As a t-shirt manufacturer for more than 16 years, one of the most frequently asked questions is: what’s the best fabric for a t-shirt? There is no “the best” fabric in the world as each fabric has its features. We cannot say which one is the best. Today, let me introduce the 6 most popular materials for t-shirts.
100%cotton fabric
It is one of the most commonly used t-shirt fabric.
Advantage: soft and skin-friendly, with good moisture absorption, heat dissipation, and breathable, no static electricity problem.
Disadvantage: easy to wrinkle, shrink (shrinkage rate 2%~5%), and easy to deform as it is not good stretchy.
95%cotton 5%spandex fabric
It is another commonly used t-shirt fabric.
Advantage: better stretchy and softer than 100%cotton fabric, absorbent, breathable, and durable.
Disadvantage: colorfastness and sweat absorption are not that good as 100%cotton
CVC fabric
There are many different kinds of blended fabric for t-shirts. Such as 65%cotton with 35%polyester (so call CVC fabric), 50%cotton with 50%polyester (so call TC fabric)
Advantage: With high cotton content, its hand feeling is very close to cotton. With some polyester components, which will make the fabric more wear-resistant, more durable, and not easy to wrinkle or deform after washing, as well as highly cost-effective.
Disadvantage: It is prone to static electricity, easy to absorb dust and oil stains. A bit stiff than 100% cotton fabric.
Triblend fabric
cotton+polyester+rayon mix (so call tri-blend fabric).
Advantage: Rayon makes the fabric feel softer while the polyester makes it more durable and not easy to wrinkle or deform. Triblend fabric normally with more fancy colors like heather color and marble color.
Disadvantage: Causes static electricity easily.
Polyester fabric
Polyester fabric and polyester with spandex fabric are normally used for sports wears.
Advantage: Absorbent, quick-dry, soft, and good stretchy if it is with some spandex
Disadvantage: It is prone to static electricity and not that breathable as cotton fabric.
Bamboo fabric
Bamboo fabric is a new type of fabric that is made of bamboo fiber through special technology and woven.
Advantage: Antibacterial and bacteriostatic, UV Resistance, deodorized, absorbent, breathable, and super soft.
Disadvantage: Not durable like cotton and you need to wash it very carefully: machine wash cold, do not bleach, do not oven-dry, use neutral detergent.
| Softness | Breathable | Absorbent | QuickDry | |
| 100%cotton Fabric | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★ |
| Cotton Spandex Fabric | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| CVC Fabric | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ |
| Tri-blend Fabric | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| Polyester Spandex Fabric | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Bamboo Fabric | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ |
After reading this article, I guess you are still struggling with those fabric options Stop brainstorming, contact us, we will find the best (or say the most suitable ) fabric for your t shirt designs.