What Is Single Jersey Fabric? Properties, Uses, and How It’s Made
Single jersey fabric is the most common knit fabric in clothing production. The T-shirt you reach for on a hot day, the underwear sold in multi-packs, the lightweight sportswear that wicks sweat — most of it starts as single jersey fabric.
The structure is simple. One side shows smooth, vertical knit loops. The other side shows a rougher, textured pattern of purl loops. That difference between the face and the back defines single jersey, and it explains why the fabric behaves the way it does.
This guide covers what single jersey fabric is made of, its key properties, where it gets used, and how a single jersey knitting machine produces it. For buyers sourcing fabric or the machines that make it, the last section links to the equipment behind the material.
What Is Single Jersey Fabric Made Of
Single jersey is a structure, not a fiber. The structure stays the same whether the yarn is cotton, polyester, viscose, or a blend.
Cotton single jersey is the classic. It feels soft, breathes well, and absorbs moisture. Most basic T-shirts use 100 percent cotton single jersey or a cotton-rich blend. The downside is shrinkage and wrinkling, which is why many garments add a small percentage of elastane or polyester for recovery.
Polyester single jersey is common in sportswear and performance clothing. It wicks moisture, dries fast, and holds its shape through repeated washing. Polyester single jersey can be engineered with microfibers for a softer hand or with recycled yarns for sustainability claims.
Blended single jersey combines cotton and polyester, cotton and elastane, or viscose and polyester. Blends balance comfort, durability, and recovery. A typical T-shirt fabric is 95 percent cotton and 5 percent elastane for stretch, or 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton for durability.
The yarn choice affects the fabric’s weight, drape, and cost. A 100 percent cotton single jersey at 160 gsm feels different from a 50/50 polyester-cotton blend at the same weight. Buyers should specify fiber content and weight together, because one without the other does not define the fabric.
What Is Single Jersey Fabric Used For
Single jersey fabric goes into garments that need softness, breathability, and crosswise stretch. The most common applications include:
T-shirts. The single largest use. Single jersey drapes well, takes screen printing and digital printing cleanly, and holds up through daily wear.
Underwear and loungewear. The fabric’s soft hand and light weight suit garments worn close to the skin. Cotton single jersey is standard for briefs, boxer shorts, camisoles, and pajama sets.
Sportswear. Polyester and poly-blend single jersey move moisture and dry quickly. Lightweight training tops, running shirts, and team jerseys often use single jersey knit with performance yarns.
Dresses and skirts. Lighter-weight single jersey drapes well for casual dresses, T-shirt dresses, and skirts. The fabric follows the body without being clingy, provided the weight is right.
Baby and children’s wear. Soft cotton single jersey is gentle on sensitive skin and easy to wash, which is why it dominates the babywear category.
The fabric is less common in structured garments — tailored jackets, trousers, woven shirts — because it lacks the body and stability that woven fabrics provide. It also curls at the edges when cut, which adds handling steps in the cutting room unless the fabric is finished with anti-curl treatment.
What Is Single Jersey Knit Fabric’s Key Properties
Single jersey fabric has a recognizable set of behaviors. Buyers who understand these properties can spec fabric more accurately.
Stretch and recovery. Single jersey stretches more in width than in length. The loop structure opens up under crosswise tension and snaps back when released. Recovery depends on fiber content — cotton alone recovers less than cotton with elastane, while polyester recovers well on its own.
Breathability. The knit structure creates small spaces between loops, which allows air to circulate. Lighter weights breathe better than heavier ones. This is why single jersey dominates warm-weather clothing.
Softness. The face side feels smooth against the hand. The back side has more texture but still feels soft because the loops are rounded, not flat. Yarn quality and finishing treatments — enzyme wash, silicone softener — change the hand feel significantly.
Edge curling. Single jersey curls at the cut edge. The face side rolls toward the back, which complicates sewing and finishing. Open-width finishing and anti-curl treatments reduce the problem, but the characteristic never fully disappears.
