This post is sponsored by Bella + Canvas.  The project ideas and opinions are all mine.

Fall is in the air.

Even here in Texas, the weather is turning cooler and the days are getting shorter. It is my favorite time of year.

Fall is my favorite because of all of the wonderful colors that appear. Nature produces some amazing color combinations and I love trying to recreate some of them in my crafting projects. Not only do I love Mother Nature’s colors, I love the wide variety of fall color shirts that are in style this time of year.

Today I want to share some different ink color combinations that will go great with your fall color shirts. If you’ve been playing it safe with black or white ink on your projects, it’s time to venture out of your comfort zone. Finding the right ink color can really make your design pop, especially with my favorite fall color shirts from Bella + Canvas.

If you are looking to DIY your own branded t-shirts or maybe you want to sell them, I have a few tips and tricks to share with you so you have success screen printing at home.

BELLA + CANVAS Blank Soft-Style T-Shirts

I just love the Bella + Canvas shirts for so many reasons. First, they fit great and they are some of the softest shirts I’ve ever worn. If you sell your shirts, Bella + Canvas shirts are great because they have a wonderful unisex fit that is true to size.

Bella + Canvas shirts are my personal pick when I’m screen printing shirts for my family. I love how the shirts soak in the Speedball water-based ink so nicely. Because the ink absorbs into the shirt, you can’t even feel the design on your shirt.

My favorite styles are the Bella + Canvas Unisex Triblend and Bella + Canvas Unisex Heather CVC.  These are both extremely soft shirts.  When I screen print on these shirts, I always get comments that they are the softest, most comfortable shirts. 

Where to Buy Bella + Canvas T-shirt Blanks

If you are just crafting for fun, you can purchase Bella + Canvas shirts at bellacanvas.com or retailers like Michaels.  If you are a small business offering screen printed (or vinyl) t-shirts to customers, you can purchase directly from Bella + Canvas with a wholesale account.  With a wholesale account, you can get better pricing on blanks when you are selling them!  Apply for a Bella + Canvas Wholesale account

WHY SCREEN PRINT VS. HEAT TRANSFER VINYL?

If you are a Cricut or Silhouette user who loves making projects with iron-on vinyl (HTV), you will be amazed at how much better a screen printed shirt feels and holds up! Screen printing with vinyl starts with cutting the design on your vinyl cutter and ends with a permanent design on your shirt. Plus, screen printing ink on a shirt just looks so much more professional!

Want to know more about making the switch from HTV to screen printing, be sure to read my Screen Printing vs. HTV post.

Fall Color Shirt Blanks

The hardest parts of the screen printing process, for me, are deciding on the design to make… and what color shirt to use… and then what color ink would look best. After that, the process is a breeze!

I often head to Pinterest to look for ideas on what color shirt and ink combinations look best together. I’m a visual person, so seeing an ink/shirt color combo that I like always helps my decision making process.

Today, I’ve picked out some of my favorite fall Bella + Canvas shirt colors and paired them with fabric inks so you can see how different combinations work together.

Tone-on-Tone

One of my favorite shirt/ink combinations is a tone-on-tone effect. This is when you choose different shades of the same color. On the pumpkin patch shirt, I used the Bella + Canvas sunset tri-blend with Speedball orange fabric ink. On the Sanderson witch shirt, I used Bella + Canvas’ orchid tri-blend with Speedball violet fabric ink.

When choosing a tone-on-tone effect, I like the lighter tri-blend or heathered colors and a darker ink.

Left Shirt: Bella + Canvas’ orchid tri-blend with Speedball violet fabric ink
Right Shirt: Bella + Canvas sunset tri-blend with Speedball orange fabric ink

Fall Shirt and Ink Color Combinations

Blue denim Speedball ink is a navy blue color that looks great on so many different shirts. Typically, I use it on grey shirts, but I’m loving how it looks on Bella + Canvas’ heather prism dusty blue and cement tri-blend shirt colors.

Next, I experimented with 2 color combinations that I thought might be a little more unexpected. Usually when I grab an orange shirt, like the orange triblend, I will use a black ink. This plaid pumpkin is printed with Speedball opaque black pearl. I love how this ink has a slight shimmer to it.

This mustard tri-blend shirt is one of my favorite fall colors. I have several of these in my closet with different designs… all of which I used black ink. This time I experimented with Speedball opaque amethyst for a great fall color combination.

Maroon and gold really give me the fall vibes. I used Bella + Canvas heather clay paired with Speedball opaque gold fabric ink. The ink has a slight shimmer effect and covered the clay shirt nicely.

This decorative pumpkin shirt on the left is the reverse of the clay and gold. Bella + Canvas heather sand dune pairs nicely with a maroon ink color. This maroon color is from my Primary Ink Recipe guide. I mixed red and blue ink to achieve this color.

Mixing Fabric Inks to Make New Colors

Being able to mix ink colors is just another reason I love screen printing. It gives you the flexibility to create a small batch of a color that you need for one project without investing in a new jar for every color you need. For more details about mixing ink, be sure to check out my Ink Recipe Guides.

I also mixed a batch of Harvest ink from my Fall Ink Recipe guide. It stands out nicely on the Bella + Canvas’ heather sand dune.

I think my most unexpected fall favorite is the Harvest ink color on Bella + Canvas olive triblend. I wasn’t sure how well the dark orangish brown ink would show up on the green shirt, but I’m loving the final result.

I hope seeing these shirt and ink combinations inspires you to make (and sell!) your own fall t-shirts.

Top Left: Bella + Canvas Orange Triblend with Speedball  Opaque Black Pearl Fabric Ink | Buffalo Plaid Pumpkin SVG on Etsy
Top Right: Bella + Canvas Heather Prism Dusty Blue with Speedball Blue Denim Fabric Ink | Thankful Grateful Blessed SVG on Etsy
Bottom Left: Bella + Canvas Cement Triblend with Speedball Blue Denim Fabric Ink | Thankful Grateful Blessed SVG on Etsy
Bottom Right: Bella + Canvas Mustard Triblend with Speedball Opaque Amethyst Fabric Ink

Top Left: Bella + Canvas Heather Sand Dune with Maroon Fabric Ink |Floral Pumpkin SVG on Etsy
Top Right: Bella + Canvas Natural with Harvest Fabric Ink | It's Fall Y'all SVG on Etsy
Bottom Left: Bella + Canvas Olive Triblend with Harvest Fabric Ink | It's Fall Y'all SVG on Etsy
Bottom Right: Bella + Canvas Heather Clay with Speedball Opaque Gold Fabric Ink