Carnival club kits, parade outfits, crew shirts
The three most common order types during carnival season:
- Carnival club kits — club logo on chest and back, uniform colour for all members. Typical 30 to 80 pieces. Often in club colours like red-white (Cologne), red-white-green (Düsseldorf) or local crest.
- Parade crew shirts — the team on the float or as a foot group in unified design. 10 to 40 pieces. Often with motto slogans ("Float 7 Crew", "Funkenmariechen 2026", "Kamelle Crew").
- Carnival pub crew shirts — smaller groups (5 to 15 people) celebrating together. Funny slogans, quirky designs, sometimes with own names on the back.
Practical tip: clubs care about recognisability — clean logos, fixed colour palette. Crew shirts can be more colourful and offbeat.
Slogan and design ideas
Popular slogans and motifs from real carnival orders:
- "Kölle Alaaf 2026" or "Helau 2026" with date or club name.
- "Carnival is Love" — short and to the point.
- "D'r Zoch kütt" — Cologne classic for float crews.
- "Lights On, Brain Off" — self-deprecating, popular with younger crews.
- Local dialect insiders — work brilliantly on a regional level.
- "Float [Number] Crew" with float number and year.
- "Kamelle Throwers 2026" for float crews who throw sweets.
- Club crest with year — the classic for official kits.
Print method: screen print or DTF — durable and bold
Carnival is the toughest stage for a shirt: confetti, beer, rain, dancing. So not all print methods work equally well:
- Screen print — recommendation from 50 pieces. Very durable, vibrant colours, survives sessions, parades and many washes. Perfect for club kits with crests.
- DTF print — recommendation for smaller quantities (1 to 50 pieces) and complex, multi-colour designs. Very durable, vibrant on any fabric (including dark).
- Digital print (DTG) — sensible for very small quantities with a photo motif, not the first choice for carnival.
- Embroidery — fits official club polos with a small crest.
Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz — on time before the session
Carnival orders have hard deadlines. The most important Q1 dates:
- 11 November (season opening): order by early October at the latest. Clubs often go into production in summer.
- Weiberfastnacht/Old Wives' Day: kick off 6 weeks before, for quantities over 100 better 8 weeks.
- Rose Monday: finished at least 4 weeks before — you don't want delivery problems on Monday itself.
- Shrove Tuesday: like Rose Monday.
If you're ordering in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz or other strongholds, our location info is useful: Cologne textile printing shows details for regional delivery and contacts.
Are you organising it as an official club order?
If your carnival club is ordering official kits in larger quantities, our B2B clubs advisory handles it with bulk orders, club invoicing and dedicated contacts.
Are you planning it as a club order? → /en/clubs/