The structure figure gets specified to two decimal places; weight at 120-320 gsm is the one that decides whether the lot is usable.
Knitted fabric: why the headline number is the least useful one
Every quotation leads with structure. But it tells you almost nothing on its own: structure sets the frame, and the parameters below set whether the product survives its first year in service.
For knitted fabric, the practical rule is to fix the headline figure at the level your product needs and then spend your negotiating attention on weight and stitch length.
The knitted fabric numbers that decide performance
| Parameter | Typical range | What it changes | Structure | jersey / interlock / rib / fleece | Determines stretch direction, recovery and how the cut panel behaves. | Composition | 100 % cotton / CVC / TC / 100 % polyester | Drives shrinkage, pilling and price more than any machine setting. | Weight | 120-320 gsm | Apparel hand and opacity. Tolerance of +/- 5 % is normal, +/- 10 % is a claim waiting to happen. | Stitch length | 2.6-3.4 mm | Looser stitch is softer and pills faster; tighter is firmer and heavier. | Courses and wales | 18-32 cpi / 14-24 wpi | Density check that catches a lightweight fabric sold as heavy. | Width | open 160-180 cm / tubular 60-90 cm | Tubular costs less per kg and more per cut panel. | Shrinkage | <= 5 % length, <= 4 % width | The number your customer experiences after the first wash. | Skew (torque) | <= 5 % | Spiralling side seams, the most visible defect in cut-and-sew. |
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Structure
Typical range: jersey / interlock / rib / fleece . Determines stretch direction, recovery and how the cut panel behaves.
Composition
Typical range: 100 % cotton / CVC / TC / 100 % polyester . Drives shrinkage, pilling and price more than any machine setting.
Weight
Typical range: 120-320 gsm . Apparel hand and opacity. Tolerance of +/- 5 % is normal, +/- 10 % is a claim waiting to happen.
Stitch length
Typical range: 2.6-3.4 mm . Looser stitch is softer and pills faster; tighter is firmer and heavier.
Courses and wales
Typical range: 18-32 cpi / 14-24 wpi . Density check that catches a lightweight fabric sold as heavy.
Courses and wales: range, tolerance and the clause
Density check that catches a lightweight fabric sold as heavy.
The consequence is that this figure sets the floor for everything downstream: the process, the price and the failure mode all follow from it.
For Knitted fabric, the working range is 18-32 cpi / 14-24 wpi .
How to choose a courses and wales option
| Option | What it changes in knitted fabric | When it is the right choice | 18-32 cpi | The lowest-cost option in the family. Skew / torque is where it usually ends up. | Cost-led programmes with a short service life; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | 14-24 wpi | The volume middle: enough margin for process variation without paying for headroom the end product cannot use; held at structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Most repeat programmes, and the safest default; read against structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | 14-24 wpi | The top of the family, where the process is controlled tightly enough to guarantee it; written as structure jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | A warranty, a tender, or a specification that cannot be renegotiated; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece |
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Courses and wales is chosen by the application rather than by price, and a supplier who quotes one option as if it were interchangeable with another is quoting a different product.
Buyers default to the floor because it is the cheapest compliant answer. That is rational until the first claim, and then the saving is measured against a replacement shipment.
The figure that decides the outcome is not courses and wales itself but the tolerance around it. A supplier who quotes 18-32 cpi / 14-24 wpi without a tolerance has not quoted a specification, and the first lot will define the tolerance for you.
How to measure courses and wales
The reference method here is Bursting strength , run to ISO 13938-1, with an acceptance of report value.
Take samples from the beginning, middle and end of the run. A single sample from the top of a roll tells you about the top of that roll, and courses and wales varies more across a run than most buyers expect.
A marginal pass on courses and wales tells you the process is running at the edge, which is the information you need before the next lot rather than after it.
The clause to write for courses and wales
Courses and wales appears with a tolerance and a test, not as a standalone number.
Structure: range, tolerance and the clause
The number is easy to quote and hard to hold, and the difference between those two things is what you are actually buying.
For Knitted fabric, the working range is jersey / interlock / rib / fleece .
