How to Collect Team Sizes for a Kit Order (with Size Sheet)

Start with the sheet, not the tape measure

Team sizes are collected on one sheet with one row per player, filled in by one person on one day. That sentence prevents most sizing problems before they start: sizes gathered across a month of messages in three formats are where wrong-size shirts come from. ZipaSports in Sialkot, Pakistan works from the sheet you approve, so the sheet is the size specification for the whole order.

Keep one master copy, date it, and send the factory that file. If a size changes after approval, send a dated replacement sheet rather than a message saying "change player 7 to large".

How to measure chest, waist and height

Three measurements place a player on any size chart: chest, waist and height. Measure over a thin T-shirt, not over a hoodie, with the tape flat and snug but not tight.

Record centimetres, because the factory pattern and the size chart are in centimetres, and conversion from inches is a recurring cause of a shirt one size out. Compare each measurement with the chart the factory sends for the specific cut; a compression fit and a loose match jersey use different charts for the same chest measurement. The sportswear size chart guide explains how those charts are built.

Youth versus adult grading: why a youth large is not an adult small

Youth and adult size charts are graded from different base patterns, so the labels do not line up. A youth large is drafted for a child's proportions: shorter body, narrower shoulders, sleeves scaled to a shorter arm. An adult small is drafted for an adult frame with a longer torso and a wider shoulder, even where the chest is similar. A tall twelve-year-old put into an adult small gets a shirt that fits the chest and drowns the shoulders.

The practical rule: choose the chart by age group first, then find the size within that chart by chest and height. Where a player sits between the top of the youth chart and the bottom of the adult chart, height decides; if the height is above the top of the youth chart, move to adult. ZipaSports drafts youth and adult patterns from computerised grading and cuts both in the same production run, so an academy sheet running from U9 to senior is one normal order rather than two. The academy kit guide covers age-group planning in more detail.

For growing players, ordering one size up to last two seasons is a decision for the parent, not the factory, and should be recorded on the sheet as the chosen size rather than as a note to interpret.

Women's cuts, unisex cuts and mixed squads

A women's cut is a different pattern, not a smaller men's pattern. It is shaped through the chest and waist, sits shorter in the body and sleeve, and the neckline is often lower. The factory offers women's sizes XS–4XL alongside adult XS–5XL and youth sizes, all in one order. A club that fields men's, women's and youth teams sends one sheet with the cut column filled in on every row.

Where a squad prefers one pattern for everyone, a unisex (men's-block) cut is available, and women's players size by the chart for that block rather than by their usual women's label. Some garments settle the question themselves: leggings, sports bras and dance garments are cut on women's blocks by default; rash guards and gi are usually offered in both. Confirm the cut at the mockup stage so the printed design, including side panels and sponsor positions, is drawn for the pattern that will be sewn.

Names and numbers are unaffected by cut. Every row still carries its own name and number, and the same crest and sponsor files are used across all three patterns, so a mixed squad looks like one team on the pitch.

Mixed sizes inside the minimum order

The minimum order at ZipaSports is 20–25 pieces per design, lower on request for sample runs and small teams, with no MOQ limit for sportswear brands and companies. Within that minimum, sizes mix freely: one design across youth and adult, men's and women's, XS to 5XL, with a different name and number on every piece. One design means one artwork; the sizes underneath it are the factory's job to grade and cut.

What counts as a second design is a different artwork, not a different size. A home jersey and an away jersey are two designs; a men's and a women's home jersey in the same artwork are one design in two cuts. Training tops in a different colourway are a separate design. A club with fifteen senior players and eight youth players can therefore place one order of 23 match jerseys and sit within the minimum, provided all 23 carry the same design.

Sizes do not need to be evenly spread either. A sheet with eleven mediums, six larges and one 3XL is manufactured exactly as written; there is no size ratio the buyer has to fit. Small top-ups after the main run are handled on request, covered in the reorder section below.

Measurement tolerance: what ±1–1.5 cm means on a finished garment

Cut-and-sew garments are made to a measurement specification with a tolerance of ±1–1.5 cm on each measured point, the normal allowance for fabric movement during cutting, sewing and heat pressing. A jersey that measures 1 cm under or over its specified chest width is within specification; that variation does not change the fit and is not a defect.

What is a defect is a garment that does not match the size it was ordered as: a shirt labelled medium that measures to the large column, a size missing from the box, or a quantity short against the approved sheet. Quality Guarantee: if any garment arrives with a manufacturing defect, we remake it free of charge — the remake goes into production within 3 days of your report. Send photos and the order reference within 7 days of delivery; we confirm within 24 hours in business hours and ship the remade pieces at no charge, or issue a credit if you prefer. Full detail is on the Quality Guarantee page.

A size chosen wrongly by the buyer, because the player was measured over a hoodie or a parent guessed, is not a manufacturing defect, which is the reason this guide exists. Every garment is measured against the approved size specification before packing; see quality control for the checks.

Run a sizing day with a sample kit

The most reliable way to fill the sheet is a sizing day: a set of sample garments in the actual cut and fabric, laid out by size, with each player trying one on and a coach writing the size down there and then. It takes one team session and removes the guesswork from every other section of this guide.

Sample garments are supplied in the sizes you name, charged at sample cost and credited against your bulk order, with a turnaround of 5–7 days plus 5–10 days by courier. A size set (one garment per size across the range) is the usual request for a sizing day; a single fit sample is enough when the squad already knows its sizes and only a new cut needs checking. Ask for the samples in a plain or existing colourway if the design is not yet approved; the fit is what you are testing, not the print.

Timing: count back from the deadline. Bulk production takes 15–25 business days after approval (7–12 days on express), plus courier time, so the sizing day should sit before the mockup is approved rather than after. The team kit buying guide lays out a full season calendar, and how it works shows where the sheet enters the order process.

Common size-collection errors and their fixes

Most of these come from collecting sizes in more than one place or against more than one chart. The fix is procedural rather than technical: one chart, one unit, one sheet, one date, one sender. The factory checks the sheet against the mockup before cutting and queries anything that looks wrong, such as a 3XL in a U10 squad, but the sheet you approve is what is cut.

Reorder sizing: top-ups, new signings and next season

Reorders are where the sheet pays for itself a second time. ZipaSports keeps the approved size specification, artwork, Pantone references and squad list on file, so a top-up for three new signings mid-season is a message with three rows, not a new order form. Top-ups below the 20–25 piece minimum are handled on request, and because the same pattern and chart are used, the new shirts match the originals.

For next season, re-measure youth players every time; a child's chest and height change enough in a year that last year's sheet is a starting point, not an answer. Adult squads can usually carry sizes forward, with a column for anyone who wants to change. If the cut or fabric changes between seasons, such as a move from mesh to interlock or a new women's block, treat it as a fresh sizing exercise and ask for a fit sample.

Keep the master sheet as a living document: date each version, archive the previous one, and send the factory only the current file. That habit, together with the artwork pack described in the custom jersey design guide, is what lets a club or academy order run the same way every year from Sialkot to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia or Europe in 5–10 days by DHL, FedEx or UPS.