Cotton jersey is a soft and stretchy quality with a lightly brushed surface. The range includes classic, stretch and organic variants for garments such as T-shirts, dresses and relaxed trousers.
Cotton jersey fabric is a soft fabric made from single-knit cotton. It’s gentle on your skin, stretches comfortably, insulates, and doesn’t hold wrinkles like other cotton knits. You most likely have a cotton jersey in your wardrobe already, in the form of a cosy cardigan or winter top.
What is cotton spandex jersey fabric?
Using exactly the same knit as a normal cotton jersey, this particular fabric also contains some spandex or elastane. Usually, it is around 95% cotton and 5% spandex. This improves the elasticity of the material and makes it harder for creases to stick. It’s a popular material for making t-shirts where the material should be close-fitting but still comfortable and stretchy.
Different kinds of knitted fabrics
There are 2 main ways to categorise knit fabrics.
Warp knits – the way the fabric is woven means it stretches quite far horizontally, but not vertically. It won’t all unravel if one yarn is nicked and it tends to lay flat and smooth.
Weft knits – most weft knits have more stretchiness both horizontally and vertically, compared to warp knits. The weave can sometimes make the edges curl, however. If a yarn is nicked, it can unravel from the yarn end last knitted.
There are exceptions of course, with some jersey knit fabrics not stretching at all! At STOFF & STIL, we list the weight per metre of all our cotton jersey as well as the cotton/elastane/spandex ratio, so you can work out how the fabric will feel before you buy it.
For what purpose are knitted fabric used?
Knitted fabrics, like cotton jersey, is used for creating clothes and other soft garments. T-shirts, jumpers, even soft trousers are all made with knit fabrics. Woven fabrics, like canvas, tend to be more durable, but less stretchy and prone to creasing – they are more suited to upholstery, bags and cloth toy projects.
