InWELL Journal · 08

Fabric Insights

Buyer's guides on fabric weight, fiber choice and stretch performance — written for sourcing teams, not chemists.

Aug 30, 2026 · 2 min read

Thermal Knits: What to Check Beyond GSM

Warmth is not weight. A 260 GSM brushed knit can feel warmer than a 320 GSM one, and the reason is trapped air — plus what the finishing did to the surface.

From Lab Dip to Bulk: Managing Colour and Shade Batches

Colour is where most knit orders lose time. The lab dip gets approved in a week, then bulk comes back a shade off and the whole delivery slips. Here's where the gap usually opens.

OEKO-TEX, GRS, Higg: What Each Certificate Actually Covers

Buyers collect certificates without always knowing what each one proves. They cover completely different things, and a mill can hold one and still fail your brand's requirement on another.

Swimwear Fabric: Chlorine, Recovery and Colour Fastness

A swim fabric that looks perfect on the swatch card can bag out and fade after a season in a chlorinated pool. These are the three tests that separate a pool-grade fabric from a beach-grade one.

Warp Knit vs Weft Knit: Why the Structure Decides the Spec

Two fabrics can share the same fiber, the same GSM and the same stretch percentage and still behave differently on the cutting table. Most of the time the reason is how the loops were formed.

What Is 4-Way Stretch? Inside Spandex Blends

4-way stretch shows up on almost every activewear spec sheet, but few buyers know exactly how it's built into the fabric — or how to verify a supplier's claim before production.

Nylon vs Polyester for Activewear: What Buyers Should Know

Both fibers show up on activewear spec sheets constantly, but they aren't interchangeable. Here's how nylon and polyester actually differ on the things a sourcing team cares about.

How to Read GSM: A Buyer's Guide to Fabric Weight

GSM tells you how heavy a fabric is per square meter, but on its own it can't tell you how a fabric drapes, breathes, or holds up on the line. Here's what to check before you sign off on a spec.