How Samples Work Before a Bulk Wholesale Order
Three Layer Sportswear samples are ordered at the standard wholesale price with no upcharge once your wholesale account is open, and the cost is credited back on your first order. This applies to every style in the catalog, from t-shirts to fleece hoodies to joggers. The account requirement exists so samples go to verified wholesale buyers, screen printers, clothing brands, and merch companies, rather than one-off retail requests. Once your account is open, you can request the specific styles and colors you are evaluating before committing to a production run.
Why Order a Sample Before Bulk
A spec sheet tells you the weight, the blend, and the size range. It does not tell you how a garment feels on a hanger, how ink sits on the fabric, or how a color holds up after a wash cycle. For a program that will run at volume, a blank sample is the cheapest insurance against a decoration or fit problem showing up after 500 units have already been printed.
A Spec Sheet and a Sample Tell You Different Things
A spec sheet is a written commitment. It tells you the fabric weight in oz and GSM, the blend percentages, the color count, and the size range. What it cannot tell you is how that specific combination of weight and blend behaves under your decoration method, on your press, with your ink or thread. A sample closes that gap. Treat the spec sheet as the number you verify against, and the sample as the real-world check that the number holds up in practice.
Small Orders Welcome: Already a Low-Risk Test Path
A sample request is not the only low-commitment way to test a new style. A small first order of just a few pieces lets you run a real decoration pass across a handful of finished garments before you scale to a full production run, which is useful once your sample has already confirmed the blank itself is right for the program.
Once that small first order is ready to move, buyers can check our shipping coverage page to confirm delivery reach and where orders ship from before scaling further.
Record the sample you tested
Record SKU, size, color, decoration method and measurements before the test. A P280 sample is 8.8 oz, 70/30 fleece, while a 5108 sample is 7.8 oz, 80/20 fleece. Evaluate each selected style separately.
Step by Step: Requesting a Sample
1. Open a Wholesale Account
Samples are tied to an active wholesale account. If you do not have one yet, opening a wholesale account is the first step, since samples are ordered at the standard wholesale price with no upcharge once your account is open, and the cost is credited back on your first order.
2. Choose the Styles You Need to Evaluate
Pick the exact style number, weight, and color you plan to order in bulk. A sample of the wrong weight class will not tell you anything useful about the program you are actually planning.
3. Submit Your Request
Once your account is active, submit your sample request through our request samples page. Samples are provided on request, not shipped automatically with every new account.
4. Evaluate the Blank Before You Commit
Run the sample through the checks below before placing a bulk order.
What to Evaluate on a Blank Sample
A useful sample evaluation goes beyond “does it look right.” These are the four checks that matter most for a decoration program, and what each one is actually protecting you against.
Weight and Hand Feel
Weight determines drape, warmth, and perceived value. The wider apparel industry commonly treats 7 to 10 oz as midweight, and a hoodie like the 5108, P280, or CR280 feels substantially different in hand than a heavyweight 12 oz style like the 15001, even though both might look similar in a photo. Hold the sample, check how it hangs, and compare it against the weight class you expect for your program before you scale the order. A brand owner evaluating retail perception should pay close attention here, since weight and hand feel are what a customer notices first when they pick the garment off a shelf or out of a package.
Print Surface
Run a test print or a small embroidery sample if your decorator can accommodate it before the bulk order ships. Higher cotton content generally takes ink and embroidery more cleanly, while a smoother, tighter knit gives screen printing a more even surface. Checking this on the actual blank you plan to use, rather than a similar-sounding style, avoids a surprise once the full run is decorated. Screen printers should look specifically at how evenly ink lays across the print area and whether the surface is smooth enough to avoid pinholing. Embroiderers should run a stitch-dense logo on the sample and check for puckering around the stitched area before committing a full order to that placement.
Shrinkage After Wash
Before washing, measure the relevant dimensions using the SKU’s chart method and record them. Wash and dry according to the garment’s care instructions, then repeat the measurements. Calculate percentage change as 100 times the difference between the original and final measurement divided by the original measurement. Use flat chest width and body length for tops, waist circumference and outseam for adult 8801 and 7770, and the youth chart’s flat measurements for Y5501. Fabric with higher cotton content can shrink more in the first wash if it has not been pre-shrunk at the mill. Confirming shrinkage behavior on a sample, before a bulk run is cut and decorated, is the single most common step buyers skip and later regret, especially on programs where finished garment sizing has to match a printed size chart exactly.