How to choose a structure option
| Option | What it changes in knitted fabric | When it is the right choice | jersey | The lowest-cost option in the family. Skew / torque is where it usually ends up. | Cost-led programmes with a short service life; held at structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | rib | The volume middle: enough margin for process variation without paying for headroom the end product cannot use; read against structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Most repeat programmes, and the safest default; written as structure jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | fleece | The top of the family, where the process is controlled tightly enough to guarantee it; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | A warranty, a tender, or a specification that cannot be renegotiated; held at structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece |
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Structure is chosen by the application rather than by price, and a supplier who quotes one option as if it were interchangeable with another is quoting a different product.
The middle is where most programmes should sit, and it is the hardest position to defend in a price meeting because it has no story attached to it.
The figure that decides the outcome is not structure itself but the tolerance around it. A supplier who quotes jersey / interlock / rib / fleece without a tolerance has not quoted a specification, and the first lot will define the tolerance for you.
How to measure structure
The reference method here is Dimensional change , run to ISO 6330 + ISO 5077, with an acceptance of <= 5 % after 3 washes.
Ask which instrument was used. For structure, two instruments that both claim the same standard can differ by enough to move a marginal lot from pass to fail.
A marginal pass on structure tells you the process is running at the edge, which is the information you need before the next lot rather than after it.
The clause to write for structure
Structure appears with a tolerance and a test, not as a standalone number.
Single jersey, 100 % combed cotton, 180 gsm +/- 5 %, open width 175 cm, stitch length 2.9 mm, shrinkage <= 5 % after 3 washes, skew <= 5 %, reactive dyed, Pantone 19-1664 TCX
Composition on knitted fabric: range, tolerance and the clause
That makes it a design decision rather than a purchasing one, which is why changing it after the product is fixed costs more than changing the material.
For Knitted fabric, the working range is 100 % cotton / CVC / TC / 100 % polyester .
How to choose a composition option
| Option | What it changes in knitted fabric | When it is the right choice | 100 % cotton | The lowest-cost option in the family. Shrinkage beyond claim is where it usually ends up. | Cost-led programmes with a short service life; read against structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | TC | The volume middle: enough margin for process variation without paying for headroom the end product cannot use; written as structure jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Most repeat programmes, and the safest default; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | 100 % polyester | The top of the family, where the process is controlled tightly enough to guarantee it; held at structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | A warranty, a tender, or a specification that cannot be renegotiated; read against structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece |
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Composition is chosen by the application rather than by price, and a supplier who quotes one option as if it were interchangeable with another is quoting a different product.
The middle is where most programmes should sit, and it is the hardest position to defend in a price meeting because it has no story attached to it.
The figure that decides the outcome is not composition itself but the tolerance around it. A supplier who quotes 100 % cotton / CVC / TC / 100 % polyester without a tolerance has not quoted a specification, and the first lot will define the tolerance for you.
How to measure composition on knitted fabric
The reference method here is Skew , run to AATCC 179, with an acceptance of <= 5 %.
Ask which instrument was used. For composition, two instruments that both claim the same standard can differ by enough to move a marginal lot from pass to fail.
A marginal pass on composition tells you the process is running at the edge, which is the information you need before the next lot rather than after it.
The clause to write for composition on knitted fabric
Composition appears with a tolerance and a test, not as a standalone number.
A specification without a test method is a preference. It becomes a requirement when the method and the acceptance value are both named, because then a substitution is visible.
Weight on knitted fabric: range, tolerance and the clause
That makes it a design decision rather than a purchasing one, which is why changing it after the product is fixed costs more than changing the material.
What 120-320 gsm does not tell you
| Position | Value | Effect on knitted fabric | Where it shows up | Floor | 120 | Lowest cost, least margin for process variation; written as structure jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Barre (fabric bars) within a season | Working middle | 120-320 gsm | Predictable performance at a normal price; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Nothing to negotiate, nothing to explain; held at structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Ceiling | 320 gsm | Best performance, highest cost; read against structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Cost the end product may not recover; written as structure jersey, interlock, rib or fleece |
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The figure that decides the outcome is not weight itself but the tolerance around it. A supplier who quotes 120-320 gsm without a tolerance has not quoted a specification, and the first lot will define the tolerance for you.
How to measure weight on knitted fabric
The reference method here is Pilling , run to ISO 12945-2, with an acceptance of >= grade 3-4 at 2000 rubs.
Take samples from the beginning, middle and end of the run. A single sample from the top of a roll tells you about the top of that roll, and weight varies more across a run than most buyers expect.
