Polyester vs Cotton vs Blends: How To Choose The Best T- ...

In search of the perfect T-shirt? The problem is there are a thousand different types to choose from (give or take). Between the dozens of major brands, hundreds of styles, a wide variety of fabric types, and new blends each year, it’s a lot to sort through.

How did the humble T-shirt become so complicated? And how to find the best one? We’re here to help. This article covers the different shirt fabrics, including their attributes, pros and cons, and specific recommendations in each category.

First, a short answer to the burning question.

Which T-shirt fabric is best for custom T-shirts?

Like the answer to most questions in the custom apparel business, it depends on a combination of your particular requirements. Cotton is the go-to fabric for most people because it’s soft and non-irritant, polyester is the go-to for performance, and cotton/poly blends give you the best of both worlds.

Here are the factors to consider when deciding on what T-shirt fabric to choose:

1. The qualities you’re looking for (softness, breathability, moisture-wicking, etc.)
2. The print method you want (direct-to-garment, screen printing, embroidery, etc.)
3. The price you’re willing to pay (maximum budget for the order or per item)
4. The purpose (family reunion, work uniform, sporting event, merchandise, etc.)
5. The person who will wear it (age range, style, expectation)

Here’s a simple breakdown of the pros and cons of each category of T-shirt fabric:

Which T-shirt material should you choose?

Go with 100% cotton if you want shirts that are soft, comfortable, breathable, gentle on the skin, non-clingy, and can be customized with any method. Cotton tees are popular with everyone, so it’s a safe bet.
Keep in mind: they may shrink a bit, can stain, wrinkle, and tend to absorb moisture and hold it, rather than allow it to evaporate quickly.

Go with 100% polyester if you want shirts that are lightweight, durable, silky smooth, and resistant to wrinkles, shrinking, or fading, plus allows moisture to evaporate quickly.
Keep in mind: Polyester is less breathable, clingy, irritates the skin, and is restricted as far as printing methods. The price can be higher than other garments, depending on the brand.

Go with a blend if you want the best of both worlds. The poly-cotton 50/50 was the first major blend, but now we have the increasingly popular tri-blends, which add rayon for extra softness and drape, and are a big favorite among our customers. Then there’s CVC, a predominantly cotton blend.
Keep in mind: They tend to be priced higher, but are still affordable.

The four T-shirt fabric categories

Wait, there are only four? Granted, people have made T-shirts out of everything from alligator leather to human hair– but I’m guessing you’re not in the market for that. So here are the three main fabric categories you will need to know about to make an informed choice. Here’s a brief description of each and a few of our favorites.

100% Cotton

By far the most common and popular fabric for T-shirts, cotton is a fluffy, natural vegetable fiber obtained from the seedpod of the cotton plant. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make the soft, breathable fabric everyone knows and loves.

Most of your T-shirts are probably cotton or partially cotton. After all, it’s the fabric of our lives if you believe commercials. It also happens to be hypoallergenic, which is a huge plus for the itchy/rashy types. Cotton as a fabric dates back to prehistoric times.  Concert tees from 500 B.C. must be worth a fortune now.

Here are a few of our favorite cotton T-shirts:

Premium: Bella+Canavs Fine Jersey (3001C) – Fitted, soft, well-constructed, smooth print surface. One of the most popular tees for retail and merch.
Standard: Hanes Perfect-T (4980) – A classic, mid-range tee with solid construction by the famous Hanes brand. Most are tagless or tear-away tags.
Budget: Gildan Heavy Cotton (G500) – The best value for the price and one of our most popular T-shirts, especially for large bulk orders.

100% Polyester

Polyester is a durable, synthetic fabric with excellent resiliency. Low moisture absorbency allows the fabric to dry quickly, also known as “moisture-wicking”. It’s so scared of water they call it hydrophobic. This material always keeps its shape, so there’s almost zero shrinking or stretching, regardless of what kind of extreme wash and dry cycle you put it through.