Construction Details
Check the seams, the label, and any drawstrings or hardware against what your program requires. Tear-away labels, for example, matter if you plan to private-label the garment yourself. For adult 8801 joggers and 7770 shorts, compare waist circumference and outseam against the size chart. The Y5501 youth jogger chart uses flat measurements.
Match the Check to Your Use Case
For screen printing, photograph the test print before and after washing. For embroidery, record puckering and stitch appearance at the planned logo placement. For sizing, record measurement changes in inches after each wash.
Corporate buyers running a uniform or event program can explore wholesale blanks for corporate and employee programs once the sample has confirmed the right blank for their team.
What a Sample Cannot Tell You
A sample represents the requested SKU, color and size. Test each intended color because decoration results can differ by color. Three Layer guarantees same-dye-lot matching across an order. An undecorated sample does not establish performance on your equipment. Decorate it with your planned ink or thread, placement and equipment settings, then run the wash evaluation before approving bulk production. Compare the first decorated bulk garment with the approved sample before decorating the remainder.
Red Flags and Questions to Ask Before Bulk
Red Flags on a Sample
- Pilling after one or two washes. This usually points to short fibers or a loose knit.
- Fabric flaws. Snags, holes, slubs or runs that are not part of the design.
- A strong smell that stays after washing. Ask the supplier how the fabric is finished and washed.
- Seams that twist after washing. For a stricter shrinkage test, wash the sample three times and measure after each wash.
Check More Than One Size
Measure chest width, body length and sleeve length on at least two sizes of the same style, and compare them to the size chart. A sample in one size tells you nothing about how the other sizes are graded.
Questions to Ask Any Supplier
- What is the size tolerance and the shade tolerance? These numbers are more useful than a general quality promise.
- How are defects handled? Ask what the reporting window is and whether you get a replacement or a credit.
- How close are colors from one dye lot to the next? This matters when you reorder the same color later.
- What certifications does the factory hold? Ask for current certificates, not a logo on a page.
- What is the minimum order and the lead time? Ask for both on stock styles and on custom runs, since the two are usually very different. For more on comparing suppliers, see where to buy sweatshirts in bulk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are samples free?
Samples are ordered at the standard wholesale price with no upcharge once your wholesale account is open, and the cost is credited back on your first order.
Do I need an account to request a sample?
Yes. Samples are provided to account holders only, ordered at the standard wholesale price with no upcharge once your wholesale account is open, and the cost is credited back on your first order.
How many samples can I request?
Request the specific styles and colors that are relevant to the program you are evaluating. If you are unsure which styles fit your use case, our team can help you narrow the list before you submit a request.
What should I check first when the sample arrives?
Start with weight and hand feel, since that is the fastest way to confirm the garment matches the weight class your program needs. Then move to a print or embroidery test, and finish with a wash test to confirm shrinkage behavior.
Does a sample from one color represent every color in the style?
No. Test the specific colors you intend to decorate. Three Layer guarantees same-dye-lot matching across an order, but a sample of one color does not establish how another color prints or washes.
Can I get a sample of a custom color before a custom production order?
Custom production colors run on a 120 day lead time and are built for larger volume programs. Talk to the Three Layer team before committing to a custom color run so you understand what is available to sample versus what requires a full custom production cycle.
Ordering at a glance
Stock: We offer no minimum ordering from January through September. During our busy season, October through December, please order single sizes in packs of 6 (one polybag) per color, per size. Sizes and colors can be mixed.
Samples: wholesale account required, paid at standard wholesale price, cost credited on the first order
Dispatch: paid in-stock orders placed by 12pm PT ship the same day
Shipping: free at $200 or more on listed wholesale prices
Custom color on an existing style: 600 pieces per style per color for fleece, 1,200 for the 1003 and 1005 tees
New custom style: 2,400 units
Custom timing: 120 days total, 60 days production and 60 days shipping
Origin: designed in Los Angeles, manufactured at a WRAP-certified partner factory in Pakistan
Ready to evaluate a blank before you commit to volume? Visit our request samples page once your wholesale account is open, or browse the pullover hoodies category page to pick the styles you want to test.