4th of July Merch Design Ideas

4th of July Merch Shop Ideas

USA, USA! 

It wouldn’t feel like the Fourth of July (or summer) without some patriotic merch.

Spreadshop makes it easy for you to create your own original and festive styles.

Pick products and colors – red, white, and blue – that speak to the holiday. Play around with iconic design elements like stars, stripes, and other Americana images.

Take what’s traditional and turn it into something that suits your style.

Design merch that you’ll want to wear to that family barbeque year after year. Merch that will make watching fireworks an even more memorable event.

We hope our suggestions below provide some inspo for your 4th of July merch. 

Can’t wait to see what you come up with! 

Merch Options

Merch Options

Check out some of our recommended merch options for the Fourth of July and all your patriotic needs below.

We have hundreds of products you can feature in your shop, but these are the essentials.

T-Shirts

You can’t go wrong with a classic tee. 

Our t-shirts come in unisex, men’s, and women’s fits. Choose the style that works best for you.

V-necks are a stylish departure from the traditional tee, or you can go for a relaxed fit.

Different styles also use different fabrics that affect breathability.

If you want to lean heavily into the 4th of July merch style, our unisex stars and stripes t-shirt is an essential.

Tanks

A summer staple.

Your designs will  look oh-so summery on our men’s and women’s tanks.

The royal blue of the women’s premium tank is stunning. It would pair well with a red/white color scheme.

If you’re looking for a looser fit, the women’s flowy tank by Bella is a top choice.

It also looks perfectly patriotic in the royal blue, red, or white options.

Better get one of each color just in case.

Caps

Another summer go-to: the baseball cap.

Our snapback baseball camp is a customer favorite and is featured in many shops.

It doesn’t come in white, but you’ll forgive us after you see the red and navy options.

Because they’re adjustable, they look great on both men and women.

If you want to be a little trendy with your headwear, may we suggest our bucket hat?

Patriotic images would stand out on the cream colored version.

It’s a funkier style, but it’ll add quirkiness to your wardrobe.

Bandanas

I bet you have a supply of bandanas you’ve collected over the years from events and stuff. But do you actually wear them?

Design a bandana you’ll actually wear.

They’re a versatile accessory that can be worn around the neck, as a headband, or an accessory tied on bags.

Bandanas are also a practical summer item, helping to keep the sun and sweat at bay.

We even have them available for dogs!

Designs

Designs

If you’re not an artist, designing your own merch can feel pretty overwhelming.

Use tools like Canva and DesignBold to help build clean-looking patriotic designs from images and graphics. And you can never go wrong with good old Photoshop.

If you already have sketches or ideas you want to build on, use our Graphics Service.

Our team of designers will help fine-tune and get your designs print-ready.

Stars

My favorite patriotic-related design element.

You can interpret the star shape however you want.

Go for that hand-sketched feel where it looks like it was taken straight off the page. This will bring a realness and whimsy to your merch.

If you want to go big and bold, look no further than the glam icon himself: Elton John.

Make big stars in red, white, and blue colors. Or play around and put them in various sizes for a retro design.

This kind of all over print would look particularly cool with our tanks or bandanas. 

Or do a cluster of stars on the front of a hat.

Stripes

Another piece of the American flag you can use for design inspo.

I like the idea of incorporating the stripes in unexpected ways.

If you want a busier design, fill your star shapes with stripes. Or you can even tie it in with lettering, if you have any.

Write words like “America” or “Freedom” and have the stripes of the flag go across the letters.

You can make this design large or small to fit on t-shirts and other accessories accordingly.

Fireworks

Incorporating firework imagery into your merch will give it a fun, explosive feel.

Go for the look of classic fireworks, or try something more abstract.

You can have a central design element like lettering and add little bursts of fireworks around it. You’ll be building a more cohesive design this way.

You could even turn different shapes like the stars into fireworks.

Think outside of the box. Use what you’ve seen on 4th of July merch before as a jumping off point.

You want your designs to feel original.