As a performance fabric, it’s a favorite of athletes and adventurous outdoor types who subject themselves to extreme conditions. And although a trip to your local gym might tell you otherwise, polyester is also somewhat odor-resistant, because the stink departs with evaporating sweat. Plus it doesn’t stain as easily as other fabrics. There’s a lot to love with poly.

100% Polyester always keeps its shape, so there’s almost zero shrinking or stretching, regardless of what kind of extreme wash and dry cycle you put it through.

Check out some of our popular 100% polyester T-shirts:

Premium: Nike Legend Tee (727982) – High-quality construction, moisture-wicking, temperature regulating, ultra-tight knit for great printing.
Standard: Augusta Sportswear NexGen Wicking T-shirt (790) – Excellent moisture-wicking knit fabric, may run a bit small, so talk to a sales rep before ordering.
Budget: Team 365 Performance T-shirt (TT11) – Polyester interlock knit. Moisture-wicking and UV protection. The best value for the price and our most popular poly.

Blends

A blend– as you might guess– is a yarn or fabric that is made up of more than one type of fiber. Blends are huge right now, making up a massive percentage of the T-shirt market, and for good reason. Blended fabrics are the best of both worlds– or in the case of tri-blends, the best of three worlds.

In the category of blends, there are three types:

1. 50/50: Also known as cotton/poly, this material is half cotton, half polyester.
2. CVC: (Chief Value Cotton) is typically 60% cotton, 40% polyester.
3. Tri-Blend: Made from cotton, polyester, and rayon. The ratio is 50/25/25.

Cotton-poly blends

Cotton-poly blends, including 50/50s and CVCs, combine the softness and natural feel of cotton with polyester’s temperature-regulating and moisture-wicking properties. They also tend to shrink less, wrinkle less, and are more durable and stain-resistant than their cotton counterparts. It’s a win/win for blends.

Here are our favorite cotton/poly blends:

Premium: Bella+Canvas Heather CVC T-shirt (3001CVC) – Lightweight, fitted, 52/48 mix, airloom combed ringspun cotton, quality construction, side-seamed.
Standard: Next Level CVC Crew T-shirt (N6210) – Fitted, 60/40 mix, ringspun cotton for smooth printing, and side-seamed for a perfect fit.
Budget: Gildan DryBlend 50/50 T-shirt (G800) – 50/50 mix, moisture-wicking, best value for the price, and our most popular cotton-poly blend.

Tri-Blend: The best of all three worlds

Tri-blends are head and shoulders above other T-shirts when it comes to softness. The combination of polyester, cotton, and rayon form a powerful alliance that will make you want to wear it every day. The combination of breathability, durability, flexibility, and drape makes it a winner in all categories.

Believe it or not, this fabric type has only been on the market for around 20 years. In that short time, it’s become one of the most popular fabrics in the T-shirt business.

When people rave about their favorite T-shirt, it tends to be a tri-blend. There are very few downsides. But there are a few things to keep in mind:

• They tend to be more fitted than their counterparts, also known as fashion fit, slim fit, or retail fit. This should not affect which size to order– because of the rayon and polyester they have more give (or stretch).
• They are mostly all “heathered” with few exceptions, meaning they have a speckled pattern to the fabric (see image above). This is due to the mix of fabrics. Just something to be aware of.
• They may be irritant to some people’s skin. Only a small percentage of people are allergic to synthetic fabrics, but for others, it may be just the way the material feels on their skin that they don’t like.
• They are lightweight, so it’s best not to print too much ink on them or it will weigh down the fabric. Use direct-to-garment printing (DTG), water-based, or regular screen printing with no underbase to give it a soft hand.
• They are typically at a higher price point than their counterparts.

Here are some top picks among the tri-blends:

Premium: Threadfast Apparel Unisex Tri-Blend Short-Sleeve T-Shirt (102A) – Ultra-lightweight, fitted, high-quality construction that uses 50% cotton, 38% cotton and 12% rayon for a super-soft feel
Standard: Bella+Canvas TriBlend Crew T-shirt (3413C) – Ultra-lightweight, fitted, excellent fit, combed ringspun cotton, side-seamed, and retail-ready.

