Why You Should Stock Blankets in Your T-Shirt Shop

When have you ever received a soft, fleece blanket and happily not used it forever? Throw blankets are a year-round cozy staple that you can use almost anywhere, from sitting next to the fire, to cheering on your favorite team from the stands. Marketing special, personalized blankets can set your decorated goods business apart, while also being an easy product to embellish on your part. 

Here’s an important statistic: The average person spends $1387.04 a year on holiday gifts. That total doesn’t include life milestones that traditionally involve gifts, such as bachelorette parties, weddings, births, birthdays, graduations and retirements. Getting a piece of that pie isn’t hard, especially when you offer this one-size-fits-all gift that everyone can use! Let’s look at all the custom blankets you can easily make – and who’s raring to buy them.

There are many occasions when a custom or personalized blanket is a perfect gift! For these items, you can add names, monograms, dates and years to commemorate different life milestones.

The most widely needed and wanted gift for a new mom is a soft blanket for her newborn. Personalizing the blanket with the baby’s name, date of birth and other details such as weight and height makes a wonderful keepsake. You can be sure it’ll be handed down!

Product Idea: Check out the Rabbit Skins Infant Premium Jersey Blanket, which comes in White, Pink, Light Blue and Lavender/Purple.

Just as a new mom will love and appreciate a custom blanket, any mom will enjoy getting a blanket personalized just for her. Beautiful floral designs work best with a few color choices. Adding a short message or just a simple initial monogram will show that her child didn’t forget her with a last-minute gift!

We’ve all had someone who we don’t really know well but due to family dynamics or politics at work, you feel compelled to get them a gift. Throws make the perfect gift for the person who has everything and for those you don’t know very well. Personalization can be very minimal, such as with just the last name initial on the blanket. 

Every year, the holidays appear earlier than before, and we forget someone who inevitably gives us a great gift leaving us obligated to give them something in return. Having a custom fleece throw with the year on it is the perfect gift!

Product Idea: For any of the life events we’ve just mentioned, the J America Boundary Shag Blanket is a wonderfully warm, cozy and long-lasting throw they’ll use and keep for years.

Just as we mentioned earlier, you really can’t go wrong with a throw blanket. Companies looking for a way to show their employees, clients or donors they’re appreciated can make them feel cozy with a simple blanket. You can add the company logo and the person’s name, last name or monogram – for a customized or personalized (or both) gift.

Depending on their budget for corporate gifts, customizing or personalizing blankets will ensure employees, customers and supporters remember who gave them the throw they’re snuggling up in on the daily. A comfy throw blanket gift is an excellent branding opportunity for all types of businesses and organizations.

Product Idea: The cozy plaid J America Adult Epic Sherpa Blanket comes in two color stories and will quickly become a favorite with gift recipients!

Throw blankets make great personalized gifts for sorority members, students, alumni and sports fans that they’ll treasure as keepsakes and will use for years to come. For some of these types of clients, you’ll need to be licensed to reproduce the college, Greek organization or team logos. However, many decorators go into licensed work and find it very lucrative once they’re set up properly.

Product Idea: The Gildan Heavy Blend Fleece Stadium Blanket comes in Sport Grey, Black, Royal, Navy, Red and Sand – perfect for dorm rooms, sporting events, tailgating, bonfires and hanging at home.

Hotels and resorts have great gift shops where happy vacationers can purchase souvenirs, t-shirts and other items to remember their trip. Having the resort or destination name on a themed blanket will always sell out.

Product Idea: The Gildan Heavy Blend Fleece Stadium Blanket is also a great choice for this market, since it comes in lots of colors.

So much of the personalization depends on who your customer is and what’s appropriate for the occasion. You may have a high-scale corporation asking for something more casual and fun for an employee themed party or incentive. 

With that in mind, here are some easy ways you can decorate blankets:

Vinyl Personalization: Did you know you can use heat transfer vinyl on fleece blankets? You can! This is ideal for a small order as you’ll need to spend time creating the vinyl and ironing it on. Using a Cricut Maker or something similar, you’ll want to use fabric with a low pile. For the vinyl materials, you’re looking for something with a thicker and textured material. Be sure to test fabric first. For a great tutorial on a sample project check out The Soccer Mom Blog.

Machine or Hand Embroidery: Embroidery is such a nice touch to any project. You’ll want to use a machine and possibly partner with someone for larger orders. Embroidery machines today make the process simple, so you spend less time creating a design and more time producing custom products. This may not be the best option for smaller, more complicated logos and details, so keep this in mind.

Leatherette Patches: Leather and faux leather patches offer a way to personalize a blanket that can be very easy for you. This would be ideal for a large custom order for a hotel, resort or company gift. There are several options for creating the leatherette patch. If you have a Cricut Maker, you can tool leather with it. You can also order laser engraved patches online in bulk for those large orders.

Trim: While fleece blankets and particularly throws don’t need to have trim, they’ll have a more polished look and it’s an easy, quick way to add personalization. Color matching with a company’s logo or a mom’s favorite color will add a custom touch. Bias binding looks the nicest and is probably the easiest to offer across all clientele. For these custom items, you might need to look at several suppliers to see if you can order that item.

Many businesses are looking for an easy gift with a personal touch for customers, and staff, and as incentives. One great option is a cozy throw blanket. Adding blankets to your shop’s inventory is an easy way to expand your shop. This can lead to big orders from big businesses looking to purchase custom, personalized gifts.

Threadsy is a great online destination for buying high-quality blankets at wholesale prices whether you have a wholesale license or not. If you’ve been shopping for blankets from a big box retailer, it’s time to stop. Threadsy offers generous discounts for customers who purchase items in larger quantities. Our bulk discount program starts at $110, and the savings up to 15% automatically appear in your cart when you bundle your items. You’ll also enjoy free shipping on orders $50 or higher, with always-fast delivery. 

Plus, unlike other retailers that tack on fees for everything from orders that don’t meet a certain purchase threshold, to packing your order to processing returns, Threadsy doesn’t do that. There’s no minimum order, returns are free for 30 days, and we’ll never charge you extra money to pack your order. So what are you waiting for? Start shopping for blankets and saving today, whether you’re a hobbyist or a business owner.