Buyers often start from a material they have used before and adjust the price. The better route starts from the application and works back to the specification, because the application sets the failure mode.
What home textiles demands
The requirement. Hand and drape.
The specification that meets it. Rib or interlock 200-260 gsm.
That combination is a starting point, not a final answer. The adjustments below come from programmes in this application where the first specification passed the lab and failed in service.
Where the application changes the material
| Application | What dominates | Starting specification |
|---|---|---|
| T-shirts and basics | Shrinkage and skew are the whole game | Jersey 160-180 gsm, 100 % cotton, compacted |
| Polo and uniforms | Pilling, colour fastness to washing | Pique or interlock 180-220 gsm, CVC |
| Sweatshirts and hoodies | Loft retention, surface stability | Fleece 280-320 gsm, brushed back |
| Baby and kidswear | Skin safety, low shrinkage | Interlock 180-200 gsm, OEKO-TEX class I |
| Sportswear linings | Quick dry, low weight | Polyester jersey 120-150 gsm |
| Home textiles | Hand and drape | Rib or interlock 200-260 gsm |
The two parameters that matter most here
For this use, weight is decisive because apparel hand and opacity. tolerance of +/- 5 % is normal, +/- 10 % is a claim waiting to happen. In practice that means setting a floor rather than a range: the bottom of the range is where the claims come from.
The second is stitch length. Looser stitch is softer and pills faster; tighter is firmer and heavier. It is also the parameter most often missing from a quotation, so it is the first thing to add to your enquiry.
Failure patterns specific to this use
Skew / torque
Side seams spiral after washing, garments twist on the body. The cause is high twist yarn, poor relaxation, or tubular fabric slit without rest. Test with AATCC 179 skew after home laundering, measure before and after. and specify: Specify <= 5 % skew, require relaxation before cutting, and buy open width for critical styles.
Shrinkage beyond claim
Garment drops a size in the first wash. The cause is 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. and specify: Specify 3-cycle figures, not 1-cycle, and hold the compactor setting as a controlled parameter.
Specifying for the application, not the catalogue
- Write the service conditions down: hand and drape.
- Ask for the test that reproduces those conditions, not the generic test.
- Sample in the exact construction, not the closest stock item.
- Run the sample through the process your factory will use, including washing or assembly.
- Keep the approved sample, labelled, for the life of the programme.
The full range is on the knitted fabric page. If you are developing a product in this application, our applications overview shows how the construction behaves once it is made up.
Questions buyers ask before ordering
Can you match a Pantone colour on cotton jersey?
Within dE <= 1.0 on most shades. Very bright greens and some blues are outside the reactive gamut; we will tell you before sampling rather than after.
Do you offer compacted fabric?
Yes, and we recommend it for any garment that will be washed by the end consumer. Compaction adds cost and removes most shrinkage claims.
What is your minimum for a custom colour?
500-800 kg depending on shade depth. Stock white and black can go lower.
When the first specification fails, change this first
Buyers often respond to a failure by changing material. That is the most expensive lever and usually the wrong first move. Work through the sequence below before changing supplier or substrate.
- Change the parameter, not the material. Moving weight from the bottom of 120-320 gsm to the middle fixes most failures at a fraction of the cost of a substitution.
- Change the finish or the additive. Skew / torque is usually a finish problem; the substrate is often adequate.
- Change the construction. A seam, a fold or a fixing point fails before the material does in most assembled products.
- Change the material. Do this last, and take the whole programme through re-approval when you do.
What the application will not forgive
Home textiles has one requirement that cannot be traded against price: hand and drape. Everything else is negotiable to some degree. Buyers who treat that line as a cost decision usually meet it again as a claim.
Questions worth asking before the price is agreed
The questions below are the ones that cannot be answered from a catalogue, which is exactly why they are worth asking.
| Question | Answer that should worry you | Answer that holds up |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs the test report, and against which standard? | “Our QC department signs it.” | A named standard, a named method and a signature that belongs to somebody who can be asked again next year. |
| How do you hold composition inside 100 % cotton / CVC / TC / 100 % polyester? | “That is standard for us, no problem.” | The last three lots’ readings, the instrument used and who signs the report. Shrinkage beyond claim starts here. |
| What happens if stitch length misses the 2.6-3.4 mm requirement? | “It will not happen.” | A re-test clause, the tolerance on the re-test, and the point at which the lot is remade rather than discounted. |
Failure modes worth a clause in the purchase order
Claims rarely come from a batch that was obviously wrong. They come from a weight figure that sat inside the quoted band and outside what the product needed.
| Failure | What triggers it | Test to demand on the production lot |
|---|---|---|
| Pilling | Short staple, loose stitch, or a brushed finish without anti-pill treatment. | Dimensional change — ISO 6330 + ISO 5077; acceptance <= 5 % after 3 washes |
| Skew / torque | High twist yarn, poor relaxation, or tubular fabric slit without rest. | Skew — AATCC 179; acceptance <= 5 % |
The other two, with acceptance numbers attached, are in the full failure analysis for knitted fabric. A supplier who cannot name the mode he sees most often is describing a catalogue, not a process.
Developing a product for home textiles?
Send the end use, the quantity and the destination market, and we will come back with a specification that meets it, a price at your volume and the test reports that back it up. Samples are free for qualified programmes; we charge the courier only.
Related reading
Sample cut with your values on it · Neutral packing and private label · Consolidation, documents and lead times
