Text-Only Shirt Layouts: Arched, Stacked, Badge & Jersey Styles

If you’re already selling apparel, you know this: text-only t-shirt designs quietly pay the bills. They’re fast to create, easy to update (just change a name, year or team), and they convert in almost every niche: teams, schools, corporate merch, events, shops, creators, and small brands.

The real difference between a bestseller and a dud is NOT the phrase itself—it’s the layout:

• Arched/curved text t-shirt layouts for back arches and chest logos

• Stacked text t-shirt designs for bold slogans

• Badge logo t-shirt layouts for brandable merch lines

• Jersey name and number setups for sports, rec leagues, and spirit wear

Pair these layout strategies with DTF transfers, UV DTF and heat transfer names & numbers, and you get a workflow that is scalable for both one-off samples and full team or company orders.

Arched & Curved Text T-Shirt Layouts

When to Choose an Arched Text T-Shirt

An arched text t-shirt or curved text t-shirt layout is ideal when:

• You’re printing team names or city names over a mascot or number

• You want a classic back-shoulder arch over a jersey name

• You’re framing a simple icon or badge in the center front

Searchers looking for an arched text t-shirt template, arched text generator (t-shirt) or curved text maker for apparel are usually at layout stage: they already have the words and just need a clean way to bend them around a shape or across the shoulders.

Typical use cases:

• Top arch on the back: “CITY LEAGUE”

• Bottom arch around an icon: “BREW CREW • EST. 2025”

• Front chest arc for gyms, clubs, and local businesses

DTF tEXT Placement & Size Guidelines

For B2B shops, your clients expect consistent sizing across runs. Use these as working baselines:

• Back shoulder arch (adult)

  • Width: 10–12"

  • Height of text: depending on font, 2–3" tall

  • Placement: 1.5–3" below collar seam

• Full front arched text t-shirt

  • Width: 10–11" on adult tees (8–9" on youth)

  • Great for varsity text t-shirt looks

• Small curved text logo (badge style)

  • Left chest: 3–4" wide

  • Works perfectly for a badge logo t-shirt with a tiny icon in the center

When you’re building gang sheets, you can nest multiple arches and straight lines together to minimize waste—especially when using a DTF gang sheet builder.

File Prep for Curved Text Logos

Before you upload:

• File type: PNG with transparent background

• Resolution: 300-DPI at print size, not scaled up later

• Do not mirror your artwork (DTF and UV DTF services handle orientation)

• Keep strokes thick enough to survive 100+ washes

• Avoid ultra-thin scripts for back arches; use athletic block or condensed sans

Most people start their layout using a curved text mockup or a curved text logo for tees in tools like Canva or Pixlr; once the arc looks right, export as a high-res PNG and drop it into your transfer layout.

Stacked Text Shirt Layouts for Bold Messages

Structuring a Stacked Text Layout Shirt

A stacked text layout shirt is about hierarchy. Think 2–4 lines, each with a job:

• Line 1: category or mood (“WEEKEND”)

• Line 2: core hook (“WARRIOR”)

• Optional Line 3–4: small supporting copy (“RUN CLUB · DALLAS”)

This is the look most people search when they type stacked text t-shirt, stacked text t-shirt tutorial, or text-only t-shirt designs. You’re solving a layout problem: how do I break this phrase into impactful lines?

Tips:

• Keep each line short (1–3 words)

• Push important words to the top two lines

• Center-align for a retail feel; left-align for a more editorial vibe

Fonts, Line Spacing & Readability

For stacked designs:

• Use bold block type (slab serif, condensed sans, or varsity font shirt design styles)

• Adjust line spacing so lines are closer than body text but not touching

• Use consistent width: each line should visually “fill” a similar width for a solid rectangle shape

• Standard full-front size: 10–12" wide on adult tees, 8–9" on youth

When you build your varsity text shirt mockup, test how the stacked block looks on different shirt colors; this helps you decide stroke/outline vs. solid fills before you order transfers.

Badge & Patch-Style Text Logos

Circular, Shield & Vintage Badge Layouts

Badge logo shirt layouts are perfect for brands, breweries, coffee shops, biker clubs, and sports parents. Think:

• Circular badge around a small icon

• Shield/emblem with two or three text zones

• Vintage/retro badge/patch text vectors as a base

Semantically, this is where searches like badge logo t-shirt, badge logo shirt layout, and badge style text shirt set live: people want a ready-made shape that feels like a logo, even if it’s pure typography.