A marginal pass on weight tells you the process is running at the edge, which is the information you need before the next lot rather than after it.
The clause to write for weight on knitted fabric
Weight appears with a tolerance and a test, not as a standalone number.
Stitch length: range, tolerance and the clause
This is why two suppliers can quote the same headline price and deliver products that behave differently in the second year.
What 2.6-3.4 mm does not tell you
| Position | Value | Effect on knitted fabric | Where it shows up | Floor | 2.6 | Lowest cost, least margin for process variation; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Pilling within a season | Working middle | 2.6-3.4 mm | Predictable performance at a normal price; held at structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Nothing to negotiate, nothing to explain; read against structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Ceiling | 3.4 mm | Best performance, highest cost; written as structure jersey, interlock, rib or fleece | Cost the end product may not recover; measured on structure, jersey, interlock, rib or fleece |
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The figure that decides the outcome is not stitch length itself but the tolerance around it. A supplier who quotes 2.6-3.4 mm without a tolerance has not quoted a specification, and the first lot will define the tolerance for you.
How to measure stitch length
The reference method here is Colour fastness to washing , run to ISO 105-C06, with an acceptance of >= grade 4 change, >= 3-4 staining.
Ask which instrument was used. For stitch length, two instruments that both claim the same standard can differ by enough to move a marginal lot from pass to fail.
A marginal pass on stitch length tells you the process is running at the edge, which is the information you need before the next lot rather than after it.
The clause to write for stitch length
Stitch length appears with a tolerance and a test, not as a standalone number.
How to write a knitted fabric specification that protects you
For knitted fabric, the clause has to pin weight and stitch length, because those two separate a compliant lot from an adequate one:
Single jersey, 100 % combed cotton, 180 gsm +/- 5 %, open width 175 cm, stitch length 2.9 mm, shrinkage <= 5 % after 3 washes, skew <= 5 %, reactive dyed, Pantone 19-1664 TCX
Knitted fabric: where the specification usually breaks down
The first failure is skew / torque . Side seams spiral after washing, garments twist on the body. The cause is usually high twist yarn, poor relaxation, or tubular fabric slit without rest. The test that exposes it before you order: AATCC 179 skew after home laundering, measure before and after.
The second is shrinkage beyond claim . Garment drops a size in the first wash. It comes from insufficient compaction, or a compactor setting changed between lots. Test with ISO 6330 domestic wash at 40 C, then ISO 5077 dimensional change, 3 cycles.
What to put in a knitted fabric enquiry
- End use and the conditions, which together decide where weight has to sit inside 120-320 gsm.
- The one figure that must hold, with dimensional change named as the proof.
- Quantity per colour and per delivery, against a typical MOQ of 500-800 kg per colour.
- Destination market, because compliance changes the construction, not just the paperwork On knitted fabric that is structure at jersey, interlock, rib or fleece.
- A physical standard viewed under a stated light source, not a screen proof For knitted fabric it is weight at 120-320 gsm that settles it.
Full ranges sit on the knitted fabric page , and the manufacturing side of the same question is on our quality control page .
Questions buyers ask before ordering
Is 100 % achievable at our volume on specification explained?
On specification explained, we hold 100 %.
How do you verify tolerance against 100 % on specification explained?
On specification explained, 100 % is what we hold on repeat lots.
Does tolerance move between the specification explained sample and bulk?
On specification explained, yes, within 100 %.
Knitted fabric: failure modes worth a clause in the purchase order
| Failure | What triggers it | Test to demand on the production lot | Skew / torque | High twist yarn, poor relaxation, or tubular fabric slit without rest. | Dimensional change — ISO 6330 + ISO 5077; acceptance <= 5 % after 3 washes | Shrinkage beyond claim | Insufficient compaction, or a compactor setting changed between lots. | Skew — AATCC 179; acceptance <= 5 % |
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The other two, with acceptance numbers attached, are in the full failure analysis for knitted fabric .
Should the offer hold 100 % for specification explained on every lot?
For specification explained, send 100 % with size mix and destination market; the reply states the band we hold, the price at that volume and the test report.
Related reading
- Knitted Fabric vs Woven shirtingKnitted fabric
- Knitted fabric: Four Failures Buyers Report, and the Tests That Catch
Sample cut with your values on it · Neutral packing and private label · Consolidation, documents and lead times
