Cotton demystified

For many corporate buyers of cotton wearables like t-shirts, golfshirts and sweatshirts, cotton terminology is familiar yet confusing.

Colorful t-shirts

a)      Jersey Cotton:  Most t-shirts are jersey style cotton, 100% blends.  Sometimes you find 50/50 cotton-polyester blends to increase color-fastness or sturdiness.  Wikipedia describes Jersey fabric as: “very stretchy single knitted, usually light-weight, jersey with one flat side and one piled side.[2] When made with a light weight yarn, this is the fabric most often used to make t-shirts.[2]”  Although rare, some golfshirt styles use jersey cotton.

b)      Pique Cotton.  Most commonly used for collared long or short sleeve sport shirts – golfshirts or tennis.  Can be blended with Polyester to in

Closeup Pique fabric

crease color-fastness or sturdiness.  Wikipedia describes Pique Cotton as: a weaving style, normally used with cotton yarn, which is characterized by raised parallel cords or fine ribbing. Twilled cotton and corded cotton are close relatives.

c)      Cotton Fleece.  Most commonly found in long sleeve crewneck, collared, zippered or hooded sweatshirts.  Found in 100% cotton fleece or blends with polyester to improve color-fastness or sturdiness.  Wikipedia says: Fleece is a general term for a soft fabric (often with a deep pile).  But most sweatshirts

have the

pile turned INSIDE with the smooth soft finish on the exterior.  I find many corporate buyers say they want “Fleece” but are not referring to cotton fleece sweatshirts but to the very common “Polar Fleece.”

Polar fleece is all polyester and is usually outerwear.  (we can cover polar fleece inanother post).

Future topics: Cotton fibres, decoding fabric weights and polar

Hooded Sweatshirt for Mariners Baseball

fleece options