|
|
| What is the difference in Quality
and Care of Shirts? |
As with all products there are
better quality products and lesser quality products.
When considering t-shirts or polo shirts, there are different kinds of fabrics
and qualities. |
FIRST, A DISCUSSION ABOUT
SIZING: Most customers
always ask, "Do these run small or large?". Well, small or large
compared to what! The apparel industry has never set any standards as to what
any size actually means, so the question is moot. The best way to deal with
that type of inquiry is to understand that every manufacturer has developed
specifications as to what every size they offer means. So, we always refer to
the manufacturers sizing charts which are provided along with all the detail
information about any apparel item in our online catalog.
So how to interpret and use the information in these spec tables? Basically,
its simple, lets take shirts for an example. Take an existing shirt which fits
you properly now, lay it flat on a table and measure 1 inch below the armpit
side to side; left to right. Whatever that measurement is, look in the table
and that is the size you should select. Many customers insist that they
normally wear a Medium, but the table says to order a Large. Well, then that is
what you need, regardless of what you are used to. Of course, many individuals
are just in denial about the true size garment they should be wearing. That's
why when you shop at Ladies Plus size stores, the sizes are still listed as
Size 4. Get past the marketing and just refer to measurements!!
One more thing, BEWARE OF JUNIOR
SIZES!!!JUNIOR apparel products are sized for Young Teenage Girls,
like 11-14 years old. Yes, the catalogs always show slim young "women
models", wearing this stuff, but regardless of the photos, the measurement
specs, will tell a very different story. Junior apparel items are really,
really small!!! |
| OPEN COTTON: The most
common inexpensive T-Shirts or basic Polo Shirts are made from OPEN COTTON with
ounce weights of 5.0 up to 6.1 ounces. Open cotton shirts are basic fabrics
(basically one step above raw cotton), lightweight and smooth on the outside,
but not on the inside. You can hold up one of these basic shirts to the light
and see through it, especially on 5.0 to 5.3 ounce weight fabrics. When the
product description says' "100% Cotton" and nothing else, its always
Open Cotton. Most T-Shirts from Gildan, Hanes, Jerzees, Anvil and Fruit of the
Loom are made using OPEN COTTON. |
| RING-SPUN COTTON: If you want
shirts which are STRONGER & SOFTER, then select shirts made from RING-SPUN
COTTON. Ringspun cotton is softer and smoother both inside and out. Since the
cotton is spun it makes the fibers more dense, softer, straighter, stronger and
more durable. Hanes has been producing the Beefy-T Style 5180 for years, which
by far is the most popular ringspun t-shirt on the market today. Other brands
include: Alternative, Next Level, District Threads and Bella. |
| COMBED RING-SPUN COTTON:
Very High
Quality shirts are made from COMBED RING-SPUN COTTON. Combed RingSpun shirts
are usually referred to as Fashion Shirts, since you would not mind wearing
these out to dinner. When cotton is spun and then combed, fine brushes are used
to pull out any impurities, along with short fibers leaving behind only long
fibers which are straight, even and aligned. The texture of combed cotton is
very soft and very smooth since it lacks short threads, all dirt and impurities
have been removed. In addition, combed cotton is stronger since the
straightened fibers lie together more tightly, making the thread less likely to
fray and unravel. |
| EGYPTIAN COMBED and INTERLOCK
RING-SPUN COTTON: The highest
quality and most amazing shirts use Egyptian Cotton. Egyptian Cotton is
considered the finest and highest quality cotton in the world. Egyptian Combed
RingSpun Cotton offers the most yummy shirts you will ever experience.
UltraClub is a brand that routinely features Egyptian cotton products and very
high quality Certified Organic Ringspun cotton. |
| Pima (Supima)
cotton bears some similarity to many forms of Egyptian cotton. Since Egyptian
cotton is so desirable, the US decided to try growing a type of it in the
Southwest, which is a somewhat similar climate to Egypt. The resultant cotton
was a mix of Egyptian and other types of cotton. Pima cotton is a little
shorter than Egyptian cotton, but still yields a thread that can be woven
multiple times into a piece of fabric to create a dense, soft
fabric. |
PERFORMANCE FABRICS and MOISTURE
WICKING POLYESTER: Completely
opposite from any kind of cotton shirt are shirts made from 100% Polyester
moisture wicking PERFORMANCE fabrics. There are dozens of marketing buzz-terms
to describe these special fabrics, including Clima-cool, Cool-max, Dri-fit,
Dri-mesh, Rapid-Dry, Pima-Cool and dozens more. But the underlying feature is
that all of these fabrics are actually high-tech weaves of special polyester
threads, layered to allow moisture to be removed from your skin and dry
quickly. The process of wicking moisture keeps you cooler and does not show
perspiration stains.
Many manufacturers today are trying to jump on the moisture wicking band wagon
by making all sorts of claims regarding moisture wicking. Please note, cotton
fabrics or cotton/poly blends ARE NOT moisture wicking!! Just a lot of
marketing mumbo jumbo. There is nothing about cotton which is moisture wicking
at all! Only properly designed 100% polyester fabrics are moisture
wicking... |
| COMPRESSION FABRICS:
Compression
fabrics which are extremely tight fitting garments became well-known from
UnderArmour™ commercials. Is UnderArmour™ moisture wicking? Yes, but
uses compression fabrics to hold the polyester very tight to your skin, similar
to spandex. Moisture wicking not only keeps you cooler in the summer, but
warmer in the winter. Its all about the elimination of moisture from your skin.
UnderArmour™ is the most notable brand name, but many other companies
offer similar compression style fabrics including Champion, Sport-tek and
Badger. |
| WASHING AND CARING FOR SHIRTS:
Almost all
100% Cotton shirts sold today are made using pre-shrunk cotton. Does pre-shrunk
mean they won't shrink, NO! It means that if washed and dryed properly, the
fabric will maintain its original sizing longer. Does 50/50 shrink less,
hardly! Adding polyester to the fabric blend helps with wrinkle resistance, not
shrink resistance. Although polyester itself will not shrink, at high
temperatures it can melt, however, the 50% cotton part will shrink. Shrinking
occurs when shirts are washed in hot water AND placed in a HOT dryer for too
long. |
Shirts or
other printed apparel should be washed on Gentle Cycle inside out, in cold
water only, without bleach. This will provide maximum durability and
colorfastness. Wash LIKE colors together, i.e, Whites unprinted, Whites
printed, Darks with Darks, Light Colors such as yellow, red, blue or greens
separately. By washing like colored fabrics separately you can avoid
off-bleeding or dye discoloration. Many times today, shirt fabric dyes are not
permanently set and can affect the colors of other shirts in the wash.
Can you ruin a screenprint by improperly washing and drying a shirt?
Absolutely! Printed T-Shirts should be washed inside out in cold water and hung
to dry. If you absolutely insist on using a dryer, tumble dry on very low
temperatures for no more than 10 minutes, then hang-to-dry. Do not iron on any
ink print! Drying a printed shirt for too long, or using moisture control
sensors, or keeping dryer temperatures too high will cause the ink to
breakdown. This has nothing to do with the printing process, but everything to
do with termperature effects on cured ink!! |
|
|
