Logo Placement on a Shirt: Every Spot Measured in Inches

Key Takeaways

• Measure logo placement from the collar seam: on most adult tees, a chest logo's top edge sits 2 inches below it.
• A left or right chest logo runs up to 4 x 4 inches in any method; anything bigger is printed.
• Youth, women's, and pocket tees shrink or drop spots.
• No minimum: order one shirt.

Table of Contents

• Where to Put a Logo on a Shirt: Every Spot and Its Size
• Where Do You Measure Logo Placement From?
• What Size Should a Left Chest Logo Be, and Where Does It Go?
• Center Chest or Full Front: How Big Can a Front Logo Go?
• Back Logo Placement on a Shirt
• Where Do Sleeve, Hem, and Cuff Logos Go?
• Does Logo Placement Change on Youth, Women's, and Pocket Tees?
• How Do You Make a Logo Placement Template?
• FAQ
• Order Shirts With the Logo Where You Want It

Almost every logo placement on a shirt is measured from a seam. Chest and back logos start at the collar seam, and hem and short-sleeve logos start at a hem. On most adult tees we print, a left chest logo fits a box up to 4 inches square. Its top edge sits 2 inches below the collar seam, and its center sits 4 inches left of the shirt's middle (the wearer's left).

A full front or full back prints up to 13 x 17 inches, and a sleeve logo runs up to 3.5 inches square. Every box and distance in the tables comes from the measured spots our Design Studio uses for the 43 t-shirts we carry (checked October 2026).

Where to Put a Logo on a Shirt: Every Spot and Its Size

Most short-sleeve tees we carry offer 12 logo spots: six on the front, four on the back, and one on each sleeve. The left chest is the usual logo spot, and the full front and full back are the largest. Each spot has a maximum box. Embroidery and patches stop at 4 x 4 inches on a shirt, so only printing fills the big ones.

Read every box as "up to." A specific shirt can carry a smaller one, and the youth, women's, and pocket tees further down do. Each distance can land up to a quarter inch either way once the shirt is made. The design proof we email within 1 to 2 business days of your order confirms the exact size and position before anything is made.

In a 2025 eye-tracking study, 32 people judging computer-generated bodies looked most at the chest and midriff. The study did not test shirts or logos, so it is only a hint about where eyes land on a torso. To see these spots on real shirts, browse custom t-shirts and open the Design Studio on any shirt.

Where Do You Measure Logo Placement From?

Measure down from the collar seam, where the collar band joins the body of the shirt, at the center of the front or back. Every downward distance for the chest, full front, and back starts there and runs to the design's top edge. The hem spots are the exception. Hem logos measure up from the bottom hem, short-sleeve logos up from the sleeve hem, and long-sleeve logos down from the shoulder seam.

Many other guides say 3 to 4 inches below the collar, an inch or two lower than the 2 inches most of our tees use. They also mix three starting points: the collar, the shoulder seam, and the armpit. Some say 7 to 9 inches from the shoulder seam. They count from the top of the shoulder beside the neck, usually to the logo's center, so the number runs bigger.

Printers on YouTube often teach a hand rule: four fingers down from the bottom of the collar. One heat-transfer company's trainer measures four fingers at exactly 3 inches. A decorator in another video measures four fingers at 3.5 inches. Hands differ, so we give inches.

Two more details settle most mix-ups. Left chest means the wearer's left, so when the shirt lies face up in front of you, it sits on your right. The 4-inch side distance runs from the middle of the shirt to the center of the logo box, not to its edge.

What Size Should a Left Chest Logo Be, and Where Does It Go?

A left chest logo can be up to 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall, whether it is embroidered, a patch, or printed. On most adult tees, its top edge sits 2 inches below the collar seam, centered 4 inches toward the wearer's left. Printers who teach placement on YouTube size it at 3 to 4.5 inches, with square or round logos at the low end. One calls 3.5 to 4 inches standard and says, "I really wouldn't go over" 4.5.

The box limits both directions, so your logo's shape decides how big it prints. A round badge can use the full 4 x 4. A wordmark five times wider than it is tall reaches 4 inches across at only 0.8 inch tall.

That height matters most in thread. Embroidered lettering needs about 0.2 inch (5 mm) of height to stay readable, and thin, condensed, or script fonts need more. Our guide on how to put a logo on a hat explains why thread cannot hold hairline strokes, and the same holds on a shirt. Thin letters can read poorly in print too: one r/SCREENPRINTING commenter said the thin letters on a shirt print looked "barely legible."

The right chest is the mirror spot, with the same 4 x 4 box. You can use both chests on one shirt, a logo on one side and a second design on the other.

Center Chest or Full Front: How Big Can a Front Logo Go?

A center chest logo prints up to 8 x 8 inches, and a full front prints up to 13 x 17 inches. Both start 2 inches below the collar seam on most adult tees. Embroidery reaches 4 x 4 at the center chest, and a patch does not go there. The full front is printing only.

A crest that has to be stitched belongs on the left chest or at a center chest no wider than 4 inches.

The shirt's own width shapes how a big print looks. The Bella + Canvas Jersey T-Shirt measures 18 inches across laid flat in a small and 28 inches in a 3XL. A 13-inch-wide print leaves 2.5 inches of shirt on each side of the small and 7.5 on the 3XL. Our t-shirt sizing chart lists every laid-flat width for three common tees.

The front spots also block each other. A full front rules out every chest spot. A center chest rules out the left and right chest. The Design Studio greys out a spot that would overlap one you already used and tells you which one.

