T-Shirt Fabrics Explained: Cotton, Polyester and Blends
The label says 100% cotton or a blend, but what does that change when you wear it, wash it and print on it? A plain guide to the usual choices.
Most T-shirts are made from cotton, polyester or a blend of the two. The choice affects how the shirt feels, how it ages, how it takes a print and how it behaves in the wash. Knowing the basics makes it much easier to read a product listing or to brief a print shop.
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fibre that grows in a protective case around the seeds of the cotton plant. Shirts made from it are breathable and comfortable, and they take dye and many inks well. The trade-offs are that pure cotton can shrink, wrinkle and fade, and it holds on to moisture rather than drying fast.
Not all cotton feels the same. Longer fibres and finer yarns usually give a smoother, softer shirt. Some fabrics are mercerised, a treatment that gives cotton yarn or fabric more lustre and makes it take dye more readily. Product pages often use terms like "combed" or "premium" without explaining them, so the best test is to handle a sample.
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers; in clothing the term usually means a synthetic fibre. It is durable, resists shrinking and wrinkles, and dries quickly, which is why it dominates sports and performance shirts. It can feel less breathable than cotton on a hot day and can hold odours. Polyester also changes your printing options, because some inks and transfers behave differently on it.
Blends
Cotton-polyester blends aim to combine the softness of cotton with the stability of polyester. A blend may shrink less than pure cotton and keep its shape longer. Some blends add other fibres for stretch or drape. When a listing gives a ratio, the larger share usually dominates the feel.
Knit and weight
Almost all T-shirts are knitted rather than woven. The common knit is jersey, a knitted fabric with a distinct right and wrong side, which is what gives T-shirts their stretch. Shops also describe shirts by fabric weight. Heavier shirts tend to feel more substantial and are less see-through; lighter ones feel cooler and drape more. Weight figures are measured in different units in different markets, so compare like with like.
How to choose
- For everyday wear and most prints: cotton or a cotton-rich blend.
- For sport, heat and frequent washing: polyester or a polyester-rich blend.
- For a merch run: order samples of two or three blanks and wear and wash them before deciding.
Quick check when a listing is vague: does it say the fibre content, the knit, the weight and whether the fabric is pre-shrunk? If two of those are missing, ask the seller before ordering in bulk.
Petra Sandoval · revised 2026-11-09