Custom t-shirts in Manhattan.

October 27, 2007 12:09 PM

Where in Manhattan (or nearby) can I get a single custom t-shirt made, in person and immediately, in the next couple of days?

Please do not point me to a google page full of links to places that sell custom t-shirts in New York. I've looked at all of them. They either take too long, or require a minimum order of six, or have some other issue. I'm looking for someone who has actual experience with a specific place.

All I want to do is have some white lettering printed on a blue t-shirt...no images, no complex silkscreens, etc.

This is to be part of my Halloween costume (I hope).

posted by bingo to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

Best answer: Neighborhoodies has a shop in South Street Seaport. You should call them up and ask how long it will take.
posted by hooray at 12:36 PM on October 27, 2007

Easiest and quickest might be to call Pearl Paint and see if they carry iron on letters and then put them on a blue t-shirt yourself.
posted by MsMolly at 12:36 PM on October 27, 2007

There's a store that does this on Avenue A, across from Tompkins Square Park, and another one that does this on Avenue B, between 7th and 6th. I don't know their names, sorry, I just pass by them a lot walking around the neighborhood. A friend had a shirt made at the one on Avenue A a few years ago and still wears it a lot.

Alternately, if you have an inket printer, just buy some of the printable iron-on paper for it and make the shirt yourself. They usually sell them in packs of 10 or 20.
posted by lia at 1:44 PM on October 27, 2007

I got a shirt done at Neighborhoodies and they did it while I waited. Kinda pricey (about 50$ for a hoodie, I think, tees are cheaper), but fast.
posted by doift at 2:10 PM on October 27, 2007

Tees dot com
147 Avenue A, near 9th Street
[phone]

New York Magazine review.
posted by kathryn at 2:41 PM on October 27, 2007

There's a cheesy t-shirt store in the west village that does it--7th Ave South just below Bleeker St.
posted by beckish at 2:45 PM on October 27, 2007

This is so easy to do yourself. I know that you specified a t-shirt place, and I'm sorry if it's not answering your question specifically, but it's so much cheaper. If you have access to a craft store like Michael's or AC Moore, you can buy a dirt cheap T-shirt in blue, and then some iron-on letters and do it yourself.

Alternatively, you can make an iron-on in something like Print Shop, then print it (backwards) onto this paper (available at Staples). Again, much cheaper, and so fast.
posted by Flakypastry at 3:22 PM on October 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Flakypastry is right. I have several T-shirts I made like this. $5 T-shirt, $2 letters, five minutes with the iron and voila.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 1:01 AM on October 28, 2007

The folks at Neighborhoodies are great. I've never gone into a store but I would imagine that the customer service is as good or better than online ordering.

Personally, I find all the DIY methods kindof a pain. Iron-on letters can be such a pain - either they're really flimsy and flip over or you can't position them just right or they peel off. The print-out-kind looks funny if you have any blank background space because it comes out clear and awkward-looking.
posted by radioamy at 8:12 PM on October 28, 2007

Response by poster: Went to Neighborhoodies. I only needed two lines of text, but I wanted a certain font, with letters in two different sizes, as well as a special non-letter character. They did a customized job for me while I waited. I'm sure that if I would have done it myself, I would have come up with something very shoddy compared to what I got. Thanks.
posted by bingo at 5:09 AM on October 31, 2007