FAQ

Everything we get asked, answered plainly. Sizing and fabric first, because that is what most people want before they order. Shipping, returns and care are further down.

Sizing and fit

What size should I order?

Measure a shirt you already own and like, then match its chest measurement to our size chart — do not measure your body. Lay the shirt flat, smooth out the wrinkles, and measure straight across from seam to seam one inch below the armhole. Compare that number as-is; do not double it. Chest is what makes a shirt fit or not fit. Length is a preference.

What if I’m between two sizes?

Size up. Our tees are cut about an inch longer in the body with a regular fit, so sizing up reads as relaxed rather than oversized. If the larger size turns out to be wrong, we will send a replacement in the correct size free — one per order, within 30 days of delivery, and you keep the first one.

How does a unisex tee fit compared to a men’s or women’s cut?

A unisex tee is cut on a men’s block: straighter through the waist, wider in the shoulder, and slightly longer in the body than a women’s cut. If you usually wear a women’s fitted tee and want the same look, size down one. If you want the relaxed drape most people are after with a graphic tee, order your normal size.

Do your shirts shrink?

Cotton-rich jersey will shrink slightly in a hot wash or a hot dryer — expect up to about half an inch in the body length over the first few washes. Wash cold and hang dry or tumble low and you will keep the original fit. The shrinkage is in the length far more than the width.

Fabric and printing

What are your t-shirts made of?

100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, 4.2 oz. Airlume is Bella+Canvas’s combed, ring-spun cotton — a finer, smoother yarn that feels softer, pills less and holds print detail better than standard cotton. Heather colours include some polyester, which is what gives them their flecked look.

What is Airlume cotton?

Airlume is Bella+Canvas’s name for their combed and ring-spun cotton. Combing removes the short, uneven fibres before spinning; ring-spinning twists what remains into a finer, smoother yarn. The result is a softer hand feel, less pilling, and a tighter surface that holds print detail better than standard open-end cotton. It is the reason a good blank feels different from a promotional tee.

What is combed and ring-spun cotton?

Two separate finishing steps that usually appear together. Combing pulls out short fibres and impurities so only long, parallel fibres remain. Ring-spinning then twists those fibres continuously into a fine, strong yarn. Together they produce a fabric that is softer, more durable and smoother to print on than standard cotton — and more expensive, which is why cheap tees skip both.

What is a tri-blend shirt?

A tri-blend mixes three fibres, usually cotton, polyester and rayon. Cotton gives breathability, polyester gives shape retention and colour hold, rayon gives drape and that soft, slightly heathered look. Tri-blends are lighter and stretchier than 100% cotton and resist wrinkling, but they take print slightly differently — colours read a little more muted and vintage.

How are your designs printed?

Screen printing wherever we can get it. Screen print lays down a thicker, more opaque ink that survives more washes than digital methods, so it is our default. Print-on-demand means the supplier with capacity at the time does the job, so some runs use a digital method instead — usually direct-to-garment, which prints ink straight into the fabric like an inkjet. Both are durable if you wash cold and hang dry.

What is a graphic tee?

A graphic tee is a t-shirt whose design is printed on the fabric rather than woven or embroidered into it — artwork, type, or both, usually across the chest. The term covers everything from band merch to art prints. What separates a good one is whether the artwork means something and whether the blank is worth printing on.

Care

How do I wash a graphic tee without wrecking the print?

Turn it inside out, wash cold on a gentle cycle, and hang dry. That is most of it. Heat is what damages print — the dryer more than the wash. Avoid bleach and fabric softener; softener leaves a residue that dulls the print surface. Never iron directly on the design. If you need to press it, turn it inside out and iron the back of the fabric.

How do I keep a shirt from shrinking?

Cold water and low heat. Almost all shrinkage in cotton jersey happens in the dryer, not the wash. Hang drying eliminates it almost entirely. If you tumble dry, use the lowest setting and pull the shirt out slightly damp.

How should I wash a hat?