Patriotic Spreadshop Merch

We have some pretty great and original Spreadshops that have their own take on 4th of July Merch.

Chicken Butt Apparel

Chicken Butt Apparel asks the question: “Are you going to wear that?”

We say YES! and you will too once you see their merch.

They have a bunch of designs and themes in their shop, but we’re big fans of their patriotic gear.

Ben Franklin and George Washington probably threw some ragers in their day. 

We love how they made the design even more hilarious with the bandana and beer glass. The founding fathers have never looked cooler.

They dress up Honest Abe with some American flag tinted glasses on this t-shirt

Chicken Butt Apparel makes the kind of 4th of July merch you wouldn’t be able to find in a big box store.

They’re taking those classic Americana symbols of the stars and stripes and putting an original twist on them. 

They’re also carving out their own niche.

Where else can you get a tee of a founding father partying it up?

Amorphia Apparel

Abraham

Amorphia Apparel is another clothing shop that offers different design options, but they’re Hirsute History line is one for the LOOKS.

“History told through the hair of the people that shaped it.” That’s their motto.

They feature iconic figures like Benjamin Franklin (he’s a popular dude). And current history change makers like Stacey Abrams.

These aren’t in-your-face patriotic designs. 

They capture the essence of America’s greatest figures in an understated, yet powerful way. Which proves you don’t have to use obvious images like fireworks to reference America’s freedom and independence.

We hope you were inspired to create your own 4th of July merch after seeing what you can do with your merch.

Launch your Spreadshop today!

And drop some links to your merch in the comments.

Merch Trends For 2021

Merchandise Trends of 2021

The merchandise trends for 2021 are both wide-ranging in their subject matter, and incredibly innovative and timely.

If you want to look stylish this season, you’ve got to check out what’s trending in the world of merch.

We’re seeing merch creations that are wonderfully wacky.

Shop owners letting out their inner artist by using design elements like mythical creatures, or other characters. People are literally cashing in on the booming cryptocurrency trend by making their own merch.

There’s also still love for the clean and classic styles that revolve around simple text and direct messaging, and an increased demand for social justice and strong-statement driven merch.

These are the merch trends people are looking for in 2021. to because they say something about where we’re at in the world, whether that’s through escapism or real world connection. 

Fun Graphics

Fun Graphics

It’s always nice to rock some fun graphic merch, no matter how ridiculous it might be.

There’s been a revived interest in cartoon style designs within the last year. Maybe it’s because we’ve been stuck inside for so long that childhood nostalgia has become the ultimate form of escape: getting up late, eating junk food, watching cartoons.

Don’t be afraid to be too “out there” with the merch you wear, either. Go for something that’s going to draw strangers’ attention and make your friends and family crack up.

A stormtrooper riding a narwhal through a rainbow loop is sure to do it. This is really the kind of energy we need to be putting out in the world. I don’t think I could have dreamed this up if I tried.

There’s all kinds of different original merch designs out there.

This sleepy monster tee is totally unique. The Spreadshop – Monstermaker – has different types of monsters, like a unicorn monster or a monster with lazy eyes you can wear on tees or totes.

You can even find merch that incorporates different art styles within these fun and silly graphics.

Andy Warhol would be proud of this pop art llama with sunglasses cropped top. I don’t think he would wear it, but he would appreciate the reference.

There’s so much merch out there that’s pushing the boundaries of creativity. Find what kind of designs and characters speak most to you and your style and roll with it. 

Embrace your inner child and try not to be so serious with every fashion statement you make.

Simple and Creative Text

Simple and Creative Text

The complete opposite of bold graphic design, merch with clean and simple text is also a trending item. You can really say so much with just a few words.

There’s something striking about text on merch that really draws your focus and engages like-minded people.

I particularly like this Artitude top. It’s a word I had never heard before, but resonates for artists and all other creative types. The definition of artitude is “the way that you feel about your designs.”

