Polyester Yarn for
Sportswear.

GSM Range

• Lightweight match-day kit (football, athletics): 120–150 GSM • Standard team kit (rugby, cricket, hockey): 150–180 GSM • Training kit and warm-up tops: 170–200 GSM • Rain jackets and outer layers (woven polyester): 80–120 GSM (woven, not knit — different spec) Note: match-day kit is typically spec'd lighter than training kit because match performance is primary; training kit endures more wash cycles and abrasion and benefits from slightly heavier construction.

Yarn Count / Denier

• Match-day kit base fabric: 75D/72F to 100D/144F (lightweight, high filament count for softness) • Training kit: 100D/144F to 150D/144F • Mesh panels: 75D/36F to 100D/72F (open structure requires fewer filaments for porosity) • Spandex component (stretch shorts, base layers): 20D–40D covered or bare elastane

Knit Construction

• Single jersey: Lightweight tops, summer training kit — lowest cost, good for sublimation • Interlock: Better dimensional stability, preferred for longer runs and structured fit • Bird's-eye or eyelet mesh: Ventilation panels — 100–130 GSM open structure • 4-way stretch interlock (polyester-spandex): Shorts, cycling kit, compression base layers • Piqué: Polo-collar cricket shirts and golf-adjacent sports kit

Shrinkage

• 100% filament polyester (heat-set): 1–2% length, 0–1% width after 40°C machine wash • Polyester-spandex (properly heat-set): 2–4% length — critical to heat-set at 180–190°C or shrinkage becomes a fit complaint • Without heat setting: 5–8% potential shrinkage — avoid; verify heat-set in pre-production

Pilling Resistance

• Filament polyester match fabric: 4–5 Martindale (excellent — filament construction doesn't pill) • Training fabric (spun polyester content): 3–4 Martindale • Mesh panel zones: 4 (slightly lower than solid panels due to open structure)

Colorfastness

• Wash fastness (ISO 105-C06, 40°C): 4–5 for disperse dyed; 4–5 for sublimation • Light fastness (ISO 105-B02): 6–7 for sublimation — notably higher than screen printing or reactive dyes • Rubbing fastness (ISO 105-X12, dry): 4–5; (wet): 3–4 • Perspiration fastness (ISO 105-E04): 4–5 — critical test for sportswear, often overlooked

Tensile Strength

• Fabric tensile (ISO 13934-1 grab method): > 350 N warp, > 250 N weft for standard kit construction • Seam strength (flatlock, ISO 13935-2): > 150 N — flatlock seam is standard for sportswear • Mesh panels: lower tensile (> 200 N warp) — panels are not structural load-bearing zones

MOQ Guidance

• Standard construction, single colour sublimation base: 300–500 kg (approximately 2,000–3,500 metres) • Custom yarn or construction: 1,000–2,000 kg • Sublimation print-on-demand (cut-and-sew on blanks): 50–100 unit minimums typical • Club kit (cut-sublimation-sew turnkey): 25–50 unit minimums at specialist kit manufacturers