CHAPTER 1:- SPORTSWEAR

INTRODUCTION: -
Sportswear or active wear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise.
Some examples of different types of clothing for different types of sports:

1. Sportswear is typically designed to be lightweight so as not to encumber the wearer. The best
athletic wear for some forms of exercise, for example cycling, should not create drag or be
too bulky.
2.  In some sports sportswear should be loose enough so as not to restrict movement, for
example the American football, or ice hockey.
3. Standardized sportswear may also function as a uniform. In team sports the opposing sides are
usually identified by the colours of their clothing, while individual team members can be
recognized by a back number on a shirt.
4. In some sports, specific items of clothing are worn to differentiate roles within a team. For
example, in volleyball, the libero (a specialist in defensive play) wears a different colour to
that of their teammates. In sports such as soccer and GAA codes, a contrasting colour or
pattern is worn by the goalkeeper. In other sports, clothing may indicate the current status or
past achievements of a participant. In cycling disciplines, the rainbow jersey indicates the
current world champion, and in major road cycling races, jerseys of particular colours are
worn by the race leader and leaders of auxiliary classifications.
5. Spandex is the preferred material for form-fitting sportswear, such as used in wrestling, track
& field, dance, gymnastics, speed skating, and swimming.
Sportswear is commonly used as a means for the promotion of sponsors of a sportsperson or team. In
some sports, there are regulations limiting the size or design of sponsorship brand names and logos on
items of clothing.

COMMERCIAL FABRICS USED IN MEN’S SPORTSWEAR

1. MESH

RAW MATERIAL

 The material is typically made from polyester or nylon. The synthetic fibres are woven to create a
flexible, net like fabric which has a huge range of uses.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Mesh is a fabric which includes a certain amount open spaces; a typical mesh is about 85 percent
material and 15 percent holes although different mesh fabrics will vary in weight and hole size.
 Mesh is beneficial in sportswear as it provides good comfort and stretch and allows air to circulate and
reach the skin meaning that it is ideal for ventilation areas of a garment, especially for places where
heat accumulates very quickly such as on the back.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 Density: typically, between 0.5 and 1.5 kg/m2 for a single layer.
 GSM: 150-200

2. NEOPRENE

RAW MATERIAL

 To make Neoprene the raw liquid rubber is mixed with additives, foamed with gas or air, and baked
into what resembles a big rubber loaf of bread.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Fabric composition - Synthetic chloroprene stretched into textile fibre.

 Neoprene is a foam like synthetic rubber made from polychloroprene chemicals. It doesn't fray, is a
good insulator and is water resistant.
 This type of neoprene is lined and is suitable for people who will stay continually active in the water so
that body heat continues to keep the layer of water inside the suit.
 It can contain up to 98% still air inside it giving good insulation to weight properties.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 Neoprene weighs 1.23 gram per cubic centimetre or 1 230 kilograms per cubic meter, i.e. Density of
neoprene is equal to 1 230 kg/m³.

3. SPANDEX
 RAW MATERIAL
 It is made up of a long chain polymer called polyurethane, which is produced by reacting a
polyester with a di-isocyanate. The polymer is converted into a fibre using a dry spinning
technique.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
 IT is a lightweight, synthetic fibre that is used to make stretchable clothing.
 In most cases, pure spandex isn't used in garments, and instead, small quantities of this fabric are
woven into other synthetic, semi-synthetic, or organic fibres. The base material used to make
spandex is polyurethane
 Spandex fibres are produced in four different ways including melt extrusion, reaction spinning,
solution dry spinning, and solution wet spinning. Each of these methods involve the initial step of
reacting monomers to produce a prepolymer. Then the prepolymer is reacted further, in various
ways, and drawn out to produce a long fibre. Since solution dry spinning is used to produce over
90% of the world's spandex fibres, it is described.
 The quintessential workout fabric spandex is known for its ability to recover and stretch.
 It can easily loose elasticity if repeatedly tossed in the drier, dry cleaned, or ironed.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS
 Density: The density of spandex filaments ranges from 1.15 to 1.32 g/cc, the fibres lower density
being based on polyesters.
 GSM: 150-200, 200-250, 250-300, 100-150
 Thread density in ends per inch is 90 and picks per inch is 70.

4. POLYERTER
RAW MATERIAL

 The principle ingredient used in the manufacture of polyester is ethylene, which is derived from
petroleum.
 In this process, ethylene is the polymer, the chemical building block of polyester, and the
chemical process that produces the finished polyester is called polymerization

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Polyester is inexpensive, it can be recycled, it’s quite durable (though not as durable as nylon),
and it also has low moisture absorbency so with the right treatment it can have wicking and quick
dry properties.
 Polyester fabric is much easier to use for digital printing because it takes the colour much more
easily than nylon and can have very saturated prints.
 One of the reasons it’s so durable is that it’s manufactured by mixing different chemicals
together, creating a strong and durable fibre.
 Polyester is not likely to shrink when washed and it holds its shape better than most other
common fibres in apparel.
STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 YARN COUNT: 0-40

 DENSITY: 1.38 or 1.22 depending on the type of polyester fibres.
 The fabric is constructed having from 90 to 120 ends per inch and from 65 to 95 picks per inch.

