Jersey Fabric

The jersey fabric is an incredibly versatile circular knitted fabric. It can be found in almost all wardrobes around the globe. Odds are you own a piece of clothing made of it.

Soft and stretchy, the jersey fabric is an excellent choice for t-shirts and dresses to pillowcases and bed sheets. It can work for every style, shape, and season.

Keep on reading and learn everything you need about this quintessential circular knitted fabric.

 

What is Jersey Fabric?

Jersey fabric is a type of circular knitted fabric. Most often it is used for clothing manufacture of all kinds, from underwear to athletic wear and bedding wear, and other household items.

Today, most jersey knitted fabrics use cotton fibers at their core. These circular knitted fabrics can be made with 100% cotton or with varying compositions including wool, spandex, and other artificial or synthetic fibers.

One of the most common fibers added to cotton is spandex, which adds yet another layer of elasticity.

 

Characteristics of the jersey fabric

The jersey fabric is widely known and loved for its soft feel and stretchable capabilities. This is due to the way in which this circular knitted fabric is structured, which also makes it somewhat opaque.

When knitted with cotton fibers, also known as a jersey cotton, it also becomes even more absorbent and breathable.

This makes it a perfect choice for sensible skins, particularly when knitted with organic cotton or other GOTS certified fabrics such as you can find at ITJV.

When all these qualities are put together, the jersey fabric becomes extremely versatile and a great choice for everyday use and wear.

These circular knitted fabrics can be used to create all sorts of clothing apparel, in any shape and size, as well as athletic garments for walking, running, and even cycling! The jersey fabric allows for freedom of movement and high comfort levels.

Jersey

Materials used to create jersey fabric

Wool used to be one of the most used materials to create the jersey fabric. The reason why wool was favored over other types of materials and fibers is directly linked to technology.

As more sophisticated technology came to life and manufacturing techniques were improved upon, wool was steadily surpassed by cotton fibers as jersey material.

Alongside cotton were other artificial and synthetic fibers, which added to the jersey fabric’s characteristics. Among other things, it became more durable and more flexible whenever it was needed.

Nevertheless, the materials used to create jersey fabrics inevitably changes the production process, as well as the way it drapes.

Today, most jersey fabrics are either 100% cotton or a mixture of different fibers.

Types of jersey fabric

Types of jersey fabric can be divided into a few different categories, depending on how they are knitted. But there are two main types you should know:

  • The single jersey knit – also known as plain knit;
  • The double jersey knit – also known as the interlock jersey.

The first type is knitted in such a way that it is smoother on one side of the circular knitted fabric and piled on the other.

The second type of jersey fabrics brings two different pieces of single-knit jerseys so that both sides become smoother. At the same time, it also makes the circular knitted fabric more durable and resistant.

 

What are the origins of jersey fabric?

Jersey fabric was originally made in Jersey, Channel Islands. If the name reminds you of the famous designer Coco Chanel, there is a reason for it. But probably not what you may be expecting.

Jersey is an island that is part of the Channel Islands – an archipelago on the English Channel.

For centuries, Jersey island was a well-known exporter of knitted goods, including the jersey fabric – a wool fabric made on the island – mainly used for underwear. Nevertheless, the truth is the jersey fabric changed in 1916, when “coco” Chanel enters the scene.

At a time when this circular knitted fabric was predominantly used for men’s underwear, fishermen’s sweaters, and sports uniforms, Chanel used it to create beautiful women’s dresses and coats.

She began a trend that was quickly followed. In 1999, an edition of Vogue reads: Chanel “made jersey what it is today”

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