Are Canva Hoodies Any Good? I Ordered One to Find Out
After recently putting Canva Print Shop* to the test with my new business cards, I decided it was time to move beyond paper and try something a little more ambitious: a hoodie and tote bag for Totally Content.
Both feature my Choose Vinyl design with a small Totally Content logo positioned like a stamp in the corner. On the back of the hoodie, I also added some text and my website address, which meant there were considerably more opportunities for me to get the size, position or proportions horribly wrong.
I designed them, crossed my fingers and sent them to print.
What I Ordered From Canva Print
I placed the order on 28 August and it arrived on 4 September, so just one week from clicking the button to opening the box.
At the time I ordered, the prices were:
- Hoodie: £37.50
- Tote bag: £23.70
- Total: £61.20
I used Canva vouchers for this particular order, but £61.20 is still the actual order value and it’s important to say it plainly: this is not cheap merch.
You can absolutely find personalised hoodies and tote bags elsewhere for less, so the question isn’t really whether Canva is the cheapest. It’s whether the convenience and quality make that higher price worthwhile.
Choosing the Right Canva Hoodie Size
My first wobble came before I’d even ordered it: what size hoodie should I choose?
Buying clothes online is always a bit of a gamble because a Medium in one place can apparently mean something entirely different somewhere else. I’m about a size 16, give or take, so in the end I went for a Large and hoped for the best.
The tote required considerably less decision-making because there was only one size to choose from. Personally, I’d like Canva to offer a larger tote as well as the standard one, particularly because mine was specifically designed for record shopping.
Thankfully, the current size does just accommodate a vinyl record or two, which was rather an important part of the job description. It works, but give me a proper record-hauling version and I’d be very happy indeed.
The Bit About the Hoodie I Was Most Worried About: The Back
The front of the hoodie was fairly straightforward, but I was much less certain about the back. I’d added text and the Totally Content URL beneath the hood and, when I first pulled it out of the box, I had a horrible moment where I thought I’d positioned everything too high and the hood was going to cover it.
Then I put it on.
Phew.
The positioning actually works really well. The hood sits above the main text rather than swallowing it, and the print came out exactly as I’d hoped.
It’s a useful reminder that designing clothing is slightly different from designing something flat. You’re looking at a flat preview on a screen, but the finished design has to deal with hoods, seams, folds and, inconveniently, an actual human being wearing it.
What Does the Canva Printing Look Like?
I’m really pleased with the print quality on both pieces. The designs feel good, the colours look right and the text on the back of the hoodie came out clearly.
There are two things I’d change if I were doing them again: I’d make my little Totally Content logo stamp bigger on both, probably about twice the size, and I’d move the text on the back of the hoodie up slightly.
That’s on me rather than Canva. Something can look perfectly substantial when you’re staring at it on a screen and then suddenly appear rather more petite once it’s sitting on a hoodie.
Lesson learned: when you’re creating custom clothing, pay attention to the physical size of smaller design elements rather than judging everything purely by how it looks in the Canva editor.
I haven’t wash-tested the hoodie yet, so I’m not going to pretend I can tell you how the print holds up after repeated washes. I’ll update this post once it’s had a proper encounter with the washing machine.
Is Canva Print Expensive?
Yes.
£37.50 for a hoodie and £23.70 for a tote bag means Canva Print is not where I’d send you if your main goal was finding the cheapest personalised merch on the internet.
Where Canva does win is convenience. I created the designs, positioned everything, checked the previews and ordered the finished products without exporting artwork, uploading files elsewhere or setting everything up again on another website.
For a one-off item, that simplicity has real value.
So What Are You Paying Canva For?
There are four things that make the higher price easier to justify.
1. The convenience
If your design already lives in Canva, turning it into a physical product is remarkably simple. There’s no downloading, uploading, recreating designs elsewhere or learning another print company’s ordering system.
2. Canva’s Happiness Guarantee
There’s reassurance in knowing Canva backs its printed products with its Happiness Guarantee. When you’re ordering something you’ve designed yourself, particularly clothing where you’re never entirely certain how it’ll translate from screen to fabric, that takes some of the anxiety out of clicking the order button.
3. One Print, One Tree
Canva also has its One Print, One Tree initiative, planting a tree for qualifying print orders.
Would I pay a hefty premium for a hoodie purely because a tree gets planted? Probably not. But as something included alongside the convenience and print service, it’s a nice extra and I can absolutely see sustainability being an important factor for some buyers.
4. The quality
Ultimately, none of the convenience matters if the thing that arrives feels rubbish.
Thankfully, that’s not my experience here. The hoodie feels good, the tote feels substantial enough for what I wanted it for and I’m pleased with the quality of the printing on both.
Would I Pay £61.20 for Them?
This is probably the most important question.
Honestly, I wouldn’t use Canva Print for merch if I wanted several items. At these prices, I’d shop around and compare specialist print-on-demand suppliers instead.
Where I would consider Canva Print is for a one-off. Maybe you want your own branded hoodie, you’re creating a personalised gift, or you’ve designed something in Canva that you’d simply love to see on an actual product.
That’s where the convenience becomes much easier to justify. You can design it, preview it and order it without leaving Canva, and the quality of what I’ve received has been good.
So yes for a special one-off or gift. No for stocking up on merch.
At £61.20 for these two items, I’d certainly think twice before clicking that button without a voucher.
My Canva Print Wish List
Ordering these has inevitably made me think about what else I’d like Canva to let me print. After doing print-on-demand for over a quarter of a century, I know a thing or two about what’s out there, and I’d like to see more from Canva.
So, Canva, since you’re obviously waiting breathlessly for my shopping list…
- A larger tote bag – one with plenty of room for record shopping, obviously.
- Long-sleeved T-shirts – because, well, Glasgow.
- Baseball caps – I’d have far too much fun designing those.
- Cushions – prime territory for music, retro and ridiculous designs. Double-sided!
- Beanies – see previous comment regarding Glasgow.
- Zip-up hoodies – another useful option for branded clothing.
- Bags – duffle, makeup, laptop covers etc
I don’t need Canva Print to become Fourthwall (where my TC shop is) Redbubble or TeePublic overnight, but I’d definitely enjoy having a few more things to experiment with.
My Verdict on Canva Print for Merch
After a successful first experiment with my Canva business cards, I’m pleased to say this experiment has been a success too.
The hoodie sizing gamble worked, the back design survived its encounter with an actual hood, the print quality looks good and my tote can officially carry vinyl. Mission accomplished.
Would I call £61.20 for the two items cheap? Absolutely not.
Would I recommend Canva Print for merch? Yes, but with a fairly hefty price-shaped caveat.
For a one-off, a personalised gift or something you particularly want to bring to life from a Canva design, absolutely. The quality is good and the convenience is hard to beat.
For multiple items? I’d shop around.
You’re paying a considerable premium for that very short journey between “I’ve made this” and “I want this on an actual thing.”
Sometimes that’s worth it. Other times it’s not.
If Canva added one new product to Print Shop tomorrow, what would you want to put your designs on?
Fancy Trying Canva Print Shop?
If you’ve already got a design sitting in Canva that you’d quite like to see escape from your screen and become an actual physical object, you can explore Canva Print Shop here*. Products and availability vary by country, so bear that in mind.
Have you tried Canva’s print facility? What did you order, and how did it turn out? Let me know in the comments.
Disclaimer
Small print, big honesty: this order was paid for using Canva vouchers, but Canva hasn’t told me what to say and all opinions, hoodie-placement panics and requests for bigger record-shopping totes are entirely my own. The Canva Print link in this post is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. No robot made me say that.
