StretchLearn Course

Design lettering that survives the print run

From a brush-pen sketch to a transparent 300 DPI file your print-on-demand shop accepts, for shirts, mugs, totes, and hats.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This beginner course teaches lettering for physical products, not for screens or posters. You will sketch and refine a phrase, ink and vectorise brush lettering in Adobe Illustrator or the free Inkscape, then prepare it for the three biggest merch surfaces: flat apparel, the wrap-around curve of a mug, and the awkward shape of a tote or hat. By the end you can deliver a single piece of lettering as a transparent 300 DPI PNG for direct-to-garment, a layered SVG for vinyl and laser, and a sized mockup that sells the design, all built to the spec sheets used by Printful, Printify, and local screen printers.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Sketch and refine a lettering phrase using thumbnails, weight contrast, and a clear focal word

Ink and vectorise brush lettering into clean closed paths in Illustrator or Inkscape

Lay out type for curved surfaces including mug wraps, sleeves, and curved hat fronts

Choose colours and trapping that survive screen printing, DTG, vinyl, and sublimation

Build product mockups at the correct print size using free and paid mockup tools

Export shop-ready files: transparent 300 DPI PNG, layered SVG, and DST for embroidery

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Sketching Lettering That Belongs on a Product

Learn what separates merch lettering from poster type, then sketch a phrase with strong composition, weight contrast, and a focal word before you touch a vector tool.

3 lessons

Why Merch Lettering Is Its Own DisciplineContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Thumbnails, Hierarchy, and the Focal WordContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Inking a Clean Sketch for TracingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Vectorising and Building Clean Type

Turn your inked sketch into crisp, scalable vector art in Illustrator or Inkscape, fix the paths, and assemble supporting type into a single tidy lockup.

3 lessons

Image Trace and Live Trace, Done RightContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Cleaning Paths, Anchors, and OverlapsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Pairing Hand Lettering With TypeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Laying Out Type for Curved and Awkward Surfaces

Adapt your flat lettering to the real geometry of products: the wrap of a mug, the bend of a hat front, the seam of a tote, and the print zones each one allows.

3 lessons

Print Areas and Placement on ApparelContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Wrapping Type Around a MugContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Totes, Hats, and Other Awkward ShapesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Mockups, File Prep, and Shipping to the Printer

Present your lettering on convincing product mockups, then export the exact file formats and specs that print-on-demand platforms, screen printers, and embroiderers require.

3 lessons

Building Mockups That SellContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Colour, Resolution, and Print-Process PrepContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Exporting Shop-Ready Files and a Delivery PackContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

letteringmerchandise designt-shirt typographyprint-on-demandvectorisingmockupsscreen printingDTG