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Apparel Search How To
Fabric shapes how a garment looks, feels, wears and costs. Here is how to choose it with confidence.
Fabric is usually the biggest single cost in a garment and the biggest influence on how it feels and performs. Choosing well means matching the fabric to the job, testing before you commit and knowing how much you need. This guide goes in order, with links to related Apparel Search guides, answers and free tools.
Write down what the fabric needs to deliver: the season and climate, how it should drape or hold its shape, how much stretch, how durable, how it should feel on the skin, how it is cared for and what price it must hit. A summer shirt, a winter coat and a pair of leggings ask for very different things.
Knits are made from looped yarns and tend to stretch and feel soft, as in T-shirts and sweaters. Wovens are made from yarns interlaced at right angles and tend to be more stable and structured, as in shirts and trousers. The choice affects how the garment is cut, sewn and fitted. Our guide to knit vs woven manufacturing explains the production differences.
Natural fibers such as cotton, linen, wool and silk, and manufactured ones such as polyester, nylon and viscose, each have typical strengths and drawbacks in comfort, durability, care and cost. Blends combine them. Properties vary a lot with how the yarn and fabric are made, so test the actual fabric. See our answers on viscose and rayon, Lycra, spandex and elastane and lyocell, modal and Tencel.
Fabric weight is usually given in grams per square meter (GSM) or ounces per square yard. A lighter fabric tends to drape and feel cooler, and a heavier one tends to feel sturdier and warmer, but the right weight depends on the fiber and the garment.
Convert between GSM and oz/yd² and compare mills' quotes with the Fabric & Textile Unit Converter.
Ask suppliers for swatches or small samples, and test them before ordering. Check the hand feel, drape, color in different light and how the fabric looks after washing. Try a wash test, and measure to see how much it shrinks, since shrinkage affects your fit and your fabric order.
Fabric can come from mills, converters or stock suppliers, and the minimum order and lead time can differ a lot between them. Ask about minimums per color, lead times, price breaks and whether the fabric is a regular line or a one-off. Read our guides to global fabric sourcing and fabric sourcing cost management, and browse the Apparel Search fabric hub.
Fabric needed per garment depends on pattern pieces, marker efficiency and shrinkage, plus an allowance for waste. Multiply by your order quantity, then round up to full rolls.
Estimate usage with the Fabric Consumption Calculator and put the cost into the Garment Cost Sheet.
Start with what the garment must do, then choose knit or woven, consider the fiber and weight, test swatches and check minimums and lead times with the supplier.
GSM stands for grams per square meter. It measures fabric weight, so a higher GSM means a heavier fabric.
Knits are made from looped yarns and usually stretch. Wovens are made from interlaced yarns and are usually more stable and structured.
A swatch or sample shows how the fabric feels, drapes, takes color and shrinks after washing. Testing avoids expensive surprises in production.
Estimate fabric per garment from the pattern, add allowances for waste and shrinkage, multiply by the order quantity and round up to full rolls.