T-Shirt Cotton Guide – Types, Quality & Cost
It’s hard not to love the humble t-shirt. Especially if, like us, you’ve printed millions of them. And it’s fair to say that they’re the go-to garment for custom printing. With cotton the most popular material from which to make them. So in this article, our t-shirt cotton guide, we’re going to take a closer look at the fabric. The different types of cotton and different ways that it’s made into shirts. Why would you care? Well, because these things have a direct effect on your custom branded t-shirts. Of course, tees are made from an almost bewildering variety of fabrics in the modern era. All sorts of synthetic fibres and blends. But cotton was king back in the day when the t-shirt first rose to prominence. And it remains an incredibly popular choice. For a lot of very good reasons.
Is 100% cotton good for t-shirts?
A perfectly good question given the subject of this piece. With an easy answer. Yes, absolutely, 100% cotton is great for t-shirts. Several advantages instantly spring to mind.
- Breathable and comfortable in any season.
- Organic cotton is hypoallergenic and therefore good for folk with sensitive skin.
- It’s a natural fibre which is biodegradable and eco friendly.
- A sustainable fabric, particularly as we move toward responsible growing and manufacturing practices.
And choosing all cotton t-shirts to customise gives you the widest scope in terms of print and embroidery options. For example, they’re suitable for all the main printing techniques. Things like DTF (Direct to Film) printing, DTG and screen printing. So, having established it’s good, let’s consider the types in our t-shirt cotton guide.
Cotton is an incredibly popular t-shirt material
T-Shirt cotton types
In a moment, we’ll examine how you make cotton and how this affects things like quality and price. But first, your guide to t-shirt cotton should look at the stage before that. By which we mean growing the crop and the different varieties that are cultivated. The length of fibre is the main factor with cotton quality. Your rule of thumb is that longer fibres make higher quality t-shirts.
Organic cotton.
Needless to say, this is our favourite. And not just because it’s the most eco-friendly option. Organic cotton also tends to be better quality. Which means that you end up with a better finished product after we’ve added a spot of premium custom print. The key point to note about organic cotton is that it’s grown without the use of chemicals and pesticides that harm the environment. However, it’s also worth noting that organic isn’t in itself a type of cotton. This denotes the method of growing rather a specific type of plant.
GOTS certified.
As with the previous item, GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) cotton is not a distinct type. As the name implies, this relates to organic cotton insofar as it’s a reliable way of knowing that it’s authentically organic. In terms of our t-shirt cotton guide, that GOTS mark generally means high quality. As well as being grown in a less harmful way.
Upland cotton.
Broadly speaking, this type of cotton accounts for the majority of global production. Whilst being native to Central and South America, it’s now grown all around the world. Largely due to it being quick and easy to grow compared to other varieties. It has a short fibre length (20 to 30mm) and is found in lower quality garments. Odds are if you’re holding a cheap and cheerful t-shirt in your hands, it’s made from Upland cotton. Incidentally, there is an even lower grade type of cotton with even shorter fibres known as Asian Short Staple Cotton.
Pima cotton.
Now, this is the one you want when it comes to higher quality. Pima is native to South America but again is grown all across the world. The fibres are longer, 35mm and over, which ramps up the quality. The cloth made with it has a number of desirable features. Such as being soft and strong. Plus resistant to pilling, wrinkles and fading. By the way, you may have seen the name Supima. This is a trademark name for Pima which is grown in America.
Egyptian cotton.
Again, Egyptian is regarded as a high quality. In essence, it’s the same as Pima (Gossypium Barbadense is the scientific name) but grown in the hotter climate of the Nile Valley. It’s a fine quality of cloth with all of the excellent properties already mentioned. That said, you’re more likely to find Egyptian in products such as bed linen than clothing. There are more types than listed here but these are the most relevant for apparel.
The type of cotton and quality
Making cotton
Okay, you’ve got your raw material. Which of course is only the base for actually making the t-shirt that we’ll print and embroider. And the manufacturing process is again crucial to the quality and price of the finished product. As you’d expect, there are different ways to turn that raw material into the cloth used to make garments.
