StretchLearn Course

Design t-shirts that actually print

Spot-colour vector art, real placement, and files the printer accepts on the first try

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This hands-on course teaches the production craft of apparel graphics, not just pretty pictures: how to build vector artwork that prints cleanly across screen printing, direct-to-garment, and embroidery, and how each method bends your design choices. You will master spot-colour limits and separations, standard print placements and sizing, garment-accurate mockups that sell, and the exact file prep that print-on-demand platforms like Printful and the screen shop down the street will accept without emails. You will leave with a complete, press-ready design and a repeatable workflow from brief to uploaded file.

Learning Outcomes

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

Build clean vector artwork in Illustrator or Affinity Designer that holds up at full chest-print size without pixelation or stray points

Reduce a design to a limited spot-colour palette and prepare separations that match screen-printing and Pantone constraints

Choose the right decoration method for a given design and garment by weighing screen printing, DTG, and embroidery trade-offs

Place and size artwork to industry standards for front, back, sleeve, and pocket prints on real garment dimensions

Present designs on garment-accurate mockups that communicate colour, placement, and scale to clients and buyers

Export production-ready files (transparent PNG, vector, and print PDF) that meet print-on-demand and screen-shop specs the first time

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: How Shirts Get Printed Decides How You Design

The three decoration methods that dominate apparel, what each one can and cannot reproduce, and why the print method is a design constraint you choose before you draw a line.

3 lessons

Screen Printing, DTG, and Embroidery at a GlanceContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Spot Colour vs Process, and Why Screen Printers Count ColoursContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Garments, Ink, and the Surface You Are Printing OnContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Building Vector Artwork That Holds Up

The vector craft behind clean apparel graphics: why vector beats raster for print, how to draw and trim art that scales to full size, and how to set type that survives the press.

3 lessons

Why Vector, and Setting Up Your File RightContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Drawing Clean: Paths, Trapping, and Detail That SurvivesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Typography and Type Prep for ApparelContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Colour, Separations, and Method-Ready Art

Turn finished artwork into press-ready files: reduce to a limited palette, produce screen-print separations, prepare DTG art for dark garments, and ready a logo for embroidery digitizing.

3 lessons

Reducing to a Limited PaletteContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Colour Separations for Screen PrintingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Prepping for DTG and EmbroideryContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Placement, Mockups, and Shipping the Files

Finish like a professional: place and size art to industry standards, present it on garment-accurate mockups, and export and deliver files that print-on-demand platforms and screen shops accept without a single follow-up email.

3 lessons

Print Placement and Sizing StandardsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Mockups That Sell the DesignContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Exporting and Delivering Print-Ready FilesContent · 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.

t-shirt designapparel graphicsscreen printingdirect to garmentembroidery digitizingspot color separationprint placementprint on demand