By hand, and never in a dishwasher or dryer. Mix a little mild detergent into lukewarm water, work it into the fabric with a soft brush, focusing on the sweatband, then rinse and press the water out with a towel — do not wring it. Reshape it over something round, a folded towel or a jar works, and let it air dry away from direct heat. Heat is what warps a brim permanently. The full guide to washing a hat covers sweat stains, wool, leather patches and what to do about a brim that has already lost its shape.

Stickers

Are your water bottle stickers waterproof?

Yes. They are printed on high-grade waterproof vinyl and rated water-, UV- and scratch-resistant, which is why they hold up to rain, sun and trail dust without fading. Hand-washing still gets you the longest life out of any sticker.

Are vinyl stickers dishwasher safe?

No. Hand-wash any bottle with stickers on it. The dishwasher combines sustained heat, strong detergent and high water pressure, and heat is what breaks adhesive down — one cycle can undo months of careful washing. This applies to our stickers and to every other vinyl sticker we have tried. Warm soapy water and a soft cloth, washing around the sticker rather than across it, is the whole answer.

How long do vinyl stickers last?

On a hand-washed bottle, a well-applied vinyl sticker typically lasts years rather than seasons. What shortens it is heat and abrasion, not water: dishwasher cycles, a bottle rattling against keys in a pack pocket, and long sun exposure on unlaminated ink. Failure almost always starts at the edges, not the middle.

How do I keep a sticker from peeling off?

Clean the surface with rubbing alcohol, let it dry completely, apply from the centre outward, and leave it 24 hours before the bottle gets wet. Adhesive keeps bonding for about a day after application, and washing too early is the most common reason stickers fail. We wrote the full version, including sealants and clean removal, in our guide to keeping stickers on a water bottle.

Orders and shipping

How long will my order take?

Production is 2–5 business days, then transit time on top. Nothing sits in a warehouse — every order is printed after you place it, one at a time, in the United States. You get a tracking number by email the moment it ships. If you need something by a specific date, count backwards and allow the full production window plus transit.

How much is shipping?

Free on US orders of $75 and over. Under $75 it is a flat rate calculated at checkout, so you see the exact figure before you pay.

Do you ship internationally?

Not right now — we ship within the United States only. Free on orders of $75 and over, flat rate below that, calculated at checkout.

Can I change or cancel my order?

Yes, within 24 hours of ordering. After that the printer has picked up the job and we cannot pull it back. Email hello@cms.lostcanyonthreads.com as soon as you can with your order number — the sooner the better, since orders often enter production well inside that window.

Returns and exchanges

What is your return policy?

If something arrives damaged, misprinted, or is not what you ordered, that is on us. Email a photo to hello@cms.lostcanyonthreads.com within 30 days of delivery and we will send a replacement or refund you — your choice. You will not need to ship anything back.

Can I return something because it doesn’t fit?

Not as a general return — every piece is printed for one specific order, so a returned shirt cannot be resold. What we can do is get you into the right size: reach out within 30 days of delivery and we will send a free replacement in the size you need, one per order. Keep the first one or pass it on.

About Lost Canyon Threads

Where are your products made?

Printed in the United States, one order at a time, after you place it. Nothing is warehoused, which keeps dead stock out of the landfill and is the reason there is a production window before your order ships.

Where do your designs come from?

Real places in the Colorado high country. The Cottonwood Pass tee is named for the pass at 12,126 feet between Buena Vista and the Taylor Park Reservoir; the Twin Lakes designs come from the valley below Independence Pass. We write about the places themselves in Trail Notes.

Is your clothing sustainable?

We make one honest claim: nothing is printed until you order it. No warehouse of unsold shirts, no end-of-season stock going to landfill — which is where a large share of apparel waste actually comes from. Beyond that we are still working on it, and we actively look for more eco-friendly blanks, inks and printing methods as suppliers make them available. We would rather tell you what we do today than call the whole operation green.

How do I get in touch?

Email hello@cms.lostcanyonthreads.com, or use the contact form. Photos of a damaged or misprinted order go to that address too.