T-Shirt Size Guide: Adult & Youth Size Charts in Inches + How to Measure

The best size guide for a t-shirt is a shirt you already own. Every chart on this page describes the garment, not the person wearing it: the numbers are taken with the shirt laid flat, so the most reliable way to choose is to measure a tee that fits the way you like and find its twin on the chart.

Lay the shirt face up on a table, smooth it out without pulling, and line up the side seams. Then take two measurements, or three for anything with long sleeves:

• Chest width: straight across from side seam to side seam, 1″ below the bottom of the armholes. This is half the chest, which is how size charts list it, so compare it as it is rather than doubling it.
• Body length: from the high point of the shoulder, where the shoulder seam meets the collar, straight down to the hem.
• Sleeve, on long sleeves and fleece: from the centre back of the neck, over the shoulder and down to the end of the cuff. Short-sleeve tee charts leave it out.

Use a shirt that has been through the wash a few times, because that is the size it settled at, and trust its numbers over the letter on its label: two tees with the same letter can measure quite differently.

No shirt to hand? Measure your chest all the way round under the arms and compare it with double the chart’s chest width. The shirt has to measure bigger than you do; that difference is the room it gives you, and how much room you like is exactly what a shirt you own would have told you.

Treat every chart as close, not exact: the spec sheets allow up to 2″ of variance on our everyday tee and about 1″ on the other styles here, so a half-inch gap between your shirt and a chart row still counts as a match.

Our everyday tee is the Gildan 64000 Softstyle: 100% ring-spun cotton at 4.5 oz/yd², in a semi-fitted unisex cut that runs true to size and slightly slimmer than a classic heavy-cotton tee. Heathers are 65/35 poly-cotton, the antique colours and Sport Grey 90/10 cotton-poly, and Graphite Heather 50/50. These are its published measurements, laid flat:

The steps are regular: each size up adds 2″ across the chest, 4″ all the way round and 1″ of length. The studio sells this tee from XS to 5XL. The published chart starts at S, so if a shirt you own measures well under 18″ across, ask us for the XS measurements before you order. Sizes 2XL and up carry a small per-piece upcharge that rises with each size, because the bigger blanks cost more.

This is the blank behind our custom t-shirt printing, and the page to design your own t-shirts online shows its colours. For more on the shirt itself, read our Gildan shirts review.

Most people land on one row. The rest fall between two, or get one size from the chest and another from the length. Here is how to read the tee chart in each case.

• Your shirt measures 21″ across and 29.5″ long. That sits between M (20″ × 29″) and L (22″ × 30″). Let the chest decide and the fit you like break the tie: M if you like a tee close, L if you like room, and L if your shirts go in a hot dryer.
• Your shirt is 20″ across, but you want 31″ of length. The chest says M and the length says XL. This tee adds 2″ of width for every inch of length, so tall, slim people are the hardest fit. L is the usual compromise, an inch longer than M for 2″ more width; take XL only if staying tucked in matters more than a close fit.
• Your favourite fitted tee is 17″ across. That is under our small, at 18″. A small gives you an inch more room than the shirt you love; for a closer fit, ask about XS. Gaps like this one are why many women size down in a unisex tee, covered below.

Buying for someone you can’t measure? Go by the size they wear in a unisex or men’s tee, not a fitted cut, and size up rather than down when unsure. A tee that is a little big gets worn; one that is a little tight goes in a drawer. When you are ready, open the t-shirt in the design studio, where the size chart is a click away while you fill in sizes.

The studio’s long sleeve is the Gildan 2400 Ultra Cotton: 100% cotton at 6.0 oz/yd², a third heavier than the Softstyle, with rib-knit cuffs. Ash is 99/1 cotton-poly, Sport Grey 90/10, and Dark Heather and the safety colours 50/50. Its published chest and length match the tee, size for size:

Same numbers, different feel. The heavier cotton hangs straighter, the cut is a classic, relaxed one where the Softstyle is semi-fitted, and the long sleeve’s own fit note reads: true to size, size down for a closer fit. The studio sells it S–3XL; ask about 4XL and 5XL through the free quote form. Our page on custom long sleeve shirts covers sleeve prints and the rest of the decoration options.

The hoodie (Gildan 18500) and the crewneck sweatshirt (Gildan 18000) are the same 8.0 oz/yd² Heavy Blend fleece, 50% cotton and 50% polyester with a brushed inside; the five Heather Sport shades are 60/40 poly-cotton. Their published measurements are identical, both are a classic, relaxed unisex fit that runs true to size, and the sleeve is measured from the centre back of the neck to the cuff:

Set that beside the tee chart and the answer to “should I size up in a hoodie?” is in the numbers. At the same letter the fleece is 2″ wider and 1″ shorter, so a large hoodie is as wide as an XL tee and as long as a medium. The room for a layer is already built in, and most people are fine in their tee size. Size up for an oversized look or a heavy layer underneath, knowing the bigger size adds 2″ of width for each inch of length.

Plenty of people size up in fleece anyway, which is why our bulk size breakdown runs the hoodie curve about half a size above the tee curve. The studio sells both styles S–3XL, with 4XL and 5XL by quote. Its 100% polyester hoodie, the Team 365 TT400, is a different blank with its own chart: about 1.5″ wider than the fleece at S, level at XL and an inch narrower at 3XL. The crewneck comes in the 50/50 fleece only. See custom hoodies and custom crewneck sweatshirts for colours and decoration.

The polo is the Gildan 8800 DryBlend: a 6.0 oz/yd² jersey knit of 52% cotton and 48% polyester (Sport Grey 90/10, Graphite Heather 62/38), with a welt-knit collar and a three-button placket. Its fit note is the one to remember: classic fit, true to size, runs roomy.