Carded cotton.
The original method of making t-shirt cotton. Carded yarn or carded open-end cotton, sometimes abbreviated to COE. In this method, raw cotton is cleaned and untangled and shorter fibres wrapped together. Tees made this way aren’t particularly soft to the touch and the surface may be less than completely smooth. That said, they’re perfectly serviceable and you can print them. But a smoother surface will always be preferable and produce better results.
Combed cotton.
In simple terms, this produces a higher grade fabric. It takes carding a step further. That is, combing the raw cotton so that impurities and shorter fibres drop out and leave the longer ones. So no great surprise that tees made from this are smoother, softer on the hand and more comfortable for the wearer.
Ringspun cotton.
With ring-spun cotton, longer fibres are twisted and thinned using ring frames to create a fine yarn. Which is also strong, soft and smooth. And therefore considered a superior product.
Combed ringspun cotton.
Combine these last two techniques and you end up with a very high quality fabric. You can notice the difference when you touch a t-shirt made from combed ringspun cotton. It feels smoother and is more comfortable to wear than inferior shirts.
The importance of how cotton fabric is made
Often asked questions about t-shirt cotton
Before we go, let’s look at a few related questions. Not necessarily ones that have a direct impact on your choice of tees to print but still have relevance. And therefore well worth including in our t-shirt cotton guide.
What is cotton t-shirt fabric called?
As a rule, t-shirts are made from cotton jersey. Which is a knitted fabric and what gives tees that bit of stretch. Even when there’s no elastane or man made stretchy fibre in the knit. That stretch isn’t typically found in the woven cotton used to make formal shirts and so on. You’ll sometimes see t-shirt descriptions mention single and double jersey knit. These terms refer to the number of needles used in making the fabric. As you would expect, single jersey only uses one needle whereas double jersey uses two. And double tends to be a little thicker of the two sorts of jersey.
What is the best cotton for a t-shirt?
Combed ringspun cotton is best for t-shirts. It wins on texture, comfort and performance. And Pima is best for tees in terms of cotton type.
What is a good weight for a cotton t-shirt?
Now, this really depends on what works for your project. That’s to say, what weight of tee best meets the demands of your market. Who’s going to wear the shirt and where will it be worn. For instance, hotter conditions might need a lighter weight garment. Or a heavier tee will be better suited to embroidery if that’s how you want to decorate it. This is an approximate guide to what the broad terms mean:
- Light weight – 130 to 150 gsm.
- Medium weight – 150 to 180 gsm.
- Heavy weight – 180 gsm and above.
By the way, GSM stands for grams per square metre and is how t-shirt cotton material weight is commonly measured.
What is the best cotton count for shirts?
The singles count with tees is like the thread count for items such as bedding. It indicates the number of times that a yarn is twisted and therefore the final thickness. So, a higher singles counts makes the strand of cotton finer. Which means that it’s softer and higher quality. As a rule carded open end will be around 20. With ringspun being 30 and upwards.
Guide to quality and cost of garment cotton
As with most things in life, quality and cost tend to go hand in hand. So the lower grade Upland crop is going to be cheaper than the Pima variety. And whilst organic is obviously the best approach, it inevitably increases production costs and therefore the price we pay as customers. If for no other reason than it’s less efficient in purely monetary terms than more intensive ways of farming.
It’s a similar story with manufacturing. The price goes up as you add those extra combed and ringspun steps to the carded basic. It adds time and requires labour. All of which costs money.
Well, there we go. Hopefully the above is informative. And will help in making your print project a success. Knowing why that base blank tee is good quality and costs what it does is always going to be useful information. But ultimately your decision depends on what you want. And in some regards your ethical standpoint. Who doesn’t love top quality merchandise? But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for less expensive options which don’t quite hit the highest mark. Whatever your requirements, get in touch and let’s get your t-shirts printed.