemsCoverstitch on the hem
04 · DecorationEmbroidery and printing nearby
05 · Label100% cotton, Made in USA
06 · FinishingFolded and stacked for packing
Free brief · Reply within 24h · The factory bills you directly.
These timings apply to every product we place. For tees, fabric is the usual swing factor: stock jersey from a US mill keeps you at the short end.
Day 1
Product, quantity, fabric, target cost and date. We reply within 24 hours and quote our fee in writing before any work starts.
3–5 working days
Optional. $79 per style with 2–3 revision rounds. Skip it if your tech pack is ready.
2–4 weeks
A fit sample in your jersey and weight. Approve fit, neckline and hem before bulk; add a print strike-off if you decorate.
4–6 weeks
Cutting, sewing, decoration and finishing after sample sign-off. We check the label wording before the first bulk run.
1–5 days
Straight from the factory to your door or warehouse in the lower 48. No port, no customs broker, no import duty.
First order: 8–12 weeks from brief to delivery.
Repeat orders skip sampling. Fabric availability is the usual swing factor, so name your fabric early.
“Made in USA” is a legal claim. For textiles the FTC looks one step back from the finished product, so the wording depends on where the jersey was knitted and where the tee was cut and sewn.
Knits: the knitting mill decides the wording
For a cut-and-sew tee, the fabric step is the knitting. Ask where the jersey was knitted, not only where the cotton grew. Yarn or fiber origin doesn’t have to appear on the label, but a “US cotton” claim in your marketing is a separate claim you need to back up.
MADE IN USA
100% cotton · Knit, cut & sewn in USA
Jersey knitted by a US mill, then cut and sewn by a US factory. This is the plain “Made in USA” label.
Common mistakeUsing this label on a tee sewn here from jersey knitted overseas. The sewing is local, the fabric is not.
MADE IN USA
OF IMPORTED FABRIC
60% cotton · 40% polyester
Cut and sewn here from jersey knitted abroad. You may name the country instead: “Made in USA of fabric made in Peru”.
Common mistakeDropping “of imported fabric” on the hang tag or product page because it looks less appealing. The qualifier is required.
Plain-English summary, not legal advice. Source rules: the FTC’s textile labeling guide and Made in USA standard.
The more of this we get, the tighter the factory quote. A sketch or a photo of a tee you like is enough to start.
Example tech pack: flats for raglan tees, by Pinterest user Marinnavd
We draw it for $79 per style.
Flats, measurements, construction and trims in the format US factories quote from. 3–5 working days, 2–3 revision rounds. How the tech pack service works.
Get your tech pack for $79One flat fee per style. Secure Stripe checkout.
Brief checklist · T-shirts
Tick what you have. Gaps are fine: we ask about them when we reply.
Sending a brief is free. Our fee is quoted in writing before any work starts, never tied to order size, and the factory bills you directly.
Free brief · Reply within 24h · No commissions
Minimums, cost, fabric, printing and labels for US-made tees and knit tops.
Question not covered here?
Email it with your product and quantity. We reply within 24 hours.
oneaimapparel@gmail.com100 pieces per style. Put the size split and colorways in the brief and we only place you with factories that take that quantity.
The cost calculator currently estimates $9.60–$26.40 per piece at 100–300 units and $8.00–$22.00 at 300–500 units, full package, ex-factory, mid fabric and standard complexity, before decoration. It’s an estimate: your quote depends on the factory, fabric and tech pack.
Yes, if the jersey was knitted in the US and the tee was cut and sewn here. If the jersey was knitted abroad, the label must say “Made in USA of imported fabric” (or name the country). We check the label and listing wording before the first bulk run.
Yes. Put the decoration, placement and size in the brief. Some factories print or embroider in-house; others send the finished tees to a nearby decorator. The quote shows which, and the cost.
For a first order, 8–12 weeks from brief to delivery: 2–4 weeks of sampling, 4–6 weeks of bulk production after you approve the sample, then 1–5 days of ground shipping in the lower 48.
Not to send a brief: a sketch or a photo of a tee you like is enough to start. Factories quote tighter from a tech pack, though. Ours is $79 per style, delivered in 3–5 working days with 2–3 revision rounds.
One brief can cover several products. Tick them all on the form and we place each style with the right US factory.
T-shirts & knit tops are ticked for you. Add the quantity, then finish the brief in two minutes. We reply within 24 hours.
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