Jersey Knit Fabric Directory

How Jersey Is Knitted

Jersey, often called single jersey to set it apart from double knits, is a weft knit made on a single set of needles: each course of loops is drawn through the course before it, producing a fabric that is smooth and flat on the face and shows a series of fine arcs on the back. The loop structure gives jersey its defining behaviour. It stretches widthwise without any elastic fibre, drapes closely, resists creasing, and - the trade-off every cutter knows - it tends to curl toward the face at the edges, because the loops are under unbalanced tension. That curl is normal single-jersey behaviour, not a defect, and garment patterns and hems are designed around it.

See the formal Jersey Definition and the Jersey glossary entry, and to our Interlock section - interlock being the double knit that shares jersey's smoothness on both faces and removes the curl. Fibre decides most of jersey's character in wear. Cotton jersey is soft, breathable and absorbent, the classic T-shirt cloth; polyester jersey is strong, quick-drying and colourfast, the sports and teamwear cloth; viscose and modal jerseys are fluid and cool for dresses; and a small percentage of elastane turns any of them into a stretch jersey that recovers its shape instead of bagging at elbows and knees.

Weights, Uses and Specifying Jersey

Jersey is bought by weight, and the weight in grams per square metre is the most useful single number on a specification. Light jerseys serve T-shirts, vests and underwear; midweights serve polo-style tops, dresses and children's wear; heavy jerseys serve sweatshirt bodies, joggers and structured knit garments. Beyond weight, a complete jersey specification names the fibre and blend, the width, the colour or print, and the finishes that matter for the end use - pre-shrunk for garments sold on fit, anti-pilling for hard-worn basics, moisture management for sportswear, antibacterial finishes for underwear and medical uses. State all of them in an enquiry: a quotation given without fibre and weight is not yet a price for the cloth you need.

The uses list is the everyday wardrobe: T-shirts and tops, dresses and skirts that move with the body, underwear and nightwear, baby and children's clothing where softness and washability decide, sportswear and team kits, and linings and interlinings where a thin knit is needed. When comparing mills below, look for the knits each mill's own profile says it produces regularly - a knitting factory tooled for jersey will quote gauges, weight ranges and elastane options plainly, and will be able to show the same cloth in several colourways. Ask for a swatch before bulk: two jerseys of the same fibre and nominal weight can still differ in hand, opacity and recovery in ways a specification sheet does not capture.

Using This Directory

This directory lists twenty mills, each linked to its own profile in the Fabric Mills by Name section, in the United States, Turkey, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Greece, Pakistan and Canada, plus additional listings. The section also offers a dedicated Jersey Fabric Search. For the double-faced relative, see Interlock, and for woven-pattern cloths see Jacquard Fabric Mills. Thank you for using the Apparel Search Fabric Mill Directory.

Jersey Mills Listed in This Directory