Please review the following 5 images which explain the 5 steps it takes to take a design idea from concept to finished design ready to be applied to garments, printed and then shipped to your door.

The application used in this demonstration is Adobe Illustrator.
 
These steps of course don't include the initial research to establish what are the best 'types' of design for example 'vintage' in the example shown.
 
If you have ever tried to create your own designs you will appreciate just how long it can take to come up with a design idea in the first place ... let alone taking your design from idea to completion, ready top print.

 

DESIGN PROCESS STEP #1: Initial pencil sketch of the concept, scanned for use as a tracing template

DESIGN PROCESS STEP #2: Tracing and creating design elements, overlaid on the template

DESIGN PROCESS STEP #3: Fonts chosen and type added

DESIGN PROCESS STEP #4: Close up of the vector paths. I've outlined some of the type, but kept some editable so can
be changed for different years

DESIGN PROCESS STEP #5: Finished job, overlaid on dark and coloured backgrounds in order to choose final design