Back Logo Placement on a Shirt

The back of a tee has four spots: the back neck, the upper back, the full back, and the back hem. On most adult tees, the upper and full back start 3 inches below the collar seam, and the back neck 1 inch below.

• Back neck, up to 4 x 4 inches, in any method. It suits a small mark, a website, or a second logo that sits above the shoulder blades.
• Upper back, up to 13 x 5 inches printed, or 4 x 4 in thread or a patch. The wide, short shape fits a company name or a line of text across the shoulders.
• Full back, up to 13 x 17 inches, printing only. This is the spot for a large graphic or an event design.
• Back hem, up to 4 x 4 inches, 0.5 inch above the bottom hem, in any method.

The full back, upper back, and back neck overlap, so you pick one of the three; the back hem works with any of them.

A front-and-back shirt is two separate designs, one per side. A common pairing is a 4 x 4 left chest logo with a full back graphic. Each side gets its own artwork and its own note for our design team.

Where Do Sleeve, Hem, and Cuff Logos Go?

A short-sleeve logo prints, stitches, or patches up to 3.5 x 3.5 inches, with its bottom edge 0.5 inch above the sleeve hem. On long sleeves, the sleeve logo starts 4 inches below the shoulder seam.

Long sleeves add two spots. The full sleeve runs a printed strip up to 3.5 x 16.5 inches down the arm. The cuff takes a design up to 3 x 2 inches, 0.5 inch above the cuff, printed or as a patch. The full sleeve overlaps both the sleeve logo and the cuff, so it replaces them on that arm.

The front hem spots are small and easy to miss. Each takes up to 3 x 3 inches in any method, 0.5 inch above the bottom hem and 3.5 inches in from the side seam. A hem mark combines with every other spot, which makes it an easy place for a small icon or a year.

Does Logo Placement Change on Youth, Women's, and Pocket Tees?

The boxes in the first table are adult numbers, and several shirts change them. Here is how five shirts we carry differ.

Youth boxes shrink because the shirts do. The youth XS in that Gildan measures 16 inches across laid flat, so a 13-inch print would nearly reach the side seams. Its full front and full back run 10 inches wide, and its chest logo stops at 3 x 3.

Pocket tees give the left chest to the pocket. The Carhartt carries the maker's own label on that pocket. Your logo goes on the right chest or on the 4 x 2.5 spot 1 inch above the pocket. The other four pocket tees we carry (three short sleeve, one long sleeve) also offer a 3 x 3 printed design on the pocket itself. Each shirt in a mixed order keeps its own boxes.

How Do You Make a Logo Placement Template?

The quickest template costs nothing. Print your logo at the size you plan and cut it out. Tape it on a shirt you own at the distances in the first table. To find the middle, fold the shirt in half lengthwise and press a crease; every chest distance from the middle starts from that line. Then put the shirt on and look in a mirror.

A 3.5-inch chest logo can look small on a 3XL and large on a women's small. A full back can disappear under a backpack. "Nobody wants to wear a print on their belly or in the armpit," the heat-transfer trainer warns, and a mirror shows both.

After that, the Design Studio shows each spot as a labeled box on a photo of the shirt you picked. You can try a chest logo, swap to a center chest, and see the change before you order. PNG and JPEG files upload straight into the Design Studio, and any other file can go to custom@griwolfe.com. A note field on each side carries anything specific, such as "match the red to Pantone 485," to our design team.

FAQ

Which side of the shirt does a logo go on?

A left chest logo goes on the wearer's left side, over the heart. When the shirt lies face up in front of you, that is your right. The right chest is the mirror spot with the same 4 x 4 inch box, and a shirt can carry a design on both.

How many inches below the collar should a logo be?

On most adult tees we print, a chest or full-front design starts 2 inches below the collar seam, measured to the design's top edge. A few cuts start lower, such as the Hanes tees at 3 inches. Back designs start 3 inches below the back collar seam, and a back-neck logo starts 1 inch below it.

What is the standard logo size on a shirt in cm?

A left chest logo runs up to 10.2 x 10.2 cm (4 x 4 inches). A center chest print runs up to 20.3 x 20.3 cm, and a full front or full back up to 33 x 43.2 cm. Sleeve logos run up to 8.9 x 8.9 cm. Each is a maximum, and a specific shirt can be smaller.

Can a full-front logo be embroidered?

No. Embroidery and patches top out at 4 x 4 inches on a shirt, so a full-front or full-back design is printed. Embroidery runs up to 4 x 4 at either chest, the center chest, the back neck, the upper back, and the back hem. It runs up to 3 x 3 at a front hem and 3.5 x 3.5 on a sleeve.

Does a kids' shirt need a smaller logo?

Yes, on most youth tees. Our Gildan youth tees take a chest logo up to 3 x 3 inches, starting 1.5 inches below the collar seam. Their full front runs up to 10 inches wide instead of 13. A youth XS runs 14 to 16 inches across laid flat, so an adult-size print would not fit.

Order Shirts With the Logo Where You Want It

Measure from the collar seam, keep a stitched logo inside 4 x 4 inches, and print anything larger on the front or back. Youth, women's, and pocket tees change the spots and sizes, so open the Design Studio on each one.

There is no minimum, so one shirt is a real order: order a custom t-shirt and see a placement in person. We email a design proof within 1 to 2 business days of your order, with unlimited revisions before production. Standard production is 2 to 3 weeks for embroidery and printing, and 4 to 6 weeks for patches. Rush is available on request if you contact us before ordering.

Have a question about your order? Contact us, we'll get back to you the same day.