Against the tee, the polo is 1″ wider at every size and the same length from M up, so a large tee and a large polo are not the same shirt. Polos are usually worn neat, often tucked in at work, and the roomy cut is a good reason to take the smaller of two sizes. The studio sells the polo S–3XL. Its 100% polyester option is a different blank, and the size chart sheet says so; ask us for its measurements. Our polo shirt printing page covers embroidered and printed polos.

Kids’ sizes are the Gildan youth cuts of the same garments, so a family or a team can match: the 64000B youth tee, the 2400B youth long sleeve, the 18500B youth hoodie and the 18000B youth crewneck. Gildan publishes their measurements and a size number for each label, but no ages. The ages and heights below are our estimate of who each size fits, worked out from Gildan’s body measurements for a typical child.

The label number is the trap. A Gildan youth medium is labelled 10–12, and parents read that as an age; it is a size number. By our estimate a youth M fits roughly a 9- to 11-year-old, and the XL, labelled 18–20, roughly 14 to 16. Children the same age can be several inches apart, so go by height where you can, and take the larger size when a child is between two.

The other youth styles, as chest × length and then sleeve, in inches:

Three details hide in those charts. The youth long sleeve has no XS, because Gildan doesn’t make one. The youth hoodie has no drawcord in its hood. And a youth XL tee is about as wide as an adult small, 19″ against 18″, but 3″ shorter, 25″ against 28″, which is why most teens past about 14 are happier in adult sizes.

In the studio, add kids to the same design with “+ Youth sizes” under a colour row. Each box shows its estimated age, youth sizes come in the standard fabric only, and 12 adult plus 12 youth tees are priced as one 24-piece order. You can open the tee with youth sizes showing, and the custom kids’ clothing page has a size finder that works from a child’s age and height.

“Unisex” on a tee means a straight, men’s-style block: straight sides, a wider shoulder and a longer body. A women’s fitted tee is cut narrower at the shoulder and waist and shorter in the body, so the same letter on the two charts describes two different shirts. That is why many women size down one in a unisex tee, and why a shirt you own is again the best check: if your favourite tee measures 19″ across, you sit between our S and M, whatever its label says.

The studio’s tee is the unisex cut: size down one for a women’s-tee fit, or keep your usual letter and wear it a little relaxed, as a unisex tee is meant to sit. If your group wants a fitted women’s cut as well, ask through the free quote form.

Fabric changes the chart, too. Choose 100% polyester in the studio and the tee becomes a different blank, the Team 365 TT11 performance tee, and the size chart sheet switches to its measurements. It is graded about 1.5″ a size instead of 2″, so it runs roomier than the cotton tee at the small end and slightly narrower at the big end:

A polyester small is 2″ wider than a cotton small, the two chests meet at 2XL, and from 3XL up the polyester tee is the narrower one by up to an inch, and a little shorter. Moving a team from cotton to performance shirts? Re-check the sizes instead of copying last year’s list. Our guide to the best t-shirt fabric for printing covers when each fabric earns its place.

Cotton can shrink a little in a hot wash or a hot dryer, and what it loses tends to come off the length more than the width. The Softstyle tee and the 2400 long sleeve are sold as preshrunk, which reduces shrinkage rather than ruling it out. The heathers and the 50/50 fleece carry polyester, which holds its shape better under heat.

• You dry on hot: take the larger of the two sizes.
• You wash cold and hang dry: keep your usual size; the shirt stays close to the chart.
• The chest says one size and the length another: go by the chest, unless you are tall and need the length.
• It is a hoodie or crewneck: remember it already runs 2″ wider than the tee at the same letter.
• It is for a child: take the larger size, because a slightly big shirt gets another year of wear.

The care that keeps the size also keeps the print: wash cold and inside out, skip the bleach, and tumble dry low or hang to dry.

For a group, the most common sizing mistake is asking for a letter with nothing to compare it to. Put the chart for the exact garment on the size form, ask people to measure a shirt they own, and set a deadline. Our guide on how to organize a group apparel order covers the form, the deadline and the payments, and for the people you can’t ask, the size breakdown for 100 to 1,000 shirts gives a starting curve.

Every garment in the studio has a size chart sheet, with Adult and Youth tabs on the tee, long sleeve, hoodie and crewneck, so whoever places the order can check measurements while typing in sizes. Mixed adult-and-kid orders, such as family vacation and reunion shirts, go on one design and one colour row. Large orders get volume pricing. In the online design studio the per-piece price drops at 12, 24, 50 and 100 pieces, and every colour of the same garment in one order counts toward the same price break. Orders in the hundreds are usually screen printed and quoted directly — through the free quote form, by email or by phone — and a large order gets the same free mockup and human designer check as a single shirt.

One thing does not grow with the shirt: the print. Our standard full-front print is 11″ wide on every adult size and 8″ on youth sizes, so one design covers about 60% of a small’s 18″ width and under 40% of a 3XL’s 28″. The t-shirt design size guide covers how big to make the art, and every order is reviewed by a human designer before it goes to press, sizing and placement included.

Set your size deadline from the production calendar, not the event. Standard turnaround on clothing is 1–2 weeks. Most apparel orders can rush — 4–5 business days or 1–3 business days, priced at checkout — and every order shows the dates it will be ready before you pay. Everything is printed and decorated in-house in Ottawa and shipped Canada-wide; shipping is quoted for your postal code and shown before you pay. When the sizes are in, type them into the design studio or send the table through the free quote form.