Fabric GSM & Weight Guide

These are the ranges that most of our production is within. You might be trying to make something that exists outside of one of these ranges, like a cropped hoodie using a lower weight or an overshirt using a higher weight.

Heavyweight fleece

Why heavyweight hoodies start at 380 GSM

A hoodie under 380 GSM starts to feel like a mid-layer rather than a standalone piece — it isn't heavy enough to hold a boxy fit and carry graphics cleanly. Most of our acid wash and snow wash hoodies start at 400 GSM and above, since washing removes some of that weight (see garment washing).

GSM gives information about the weight of a fabric, but not about its construction or fiber content – that's why a 220 GSM 100% cotton single jersey and a 220 GSM cotton-poly fabric are listed with the same spec numbers and may have completely different characteristics in real life. The yarn, fiber content, and knit or weave density are additional factors affecting the weight and changing the feel of the fabric. The buyer who specifies only GSM of the fabric and expects it to meet his requirements may get a product with the required GSM, but which feels completely different.

The yarn spin factor is more important than many buyers expect. For example, the 200 GSM tee produced from the ring-spun cotton is smoother and denser, compared to the same weight tee manufactured from the open-end cotton yarn: the latter is less expensive, but its surface is coarser. The same rules are applied for the combed vs carded cotton: the former is more expensive, as the process of removing short fibers during manufacturing takes place; however, its texture is better at any weight.

The knit or weave construction changes everything. For example, an interlock knit fabric of 200 GSM behaves differently than the jersey of the same GSM – the first one retains its shape better and doesn't curl, and the latter drapes well, but loses its shape much faster due to its elasticity. In woven fabrics like denim, the weave tightness changes the fading process and the overall wear properties of the material independently of the GSM.

GSM is a starting point, not a final answer. Once you get the GSM range right, request a swatch or prototype before approving the tech pack; you will be surprised at how quickly the hand-feel test will reveal problems in the GSM specification.

The biggest cost element in the price structure of a garment, apart from labor, is fabric, followed by trims and any print or wash finishing. As a result of this, GSM is nearly linearly related to the cost of fabric per unit. Increase the GSM of a tee from 200 GSM to 240 GSM, the cost of fabric per unit is expected to rise by nearly the same percentage increase, not considering that the higher the GSM of a garment, the higher the air or sea freight per unit.

For that reason, when a buyer specifies a higher GSM in the design compared to what the design really requires, it is rarely an issue of profit protection but rather ensuring the additional GSM adds value to the product rather than being a higher number on the specification sheet.

To give you an approximation, an increase in GSM of a streetwear tee from 200 GSM to 240 GSM increases the fabric cost per piece by around 15%-20%, plus some on account of higher cost per unit because of the increased weight of the garment when quoting for sea and air freight. When doing a run of 500 pieces, this additional cost is generally insignificant, but for a multi-thousand-piece order, the weight should be checked to ensure it is intentional. Use GSM as a filter, not the ultimate criterion — request a physical swatch or a pre-production sample before locking in the weight range.