Articles on Fabrics & Materials

Terry cloth and French terry share half a name and get treated like the same fabric constantly, but they're built almost nothing alike. One is a towel fabric that occasionally ends up in a robe. The … read more

Uniform shirts usually get judged on the price per unit, but that's the wrong number to optimize. A staff polo gets washed a hundred times or more over its life, and the cotton-to-poly ratio in the f … read more

Every tote bag looks about the same as a thumbnail in a catalog — a rectangle with handles. What actually separates a $2 giveaway tote from a $30 boutique carryall is the material, and it chang … read more

Yellow stains under the arms of a shirt get blamed on sweat, but sweat itself is nearly colorless. What's actually staining the fabric is a chemical reaction happening on your skin and inside the fib … read more

Every blank t-shirt label lists a weight in ounces — 4.2oz, 5.3oz, 6oz — and most people skip right past it on their way to color and size. That's a mistake if you're ordering for print o … read more