Rainbow Jersey

Company Profile

Three fabric stories stand out. Cationic polyester/elastane gives bright and dark shades with technically sound wash fastness — cationic fibre, the record explains, is the only polyester type that can be dyed alongside elastane in such shades — with a soft microfibre handle. A 144-filament microfibre polyester/elastane is sold in white only, prepared for placement, ink-jet or transfer printing. And the classic pique is 100% ringspun combed cotton at 200 g/m2 and 175 cm usable, with collars and cuffs knitted to match any dyed shade, with tips and stripes knitted in to order — the polo-shirt maker's complete package from one knitter.

A knitted fabric is a looped structure, and loop geometry is destiny: stitch length decides weight and stability, gauge decides fineness, and yarn decides surface and cost. Mills in this family, Rainbow Jersey among them, are therefore best compared on the machines they run and the yarns they habitually knit, rather than on fabric names that several loop structures can share. Buyers who specify 'Stretch jersey fabrics knitted with Lycra/elastane and branded' should attach the gauge and weight they expect to the name, and ask the mill to confirm both before a sample is cut.

Sourcing and Working With Rainbow Jersey

For stretch jersey, agree the elastane content and the recovery expectations per end use, and for cationic qualities, confirm shade fastness results in writing, since bright shades are their selling point. Pique programs should specify collar and cuff sizes and tipping designs at order stage, as they are knitted to match. Printing enquiries should start from their print library before commissioning new artwork — several thousand existing designs change the cost conversation.

Communication rhythm matters more than communication volume with an overseas mill like Rainbow Jersey. Name one contact on each side, agree the working language for specifications (written figures travel better than spoken ones), and put every change — shade, width, finish, delivery — in writing in the order record, not in side messages. Time differences reward complete messages: a single enquiry that carries construction, quantity, target timing and end use gets a usable answer a day sooner than three partial ones.

Understanding the Range

Finishing is the second half of any knitted range. The same greige cloth can leave a mill like Rainbow Jersey as a soft fashion fabric, a brushed fleece, a printed base or a performance knit depending on the finishing route, which is why ranges are often quoted as families rather than single articles. Buyers should ask which finishes are applied in-house and which are bought in, what each finish does to weight and width, and whether the finish is durable to washing or a surface effect that fades — questions that cost nothing at sampling and a great deal after bulk delivery.

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