Another art-themed piece of merch that follows this trend is a t-shirt from The Artist’s Haven. Their All You Need is Love and Art design is made a bit bolder by its color blocked lettering, but it’s text conveys a larger and more important message of how art can really impact your life.

This trend doesn’t apply to just crafty types, though.

Photography

You can find consistent examples of this in all different fields, take photography for example.

Linsey Davis is a photographer whose passion is capturing the magic and spontaneity of family moments. She cares deeply about what she does and finds art in whatever she captures.

Her Art of Composition merch has a flare to it that creates a sense of whimsy. And composition doesn’t have to exclusively apply to photography, necessarily. A composition could be a piece of music, a book, whatever you want it to be.

There’s so much to interpret and think about from these simple text based designs.

It can be related to something you’re interested in – like art or photography – or a funny statement, too. People might come up to you and ask about what you’re wearing and you can turn more people on to your interests.

This kind of merch trend is also versatile for your wardrobe.

Social Justice

Social Justice

Practicing social justice and the fight for quality should never be trends. It’s just that more and more people are starting to express their thoughts and beliefs through the merch they wear.

This Black Lives Matter t-shirt calls upon people to remember and say the names of the African American men, women, and children whose lives were senselessly cut short by police brutality. 

Expressing injustice through this design emphasizes how many people have actually been affected by these actions and those that are continuing to be mistreated.

There’s currently a movement to Free Palestine from Israeli occupation and violence. Creating merch is an important way to bring attention to an issue that most westerners don’t really know about. This Free Palestine t-shirt features the colors of the Palestian flag with the same fist used in the Black Lives Matter design from before.

People are also bringing attention to the LGBTQIA community in honor of Pride and Pride Month (June). Rainbow themed merch and statement making designs are prevalent to the issue.

A Love is a Human Right lunch bag says everything you need to know.

These are all incredibly important movements and issues that need attention brought to them, and wearing merch is just one way you can start to do that.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency

No doubt you’ve heard the rumblings in the tech world (or the Twitterverse) about a thing called cryptocurrency. I’m not even entirely sure what is, but it’s a big deal nonetheless.

From what I gather, cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency created from code in the form of something like bitcoin and a certain segment of the internet happens to be obsessed with it.

There’s all kinds of fun and meme-worthy crypto merch available to those that are interested.

An I Accept Bitcoin sticker is a unique merch item. It has an old school, retro look to it even though bitcoin is proposed to be the currency of the future.

The crypto world also has its own set of phrases and lingo that they’ve adopted. Like HOD, which means to “hold on for dear life.” This HODL t-shirt breaks down the definition to help bring awareness to the disinformation they feel is spread about the value of crypto and the community.

A big proponent of cryptocurrency is Elon Musk. 

Musk has actively encouraged his Twitter followers to hop on the Dogecoin train: a “fun and friendly internet currency” that originated from a meme.

Play off the trend by cashing in for a Dogecoin shirt. The Shiba Inu icon is outfitted in an astronaut suit with the words “Dogecoin to the Moon,” also playing off Musk’s dream to go into space.

I know this type of merch is only appealing to a certain type of person, but it just shows how you can create a whole community from one interest.

Food

Food

This merch trend might sound lame initially, but it’s actually really fun (and surprisingly mouthwatering).

Perfect for summertime when all of our favorite treats are in season – popsicles, ice cream cones, frozen yogurt – the trend allows you to show your love for all your favorite foods.

If you don’t want to be as obvious, I’d go with something more understated in its design. This ice cream cone sketch tee has a simple and clean look that can stand out more depending on what color t-shirt you decide to go with it. There’s also a retro vibe to it – something you might see on an ice cream storefront walking down the pier by the beach.

Are you one of those people that lives on a diet of Ramen? I’ve got a merch t-shirt for you.

This Ramen Life merch features an adorable cat living their best life in a bowl of tasty looking Ramen. 

And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen Ramen merch.

