Find more information about the weight of fabrics and their applications here.
When choosing the fabric, you can also take into account the season for which you are developing your item or collection. In the summer, you may want a light shirt and for the winter a comfortable warm item. The weight of the fabric is particularly important here. The lighter the weight of the fabric, the more suitable it is for the summer, the heavier the fabric, the more likely it is to be used for the winter.
Fabrics that are made with yarns are woven or knitted fabrics. The way in which it is woven/knitted determines the structure of the fabric. T-shirts are often made from Jersey, possibly with elastomer to get more stretch. Sweaters and hoodies are also often made from a fleece fabric. This fabric has loops on the back after knitting, by roughening these loops (brushing) a nice soft layer is created and the fabric gets more volume. If this back is not roughened, the fabric is called "French Terry" and is then more suitable for Sweaters. Predesigned can advise you on the right fabrics. Whereby Sustainabililty is certainly also a subject that must be taken into account. For more about Sustainabililty from Predesigned, see the special page about this.
Next to your Bodyfit, the fabric of your garment is the most important. A fabric determines together with the fit whether your garment is worn or not. It is even so that the same garment in a different fabric can become a completely different garment. The choice of your fabric is therefore certainly an important subject. Read the basic information about fabrics here. For clothing productions with Predesigned.
What you need to know about fabrics
What should you pay attention to when choosing a fabric for a garment?
There are several things you should pay attention to. Read here the 8 most important points you should take into account when choosing your fabric.
Ultra lightweight
25 < 70 gramms
Quality among other things:
Silk
Viscose
Used for:
Luxury T-shirt
Bodyfit:
Regularfit / Unisex
mid-Weight
110 < 180 gram
In quality:
Silk
Viscose
Lyocell
Bamboo
Wool
Hemp
Cotton
Polyester
Stretch quality
Mixed qualities
Used for:
T-shirt
Bodyfit:
Slimfit / Regularfit / Unisex
Above average weight
180 < 220 gramms
In quality:
Silk
Viscose
Lyocell
Bamboo
Wool
Hemp
Cotton
Polyester
Stretch quality
Mixed qualities
Used for:
Mid heavy T-shirt
Long sleeve
Vest
Pullover
Polo-neckline
Turtle
Nightgown
Bodyfit:
Slimfit / Regularfit / Unisex
Heavy Weight
220 < 300 gram
In quality:
Cotton
Viscose
Bamboo
Wool
Hemp
Polyester
Stretch quality
Mixed qualities
Used for:
Heavy T-shirt
Hoodie
Long sleeve
Vest
Sweater
Polo-neckline
Turtle
Bodyfit:
Slimfit / Regularfit / Unisex
Heavier Weight
300 > 530+ gramms
In quality:
Cotton
Bamboo
Wool
Hemp
Polyester
Mixed qualities
Used for:
Sweaters
Hoodie
Long sleeve
Vests
Polo-collar
Turtle
Bodyfit:
Regularfit / Unisex
At Predesigned you choose tops in the fit, Slimfit, Regularfit or Unisex. The chosen fit will largely determine what kind of fabric you should use. If you choose a Slimfit item that is worn tight, it is recommended to choose a fabric that is of a stretch quality. This can be a fabric with an elastomer or a 100% cotton that is woven in such a way that the fabric has stretch, for example Jersey.
Of course, the color of the fabric is not unimportant. This ultimately determines the items you have made. A fabric can get its color in different ways. The most common way is that a neutral fabric gets a dye bath and is completely colored with it. Another way is that a fabric is woven with yarn in different colors, which gives you stripes or checks in a fabric, for example. Finally, fabrics can be printed and printed to get a color or image. See more about printing and printing options on the Predesigned print page. If you want to have your own fabric made with a solid color of your own, then the colors of Pantone® are used, this is a worldwide standard for color use. The colors from the TCX series are used for fabrics, which are named as real colors on cotton. Predesigned has this special Pantone® Cotton TCX Library.
A fabric is made up of yarns and these yarns consist of fibers, here you can make a distinction between natural fibers and synthetic fibers.
Natural and vegetable fibers are for example cotton, jute and hemp. Natural animal fibers are wool and silk. Synthetic fibers can be distinguished on the basis of natural and synthetic substances. Natural synthetic fibers are Viscose, Lyocell and Acetate. Synthetic fibers are Polyamide, Polyester, Polyacryl and Elastane.
Which fiber or combination of fibers you should choose can depend on many things. The most important are purpose and price. Predesigned will always advise on the right quality fabric for your items.
The points mentioned above already show that there are many different fabrics. Not every fabric is equally environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, there is no single definition of what exactly is sustainable. Even different quality marks have different definitions for this. If you want to call your brand or clothing item sustainable, we advise you to create your own definition and make choices within the frameworks. This way you keep it clear for yourself and in your marketing. GOTS is the clearest quality mark for cotton. With this you know for sure that your cotton is made of at least 70% organic natural fibers without chemical mixing.
Predesigned also has suppliers of “Deadstock” fabrics. These are fabrics that were made for a special customer but were never purchased or fabrics that were left over after production. By using these fabrics, which are not wrong, they are prevented from being processed as waste. The choice and number of meters are generally limited for these fabrics. But certainly worth it from a Sustainable perspective.
Finally, how do you get your fabrics? Predesigned has a wide selection of fabrics to choose from. The question actually starts with how much fabric do you need? This depends on which and how many items you have made from exactly the same fabrics. A T-shirt where you have 50 made in one quality and color, then you can only choose from the range of online stores and a limited number of wholesalers. With larger quantities in production of the same item (or multiple items from exactly the same fabric) you can have your own fabric made in your own color. It is difficult to indicate from what quantity this is possible because this depends on the type of fabric and the weight of the fabric.
Predesigned also works with partners who print fabrics completely, for your printed clothing production. This allows you to use your own “all-over” print. The advantage of this is that hundreds of meters do not have to be printed. Even a few meters is already possible, for example for a detail. This type of print is different from prints that are applied to only a small part of the fabric, read all about this type of print on the Prints page.
Predesigned advises on fabrics and printing possibilities and takes care of this for your clothing production. Of course you can also supply your own fabrics for production at Predesigned.
Lightweight
70 < 110 gramms
In quality:
Silk
Viscose
Lyocell
Cotton
Polyester
Stretch quality
Mixed qualities
Used for:
T-shirt
Bodyfit:
Slimfit / Regularfit / Unisex
Many properties of a fabric are determined by a finishing. This is a post-treatment and can be for wrinkle-free, softness, odour-free, roughening and of course different washes. Stone wash is probably the best known, for jeans But also to remove shrinkage from the fabrics, they can be washed at high temperatures.
Once you have chosen your fit and put together your favorite items, now that you also know everything about Fabrics, it is time to share your ideas with Predesigned. Contact them to take concrete steps towards clothing production.