Watch: The T-shirt Test

Still not sure which kind to get? Check out these videos. We put four T-shirts to the test– one from each category of fabric type. We feel them, wear them, stretch them, wet them, wrinkle them, print on them, mess them, wash them, and damage them– all to see what happens. There’s even some axe throwing for some reason. Enjoy!

Next Level Apparel has developed fourteen custom fabrics to fit your blank apparel needs. Our fabrics represent the prime combination of softness and stretch, ideally engineered for various types of embellishments. We utilize exclusive machinery and premium yarns which yield supreme results.

Fine Jersey
32 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz
100% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton and 90/10 Cotton/Polyester in color Heather Gray
This fabric is comfortable and lightweight. Printer’s preferred fabric for discharge printing.

Lightweight Jersey
34 Single, 135 grams, 4.0oz
100% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton
This lightweight fabric is washed to provide extraordinary softness, stretch, recovery and reduced shrinkage and torque.

CVC Jersey
32 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz
60% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 40% Polyester
Our Original CVC is a top of the line fabric that stands up to consistent wear without sacrificing the lived in feel everyone loves.

Sueded Jersey
32 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz
60% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 40% Polyester
This fabric has a unique sueded finish creating an exceptional soft hand.

Spandex Jersey
40 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz
57% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 38% Polyester 5% Spandex
A soft, comfortable fabric with great stretch and memory.

Lightweight French Terry
30 Single, 165 grams, 4.9oz
50% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 50% Polyester
Extremely soft and comfortable.

Tri-Blend Jersey
32 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz
50% Polyester 25% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 25% Rayon
This fabric is incredibly soft with great drape, stretch and recovery.

65/35 Poly Cotton Heathers
40 Single, 120 grams, 3.5 oz
65% Polyester 35% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton
This super silky fabric is lightweight yet durable. Test your favorite sublimation design for impressive results.

Burnout Jersey
30 Single, 125 grams, 3.7oz 
65% Polyester 35% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton
This fashionable burnout fabric provides a unique look and feel with great stretch, comfort and softness.

Waffle Thermal
36 Single, 190 grams, 5.6oz
60% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 40% Polyester
This lightweight waffle thermal has a low profile, creating a soft and supple hand.

Light Weight Poly Cotton Jersey
30 Single, 132 grams, 3.9oz
60% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 40% Polyester
This fine gauge blended semi-sheer fabric represents a new benchmark in value. You will be amazed by the ultra-soft hand and performance of this exclusive fabric.

Mock Twist Jersey
20 Single, 175 grams, 5.1oz
60% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 40% Polyester
A soft and silky hand with a snowy textured look that is perfect for athleisure and lifestyle markets.

Inspired Dye
24 Single, 185 grams, 5.4oz
100% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton
The garment dye process allows for softer shades and finishes to capture the lived-in look and feel of your favorite vintage tees.

FLEECE FABRICS

Next Level Apparel is now introducing our Fleece Collection. Our fleece fabrics have been thoughtfully crafted while carrying over that same signature softness that Next Level Apparel is known for.

Sueded Jersey
32 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz
60% Combed Ring-Spun Cotton 40% Polyester
This fabric has a unique sueded finish creating an exceptional soft hand.

PCH Fleece
7.4 oz heathered fleece
60% Cotton 40% Polyester Fleece
Inspired by our top-selling CVC fabric, this heathered fleece is the perfect compliment to our CVC collection providing durability and printability.

Midweight French Terry
5.3 oz midweight soft French Terry fabric
60% Cotton 40% Polyester Fleece
Our French Terry knit fabric features a soft hand and great streach across the grain. With a smooth face for decorating and looped back for superior softness against the skin.

Denim Fleece
7.4 oz heather denim-inspired fleece
53% Cotton 47% Polyester
Inspired by your favorite pair of jeans, our heather denim-inspired fleece gives this modern style a cool vintage vibe. The decorating options are limitless on this printer friendly fabric.