Layout zones you can reuse:

• Top curve: business or team name

• Center: big 1–2 word hook

• Bottom curve: year, location, or sport

Building Badge Style Text Shirt Sets

B2B clients rarely order just one badge. They want:

• Staff vs. manager versions

• Home vs. away colorways

• Tournament edition vs. regular season

That’s where gang sheets shine. You can put a badge style text shirt set on one 22" x 60" or 22" x 120" DTF gang sheet, mix sizes (3–4" left-chest badges + 10–11" full fronts), and cut them as needed.

Jersey Names, Numbers & Varsity Text

Jersey Name and Number Placement

For jersey name and number layouts, consistency is everything:

Back number (adult):

• Height: 8–10" for rec teams, 10–12" for higher visibility

• Centered vertically between shoulder blades and mid-back

Back name:

• Height: 2–3.5" depending on font

• Baseline of the name ~1–1.5" above the number

• Often set in a gentle arched text t-shirt layout over the number

Searchers typing jersey name number placement or jersey name number heat transfer want exactly this: a reliable, repeatable guide so all players look uniform.

Heat Transfer Names & Numbers Workflow

A clean heat press names numbers process usually looks like:

1. Set up all roster names in a varsity text t-shirt style font

2. Export each name and each number as separate transparent PNGs

3. Build a DTF gang sheet with all names and numbers for one team, or one league

4. Press at spec (typically 7–12 seconds for DTF, hot peel)

5. Re-press with a cover sheet if you want a slightly more matte finish

This lets you handle both single replacement jerseys and bulk orders without changing your workflow.

Choosing the Right DTF Option for Text-Only Designs

For text-only shirt layouts, you don’t need screen setups or vinyl weeding. You just need the right transfer product mix:

• Custom DTF Transfers by Size

  • Perfect for individual arched text t-shirt designs, single stacked slogans, or one-off jersey backs

  • Great when you need specific sizes like 3–4" left-chest or 10–12" full front without wasting material

• DTF Gang Sheets (Upload or Online Builder)

  • Best for teams, events, and brand collections where you repeat the same badge, stacked quote, and number sets

  • Load in multiple text-only layouts (arched, stacked, badge, jersey) on one 22" wide sheet up to 300" long

• UV DTF & Cup Wraps

  • Ideal to extend the same text-only branding to tumblers, mugs, and hard goods, matching the shirt typography across your merch line.

For neck tags and apparel branding, custom labels (neck tags) let you repeat your badge or varsity text mini-logo inside every shirt.

Some shops choose a hybrid approach: DTF by size for hero front/back layouts plus gang sheets dedicated to names, numbers, and small badges.

In the middle of your production planning, a partner like Sumotransfers can handle both single-image DTF by size and highly optimized gang sheets so you don’t need separate vendors for different order sizes.

From Mockup to Production: A Simple Workflow

Here’s a practical workflow you can hand directly to your designer or production lead:

1. Design & layout

   • Use tools like Canva or Pixlr as your arched text generator (t-shirt) or curved text maker for apparel.

   • Build multiple versions: curved text t-shirt, stacked text t-shirt, badge logo t-shirt, varsity text t-shirt with jersey-style fonts.

2. Mockup phase

   • Drop each design into a curved text mockup or flat-lay mockup to check readability on different shirt colors.

   • Confirm final sizes (3–4" left-chest, 10–12" front, 8–9" youth, sleeve prints at 2×11" or 3×14" if needed).

3. File preparation

   • Export transparent PNGs at 300-DPI.

   • Separate jersey name and number elements for maximum flexibility.

4. Transfer layout

   • For low volume or test runs: use DTF transfers by size.

   • For full rosters or multiple text-only layouts: build a gang sheet grouping arches, stacks, badges, and jersey elements by size.

5. Production

   • Press according to spec (7–12 seconds, firm pressure, hot peel), then quick repress if desired.

   • Track which layout styles your customers reorder most often and standardize those sizes across campaigns.

Turnaround, Pricing & Scaling for Bulk Orders

For shops, brands, and teams, the biggest wins are:

• No minimums – order one sample or a full gang sheet for a 20-team tournament.

• Pricing by square inch (e.g., $0.01 per square inch) – easy to quote per design or per roster.

• Same day shipping on qualifying orders – crucial when a client approves art late.
  

Because DTF handles any fabric color and blend without a separate white screen, you can keep all your arched text t-shirts, stacked slogans, badge logo t-shirts, and jersey name and number layouts under one print method instead of juggling vinyl, screen print, and sublimation.

Dialing in your text-only shirt layouts—arched, stacked, badge, and jersey styles—turns simple phrases into a repeatable product line you can scale across teams, companies, and online orders. For high-performing text-only shirt layouts at scale, partner with Sumotransfers as your go-to DTF and UV DTF transfer supplier.