Forever 21 and other retail brands have carried Ramen graphic tees, hoodies, even sweatpants at one point or another. It’s a pretty big phenomenon in the fashion world it turns out.

Also keeping with the theme of food and animals, this Tacosaurus merch (taco + dinosaur) is pretty adorable. And who doesn’t love a good pun?

Something like food merch might seem ridiculous at first, but you can find some creative options when you start to look out there.

While these merch trends run a wide spectrum of topics and themes, there’s something you can pull from each of them in a way that speaks to your own personal style somehow.

Be sure to open your own Spreadshop today and create merch for top trends of 2021!

New: Unisex Hooded Jacket (Europe)

New: Unisex Hooded Jacket (Europe)

The Unisex Hooded Jacket has a classic and cozy vibe. Top it all off with a hood and you’ve got a wardrobe staple that could never go out of style. Our newest product from the brand Just Hoods will be available in black, bordeaux, light heather grey, navy and charcoal.

Here’s everything you should know about adding this product to your Shop.

Unisex Hooded Jacket (ID 1529)

  • Material: 80% cotton, 20% polyester (charcoal: 52% cotton, 48% polyester; light heather grey: 75% cotton, 25% polyester)
  • Double-layered hood with matching drawstring
  • Ribbed hem and cuffs
  • Kangaroo pouch, full-length concealed zip closure
  • Available sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
  • Available colors: Black, bordeaux, light heather grey, navy, charcoal

Print & Price Details

If you like the new product, create matching designs and add it to your Shop now!

Any questions or future product requests? Discuss with us and other Shop Owners in the comments!

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Don’t Wait To Launch Your Spreadshop

Why You Should Open A Spreadshop

How many times have you said you’ll do something “when I get X,” or, “it can wait until next week.” You’re delaying yourself from even starting; maybe it’s out of fear, maybe it’s just procrastination. I’m guilty of it, too. But if you want to create merch for your friends, business or just to do something creative, now’s the time to open a Spreadshop – even if you don’t feel like you’re ready!

If we waited until we were completely ready to start something, we’d never get anything done. The great thing about Spreadshop is you don’t have to have everything figured out on day one. Creating merch is a process of trial and error, but you’ll be able to understand what you want to make and even reignite your passion along the way. You just gotta press that launch button.

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

When an idea has been in your head for so long, it can be difficult to bring it to life. You want your merch designs to be wearable but representative of what you’re making it for: a podcast, a small business, a family event, etc.

Don’t be afraid to play around with different color schemes and positioning of logos and fonts. Maybe you thought this whole time that white and purple were going to be your go-to color scheme, but know when you see it with your designs, something just feels off. You might need to go back to the drawing board or pick different colors that you think will look aesthetically pleasing and speak to your cause.

Try not to overthink your designs, though. You don’t need to communicate everything about your shop or message through complex artistic creations; that might just confuse people even more and turn them off if too much is going on; it might even delay your launch if you get too caught up in making a certain type of design. Instead, stick to clean fonts and logos that allow for maximum wearability.

As you build your shop, you can start to pick what kind of merch options you want to make available to your customers. There’s no reason you can’t have every option Spreadshop offers in your shop, but maybe you want to narrow it down to products you would use or the products you think your design looks best on.

You might not need baby onesies if you have a podcast about kitchen hacks, but you would probably want to have something like aprons available. Think about what your customer is most likely to buy based on what kind of service or content you’re offering them.

Best Sellers

BEST SELLER GRAPHIC

If you don’t want to get too specific, stick with our best sellers. These are the products Spreadshop users gravitate to the most, no matter what the shop is about.

Find New Opportunities

Find New Opportunities

During the process of building and opening your Spreadshop, you’ll start to discover different ways you can show and talk about your merch.

If creating original art and putting it on merch is your thing, you can start a Youtube channel that shows you making art and giving tips to beginner graphic designers. If viewers are interested in the art you’re making, direct them to your Spreadshop where they can purchase the design on hoodies, stickers, water bottles, etc. 

