Stage by stage, honestly
How long a custom kit order really takes
3 minute read
The question is always "how long", and the honest answer is that most of it is not up to us. Production is the predictable part. Approval is the part that runs late, and it runs late for the same reason every time: a decision that needs several people is being made by email.
These are the real stages, with the real variability marked.
The four stages
- 01
Quote and mockup
One to three working days from receiving the brief. Faster if the artwork is usable and the roster is ready.
- 02
Approval
The unpredictable one. A coach deciding alone takes an hour; a committee takes three weeks. Nothing else starts until this finishes.
- 03
Production
Three to four weeks for most sublimated kit after approval. Cut-and-sew garments needing a new pattern sit at the longer end.
- 04
Delivery
Shipped as one consignment. Packed and labelled per player where a roster is supplied.
How to take weeks out of it
Send the roster with the first enquiry rather than after the mockup. Sizes change what we recommend, and a mockup approved before the sizes are known frequently has to be revisited.
Name one person who can say yes. This is worth more than any other piece of advice on this page. Programs that route approval through a single coach or administrator consistently order two to three weeks faster than those that circulate a mockup to everybody.
Get the artwork looked at early. If a logo needs redrawing we can do that while the roster is still being collected, and the work behind that is set out in our guide to preparing artwork for production.
Where the weeks actually go
A realistic schedule for a full kit order, with the variable parts marked as variable.
- Quote and mockup
- 1–3 working days from a usable brief. Faster when the artwork is workable and the roster is already collected.
- Approval
- Hours to weeks, and entirely yours. This is the stage that decides whether an order is quick, not production.
- Artwork preparation
- Runs alongside approval when the file needs redrawing — which is why sending artwork early costs nothing and saves days.
- Production
- 3–4 weeks for most sublimated kit after approval. Longer where a new pattern is involved.
- Sampling, if requested
- Adds 1–2 weeks and happens before production, not during it. Worth it on a first order with a new program.
- Delivery
- One consignment, packed and labelled per player where a roster is supplied.
Why approval is the stage that runs late
Production is a schedule: it takes what it takes, and we can tell you the date. Approval is a human process involving several people who did not put it in their calendar, and it is where almost every late order is actually lost.
The pattern is consistent enough to plan around. A coach deciding alone approves in an afternoon. A coach who circulates the mockup to a committee, a parents’ group and an athletic director approves in three weeks, having received four contradictory opinions about a colour that was already agreed.
So the single most useful thing a program can do is name one person who can say yes, and tell everybody else that their input is welcome before the mockup rather than after it. That one decision moves a delivery date more than anything we can do at our end.
The second most useful is to send the roster with the first enquiry rather than after the mockup, because sizes change what we recommend — the method for collecting them quickly is in our guide to sizing a squad without measuring everybody.
If you are already short of time
Four things that genuinely help, and one that does not.
Give us the date, not the question
Tell us when you need it rather than asking what is possible. What can be done depends on what is already in the factory, and we would rather say no than miss it.
Split the order deliberately
Game kit produced properly, with blanks and pressed numbering covering the opening fixtures. A planned split works; an accidental one is what produces a mismatched set.
Approve on a smaller committee
Two weeks of the schedule usually sits here, and it is the only part that costs nothing to change.
Drop the sample, not the check
Skipping a physical sample saves one to two weeks. Skipping the proof sheet saves an afternoon and risks the whole run.
Paying more
This is the one that does not help. Capacity is a queue of other people’s orders, not a price.
Follow-up questions
Can you rush an order?
Sometimes, and it depends on what is already in the factory rather than on how much you are willing to pay. Ask with the date in front of you and we will tell you honestly.
When should we order for a season starting in September?
Start the conversation in June. Not because production takes three months, but because approval and artwork almost always do take longer than a program expects.
Do you produce a sample before the run?
On request, and it adds one to two weeks. For a first order with a new program it is usually worth it.
What causes most delays?
Approval, then artwork, then roster changes. Production running late is genuinely rare, and when it does we tell you before you have to ask.
How early should we order for a September season?
Start the conversation in June. Not because production takes three months, but because artwork and approval reliably do take longer than a program expects.
Can you rush an order?
Sometimes, and it depends on what is already in the factory rather than on price. Tell us the date and we will answer honestly rather than optimistically.
What happens if we are late approving?
The date moves by however long the approval took. Production is a queue of other people's orders, so a slot missed is a slot taken.
Do you tell us if the schedule slips?
Before you have to ask. A date that has moved is worse news when it arrives late, and it is the one thing a supplier controls entirely.
Is a sample worth the extra weeks?
On a first order with a new program, usually. It answers fabric, fit and colour together, and it is much cheaper than discovering all three at delivery.
Can part of the order ship early?
It can, and it is a reasonable plan when a fixture is fixed. What it must not become is a split production run, which is what causes a matched set to stop matching.