We talk to people every week who are launching their first brand. Same question every time: "What fabric should I buy?" And honestly, the answer depends on what you're making — but here's the real talk version nobody else gives you.
Start with ONE product
Don't try to launch with tees, hoodies, joggers, shorts, and a hat all at once. Pick one product, nail it, then expand. Most successful brands we've worked with started with a single tee or a single hoodie.
If you're starting with tees
You want heavyweight jersey. Not the thin stuff you get at the mall — we're talking 220-280 GSM. This is the fabric behind every "premium blank" tee brand you see on Instagram.
Go 100% cotton for that crisp, structured fit that relaxes over time. Cotton/poly blends are easier to maintain but won't have that same premium hand feel.
Our suggestion: start with our 250 GSM cotton jersey. It's thick enough to feel premium, not so thick that it's stiff. Perfect for screen printing or DTG.
If you're starting with hoodies
French terry for warmer-weather hoodies (300-380 GSM), fleece for cold-weather hoodies (350-450 GSM). Read our hoodie fabric guide for the full breakdown.
How much fabric to order
This is where first-timers always mess up. A single hoodie takes about 1.5-2 yards of 60" wide fabric. A tee takes about 1-1.5 yards. So if you're doing a run of 50 hoodies, you need roughly 100 yards — plus 10-15% extra for waste and mistakes.
For your first run? Start with 10-15 yards to make samples and test your patterns. Don't order 200 yards before you've sewn a single piece.
Swatches first, always
Never commit to a big order based on a photo or a description. Colors look different on screens. Weight is impossible to judge from a picture. Get swatches, touch them, wash them, see how they press and print. Then decide.
Common first-timer mistakes
- Buying too light: a 160 GSM tee will look like a Hanes undershirt. Go heavier than you think.
- Ignoring shrinkage: cotton shrinks. Pre-wash your fabric or size your patterns up by 3-5%. This is not optional.
- Skipping test prints: not every fabric takes ink the same way. Test your print method on a swatch before you run 100 pieces.
- Ordering based on price alone: a $3/yard jersey and a $8/yard jersey are not the same product. Your customers can feel the difference.
Last thing
Don't overthink it. The brands that make it are the ones that actually start. Pick a fabric, sew something, see how it goes. We've been helping startups figure this out for 40 years — hit us up if you want help narrowing it down.