Something like a Youtube channel is also a great way to take commissions and make art for people. It doesn’t have to be on merch necessarily, and will help you develop a business model.

You don’t just have to go down a visual route, though.

Talk About What You Love

Being on camera not your thing? Starting a podcast is a great way to talk about what you love.

If your shop is geared toward football or something fantasy football league related, carry that energy and enthusiasm to a podcast where you break down stats and emerging trends and winners. Invite friends or followers on to talk about what they’re league is shaping out to be or the sport in general. You’ll start to create a sense of community that will only help to drive interest in your merch.

This goes for any shop you have.

You’ll start to see the different angles and avenues you can use to tell your story and promote your Spreadshop merch. You can even link these different offerings in the About Me section of your shop, or as social links to make you look more professional and credible. Customers want to know if this is something you’re still interested in and not something you set up months ago and abandoned. Seeing that you’re active on different platforms just drives home your level of engagement and enthusiasm.

Opening a Spreadshop might seem daunting and can put all these unnecessary pressures on you. But once you dive in, you’ll see that creating your own merch can open up so many doors and unlock your creativity in ways you might not have seen before. You’ll understand your business or hobby better, creating your own community right from your laptop.

Open your own Spreadshop Today!

International T-Shirt Day With Spreadshop

International T-Shirt Day

Did you know that Spreadshop has its own holiday? Yeah, we’re kind of a big deal. Read on to get to know more about T-Shirt Day and the best tips to take advantage of this special event.

We started International T-Shirt Day back in 2008 as a way to help shop owners promote their shops and celebrate the beginning of summer with an essential merch item: the T-Shirt. 

This International T-Shirt Day (Monday, June 21) is no exception and is the perfect time to promote merch to your followers (and the Spreadshop community) as summer activities come back in full swing.

Why T-Shirts?

You no doubt already have a ton in your closet, and even a few that hold special significance. 

We all have those tees that are worn and ratty and should probably be thrown away, but you can’t bring yourself to do that because they hold some of your most precious memories: that time you went camping with your cousins, that school field trip your class took to DC, your first time going to a concert.

Now is the time for people to make memories in YOUR t-shirts.

T-shirts are a way for people to express themselves and showcase their interests. They want to wear clothing that’s not only going to make them feel good, but allow them the opportunity to be part of a larger community.

This applies for any type of Spreadshop: gamers, podcasters, vloggers, crafters, etc. Where there is a shop there is a connection to be made – no matter what type of merch or experience you’re selling.

It’s also not a bad time to launch new merch specifically for T-Shirt Day. 

Drop that new design you’ve been hoarding, finally bring that idea to life that’s been stuck in your head for ages. It will be a welcome shake-up to people who have been following your shop for a while and be something exciting to potential new buyers.

People want a reason to connect with you and International T-Shirt Day is all about giving you that opportunity thanks to some perfect timing.

Reconnect with Merch

Tis the Season

Now that people finally have a reason to leave their homes and reconnect with family and friends, they’re going to want some cool new merch to wear.

T-shirts are a summer and Spreadshirt staple that are incredibly versatile. Emphasize how your t-shirts are going to be essential to your customers’ everyday summer plans.

Take photos of yourself participating in some summer fun – catching rays by the pool, throwing a frisbee to your dog, going for a bike ride with friends – and share on your social media throughout the day (or use when you’re promoting your shop anytime).

Tag Spreadshop so we can share your posts, too. Your merch will be seen by more eyeballs than ever before, exposing you to some key demographics. 

And the more personal and seasonal your images are, the more people will respond to your merch.

Having a Spreadshop is all about telling your story, and this is the right time for you to reintroduce yourself to your followers and those in the Spreadshop community.

Our International T-Shirt Day goes beyond the idea of just promoting t-shirts. It’s a chance for us to see all the great merch and work that our shop owners are putting out into the world.

So, soak up the sun and share your merch (new and old) with us in honor of International T-Shirt Day on June 21!

Be sure to open your own Spreadshop today!