How to Make Custom Knitwear with Printful: A Step-By-Step Guide

Want to make your store stand out? Then learning how to make custom knitwear is a game-changer. Knitwear is an exclusive product category in the competitive print-on-demand (POD) space that allows you to offer customers something they can’t easily find elsewhere.

Adding knitwear to your lineup is also a smart way to boost profit margins since it often commands premium pricing. And it’s in high demand: the global knitwear market was valued at $111.59 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow by 6.3% annually, reaching $165.59B by 2030. 

This demand reflects a shift toward comfortable, long-lasting clothing—something custom knitwear delivers exceptionally well. By offering these items in your store, you can tap into this expanding market with a product that justifies a higher price.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the knitwear design process to ensure your next bestseller comes out just as you imagined.

How to make custom knitwear in 6 steps

Ready to get started? Let’s go through the knitwear creation process—from choosing your design colors to marketing the final product. At the end of this article, you’ll know how to craft high-quality, personalized pieces you can be proud of.

1. Understand your design options

Knitwear at Printful is created using jacquard knitting—an intricate technique that knits detailed patterns directly into the fabric of a garment. The knitted fabric offers a luxurious look and feel, allowing you to deliver high-end products that feel personal and well-made. 

The yarns are a cotton and polyester blend that ensure a soft, comfortable, and long-lasting final product.

You can select up to 4 colors for your design from a total of 36 yarn colors. For best results, use a darker base color to avoid distortion at the seams and to ensure your design looks sharp.

You can also customize the collar, hem, and base colors, but they need to stay within the same 4-color limit. It’s a way to add a vibrant touch to your design with bold, contrasting accents.

All pattern pieces—front, back, and sleeves—are customizable, and it’s up to you to choose between complementary or contrasting designs. While the color count is just 4, don’t let that limit your imagination—you can design anything from bold patterns and big graphics to intricate, painting-like artwork and posterized photos.  

2. Select a graphic design tool

Now that you know your knitwear design possibilities, let’s look at how to create your design.

Printful’s Design Maker

Printful’s built-in Design Maker is a free drag-and-drop tool you can use to bring your merch ideas to life. Various design tools and graphics like clipart, fonts, and Quick Designs are at your fingertips, allowing you to create designs easily—even if you don’t have any previous experience.

Photoshop

If you’re a more experienced designer, you can create your designs in Photoshop, as it allows you to create more detailed and pixel-perfect designs.

To do that, download our print file templates under File guidelines on the product page to ensure your design size is correct.

For best results, follow our knitwear guidelines closely and pay attention to the available color codes. The color limitation affects how detailed or complex your design can be, so plan accordingly to ensure your design translates well into the final product.

If you’re using an existing image (e.g., a photo), you can adjust it using color indexing. This process reduces the number of colors in the image while keeping its core details intact. Set the number of colors you want to index to 4—the maximum color number allowed for knitwear.

Keep in mind that you should never scale an indexed image as the quality may degrade due to the limitations of the indexed color palette. Make sure the image size is correct before indexing.

Dithering is another useful technique you can use when limited to just a few shades. It allows you to create an illusion of a gradient or even a new color. By placing small dots of two colors next to each other, your design can mimic a smooth transition between them. For example, combining blue and yellow dots can make the eye perceive green, even though it’s not actually part of the color palette. This technique adds depth and variety to your design without increasing the number of colors.

Once your design is ready, upload it to the Design Maker and save your template. After that, you’re all set to send it to fulfillment.

3. Pick yarn colors

As mentioned before, you can select up to 4 colors for your design, including the hem, collar, and base colors.

Available knitwear colors. Source: Printful

If the graphic element’s colors in the Design Maker or your uploaded artwork differ from the 36 colors available for knitwear, the closest matching colors will be auto-selected. But you can choose different ones in the Yarn Colors section of the Design Maker.

Once you’ve added your design and set the colors, the next step is choosing your color selection mode. Two modes are available: Solid and Pixelated.

Source: Printful

The Solid mode is suitable for images with solid color blocks like logos or text, while the Pixelated mode is best for intricate images like oil paintings, photos, or detailed artwork. You can see an example of the mode differences below.

4. Follow our knitwear design guidelines

To ensure a high-quality final result, follow our design guidelines closely. These tips will help you create a polished, professional piece that looks just as good in real life as it does on your screen.

Avoid low-contrast colors

Colors that look distinct on your screen might blend on the final garment. Avoid using low-contrast colors side by side to ensure your design is clear.

Source: Printful

Avoid designs with lots of different colors

Keep in mind that the color limit for knitwear is 4. Opt for images with a lower color count when working with photos or colorful graphics. 

In the example below, there are too many shades for them to translate well with just 4 colors. As a result, the design elements are blurred together and don’t appear crisp.

Source: Printful

Look out for stray pixels

Sometimes, a stray pixel might be left on the canvas by mistake. If you don’t catch it, it’ll be knitted into the fabric just like the rest of your design and might end up looking like a stain. So double-check your artwork for any tiny errors before uploading.

Stray pixels can be difficult to see depending on your screen’s size. If your screen is small, open and inspect the image at full size.

Source: Printful

Designing for multiple sizes

Never scale your artwork after it’s been indexed, or you’ll lose the color indexing. To avoid issues with blank spaces, always start your design at the largest size—it’s easier to scale down than to size up. Keep in mind that scaling works best for similar sizes; big jumps between very large and small templates can distort your design.

Source: Printful

Ensure proper spacing between design elements

To prevent letters or design elements from merging, make sure to leave enough space between them. For Photoshop users, leave at least 1 px of space between design elements. This will help keep everything in your design separated and readable.

5. Order samples

Ordering samples is essential to ensure your design colors and details come through as intended. It’s also useful for spotting any stray pixels or adjustments you may want to make before offering the final product to customers.

Plus, having a physical sample lets you create authentic marketing content. Real photos or videos of the product—showing the texture, colors, and fit—help customers see exactly what they’re getting, which can build trust and increase sales. Taking this extra step means you can present your knitwear confidently, knowing it meets your quality standards and looks great in real life.

6. Start selling

Once you’ve approved your sample, it’s time to add the custom knitwear to your store. Consider positioning it as a trending product for the season to highlight its cozy, high-quality appeal. Using real photos in your listings will help showcase the texture and fit, while lifestyle shots make it easier for customers to picture themselves wearing your knitwear pieces.

If you’re just starting out and need help setting up your store, check out our article How to Start an Online Store with Printful for a step-by-step guide.

With thoughtful presentation and strategic marketing, your custom knitwear can become a standout product that keeps customers coming back.

Consider creating bundles to increase your average order value—pair your knitwear with complementary products like hats or scarves. You can also encourage customer reviews or photos, which add social proof and help showcase the quality of your knitwear.

Featuring it in seasonal collections (e.g., ugly Christmas sweaters) or special campaigns can also help draw attention and keep customers engaged.

Source: Printful

Ready to design your knitwear line?

With the right approach, custom knitwear can become a customer favorite and a profitable addition to your lineup. By creating original designs that resonate with your audience, you’re offering a high-quality product with lasting value. Because designs are knitted directly into the fabric, colors stay vibrant and won’t fade over time.

Whether your audience leans toward cozy, minimalist styles or bold, statement pieces, the design possibilities are vast. Plus, with print-on-demand, it’s easy to introduce and test new designs.

Ready to create your knitwear line and set your brand apart? Start designing today and let us know how it goes in the comments!