Pilling tendency. Cotton single jersey pills with wear, especially in areas that rub together. Polyester single jersey pills less but can develop surface fuzz. Yarn quality and tightness of knit are the two main defenses against pilling.
How Single Jersey Fabric Is Made on a Knitting Machine
Single jersey fabric is made on a single jersey circular knitting machine. The machine has one set of needles arranged around a cylinder, and it knits a continuous tube of fabric.
Yarn feeding. Yarn feeds into the machine from overhead creels, passing through positive feeders that control tension. Each feed delivers yarn to one section of the needle cylinder.
Loop formation. As the cylinder rotates, latch needles rise to receive the yarn and descend to form loops. Each needle forms one loop per revolution, and the loops interlock to create the fabric structure.
Tubular take-up. The fabric emerges as a tube, which rolls onto a beam or drops into a collection truck below the machine. The tube width depends on the cylinder diameter. A 34-inch cylinder produces fabric roughly 50 to 60 cm wide in tubular form.
Slitting or staying tubular. Some mills slit the tube immediately on an open-width machine. Others keep it tubular for finishing, which preserves the fabric’s natural roundness and avoids edge curling until the cutting stage.
Gauge and fabric weight. The machine gauge — needles per inch — controls how fine the fabric can be. A 28-gauge machine produces standard T-shirt weight. A 32-gauge machine produces finer, lighter fabric. The stitch length and yarn count then set the final fabric weight in grams per square meter.
The machine’s condition and settings determine the fabric’s consistency. Worn needles create dropped stitches. Uneven yarn tension creates stripes. A properly maintained single jersey knitting machine produces fabric with uniform stitch length across the full cylinder, which is what garment factories need for reliable cutting and sewing.
If you are sourcing fabric or evaluating production equipment, the machines behind this material are covered in YOUCHENG’s single knit machine series.
Single Jersey vs Other Knit Fabrics
Single jersey is often compared to other knit structures. Knowing the differences helps buyers specify the right fabric for the product.
Single jersey vs interlock. Interlock uses two needle beds and produces a fabric with loops on both sides. It is thicker, more stable, and does not curl at the edges. Interlock suits polo shirts, dresses, and garments that need structure. Single jersey is lighter and cheaper.
Single jersey vs rib. Rib knit alternates knit and purl loops on the same side, creating vertical ridges. Rib stretches far more in width and recovers strongly, which is why it appears on collars, cuffs, and waistbands. Single jersey cannot match rib’s stretch and recovery.
Single jersey vs pique. Pique is a double-knit structure with a textured, waffle-like face. It is the classic polo shirt fabric, heavier and more structured than single jersey. Pique breathes well but feels less smooth against the skin.
Single jersey vs French terry. French terry has loops on the back side that create a soft, absorbent surface. It is heavier than single jersey and suits sweatshirts, hoodies, and loungewear. Single jersey is lighter and drapes more fluidly.
The differences come down to structure, not fiber. The same cotton yarn can become single jersey, interlock, rib, or French terry depending on the machine and the knitting sequence.
Is Single Jersey a Good Material
The answer depends on the product. For lightweight, breathable, skin-friendly garments, single jersey is an excellent material. It is comfortable in warm weather, easy to print on, and inexpensive to produce compared to woven fabrics or double knits.
Its limitations appear in structured garments. Single jersey lacks the body for tailored pieces, it curls at the edges during sewing, and it can stretch out of shape if the garment is heavy or the knit is loose. A well-made single jersey garment needs the right fabric weight, the right yarn quality, and proper finishing.
What defines the material is not the name — it is the production behind it. A cheap single jersey at 120 gsm with loose stitches and uneven tension feels flimsy. A well-knit single jersey at 180 gsm with even stitch density feels substantial and lasts. The machine, the yarn, and the finishing line are what separate the two.