5. NYLON
RAW MATERIAL

 Petroleum, natural gas, lime stone, coal, water, acetylene etc. Polyester is made using
purified terephthalic acid and monoethelyne glycol etc.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Nylon is a thermoplastic silky material that can be melt-processed into fibres, films, or shapes. 
 It is made of repeating units linked by amide links similar to the peptide bonds in proteins. 
 Nylon is the most strong and abrasion resistant fibre compared to polyester. It has low moisture
absorbency and with the right treatment it can have wicking and quick dry properties.
 The fibres are smooth and long lasting which make it much more durable than polyester.
 Nylon is not the best at absorbing dye so it’s more difficult to achieve saturated color for digital
printing.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 The available counts range from dtex 33 up to dtex 300.

 Density: 1.15 g/cm³

6. BAMBOO
RAW MATERIAL
 Bamboo fibre fabric is made of 100% bamboo pulp fibre. It is characterized by its good
hygroscopicity, excellent permeability, soft feel, easiness to straighten and dye and
splendid color effect of pigmentation.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
 Fabric composition: Semi-synthetic viscose cellulose extracted from bamboo or yarn made from
bamboo fibres.
 Because the cross-section of the fibre is filled with various micro-gaps and micro-holes, it has
much better moisture absorption and ventilation. Moisture absorbency is twice than that of cotton
with extraordinary soil release.
 Three blends (100% cotton, 50:50 cotton/bamboo viscose and 100% bamboo viscose) were used
to produce three yarn counts (20, 25 and 30 Ne) and each of these yarns was used to make fabrics
with different pick densities.
 Bamboo is known as the soft and comfortable material and has often been used in underwear
material. For its soft qualities, bamboo can be used in yoga wear, after workout garments, in base
layer sets and trekking clothing.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS
 Fabric possible thread count variations: 300-600
 GSM: 118

7. CALICO
RAW MATERIAL
 Calico fabric is a plain-woven textile, made from half-processed and unbleached cotton fibres. It's
a coarse and rough fabric, but not as sturdy as denim or canvas, nor as fine as Muslin. Textile
mills receive raw cotton in bales and generally process them in stages.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
 Calico weave is a simple type of textile weave. In calico, groups of warp and weft
threads are interlaced so that they form a simple criss-cross pattern. Each group of weft
threads crosses an equal number of warp threads by going over one group, then under the
next, and so on.
 This material is highly absorbent, which makes it a good choice for active wear clothing.
 Also, by using calico, you will be doing your bit towards the environment as it is
environment-friendly.
STRUCTURE PARAMETERS
 Density: 110 to 160 g / m²
 The fabric is constructed having from 60 to 140 ends per inch and from 40 to 90 picks per inch.

8. POLYPROPYLENE
RAW MATERIAL

 This type of plastic is part of the polyolefin group, and it is non-polar and partially crystalline.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 Woven polypropylene is polypropylene strips/threads that have been woven in two directions
(warp and weft) to create a light, but strong and heavy duty material.
 Polypro fabric is commonly used in clothing applications in which moisture transfer is desired.
 Polypropylene is a plastic-based fabric.
 This fabric is completely water resistant, which means that even if the sweat comes on the outer
layer of your clothing, the fabric will not be wet from the inside. This material can be used as a
standalone fabric as well as a base layer with another fabric

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 The density is between 0.895 and 0.92 g/cm³.

 GSM: 30 GSM

9. X-STATIC
RAW MATERIAL

 X-Static is a material that is made of metal. The fibres of this fabric have silver particles infused
in it. Silver is a metal with anti-bacterial properties that prevents the accumulation of bacteria and
fungus.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 The x-static fibre has a layer of pure silver permanently bonded to the surface of a textile fibre.
The process is such that the fibre, with its sliver layer, retains traditional textile and tactile
characteristics.
 X-static is a silver ion fibre that is naturally anti-microbial and healthy. With the nature of
wicking property of Cool-max yarn, such fabric is perfect for sportswear, active wear.
  made by permanently bonding 99.9% metallic silver to the surface of a fiber.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 Yarn count. 75D* 75D.

 GSM: 70-150 GSM

10. TENCEL
RAW MATERIAL

 Tencel is a cellulose fibre, which is made by dissolving wood pulp and using a special drying
process called spinning. Before it is dried, wood chips are mixed with a solvent to produce a wet
mixture.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

 It is twisted or spun into yarns and woven or knitted in to fabrics or garments.

 Fabric composition: wood cellulose and synthetic substances
 Tencel fabric is very strong whether it is wet or dry, and it is more resistant to pilling than cotton.

STRUCTURE PARAMETERS

 Yarn count is 20-60

 DENSITY: 60-130 gsm,