Sources for T's and socks

[ktaltre]

http://www.blankshirtstore.com/?idcust=150022736
http://www.shirtsupplier.com/
http://www.sock-dreams.com/_shop/edit/index.php (this is a great site - what kind of sock would you like!)

I have found all kinds of all cotton t-shirts (cheap) at places like factory2you. Lately, I found some really nice ladies rayon knit scoop neck t's at walmart, on sale. I found womens all cotton socks (good quality) at walmart for 94 cents a pair.

Eddie Bauer and LLBean always have all cotton shirts in white - although pricey. Target always has white t's - again somewhat pricey, but there's always the discount racks.

There's big t's at this website: http://bigandtalltshirts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=B/PROD/901

Of course, most of my finds are not sewn with cotton thread.

I've decided to sew some big ladies sizes for t-shirts, as there seem to be no large womens cuts long enough for butt camouflage.
I found a pattern sized for the larger women on the internet - talked to the designer and was told I could make some and sell them but if I went into production sewing (NO), to set up an agreement with her.

And of course, there's Steve's site for women's t's and baby's things, although the largest women's t's aren't that big.
k. taltre

[ktaltre]

Oh, I buy from Dharma regularly. They don't have a decent large ladies T, nobody does. And I have tried many of their t's in all the sizes. They also don't have "big AND tall" men's shirts, only big. I had an order for a 2x long sleeve big AND tall shirt - had to go hunting.
And by the way, Dharma's "feminine fit softee" is the LAT tee.
The prices of men's t's, for example, on the BlankShirtStore site are cheaper than Dharma.
I do spend time on dharma's website and have gotten their catalogs for many years.
All I'm trying to say here, is that you can often find good dyeing garments in your own "back yard" and on the web that are different than what one always sees (and cheaper).
And it's no work sitting on the computer for a few minutes to buy some shirts. I think all I did in the beginning was google " blank t-shirts or something like that, then bookmark the sites. And I go shopping occasionally, and poke around the sales racks (shopping therapy). 
I don't mean to ruffle feathers by suggesting that one can dye a t-shirt from factory2you. haha
k. taltre

[pburch]

Dharma has some great clothing blanks, but there are some definite holes in their product line. I can't understand why they don't have even a single v-neck t-shirt for men, when they have a zillion different designs of teeny-weeny shirts for teenaged girls. Their mercerized cotton socks are so tight that my family refuses to wear them, even though they are all slim. Their long-sleeved v-neck shirt for women is so low cut that it's way too indecent to wear to work, at least in the larger sizes.

Paula

[steve]

I'll have to disagree regarding the statement that no one makes a decent large women's t-shirt. My customers love the LAT ringspun scoop neck t-shirts. At iblankwear we carry that model up to size 3X. Of course--maybe you are looking for larger.

The shirt vendors mentioned at the top of this thread are merely companies fronting for Broder, Alpha, or some other major distributor. In other terms, they simply take your retail order then forward it to one of the aforesaid suppliers who in turn ship it out to you in a process called blind-drop shipping. Believe me--I know this business inside and out. While working with Michael, I learned a lot!

Dharma has the advantage of having the volume and warehousing to special order from some vendors that only do large batch orders on demand. Price is not their strength--not even close!

I'd recommend getting what you can elsewhere if you are at all concerned about price! Sometimes, though, there is no real choice.

Steve

[ktaltre]

I do love the LAT t-shirts.
For the last couple of years I have been buying different brands of men's and womens t-shirts in s,m,l,xl,xxl sets - washing and drying them and measuring them before and after laundering.
Most men's shirts stay about the same measurement around the chest - the most they shrink is around 1/2 inch. Hanes shirts seem to run a little smaller around the chest than other's shirts.
My last batch of women's LAT t's all shrunk down a size to two sizes and for the larger woman, the sleeves are a little short and the body isn't quite long enough. Women's t's always seem to shrink more than men's - sometimes a lot more.
Walmart has larger women's t's, but again, the sleeves and body aren't long enough and the long sleeves were a little tight and they are seasonal.
Allegre has large women's t's, but you do have to place a substantial order with them.
And when I talk about larger women's t's, I mean in the 50" to 60"+ range. Larger, older women don't want to wear tight t-shirts and would like to cover their behinds.
I got to be in a xmas boutique at a womens gallery for a couple of months and sold a 30/32 size long sleeve t to a very short really large chested women (older) who was ecstatic over her find. She had been a tiedyer in her youth.
I think you should find your shirts where you may.
k. taltre