What does GSM Mean in Fabric?

In the garment business, the term GSM is frequently used to describe a product. It is a universal tool to describe a fabric's thickness and indirectly its weight.  GSM stands for ‘grams per square meter, g/m. Due to the variety of different  types of fabric cuts, it is important to understand the difference between GSM and fabric weight - which is measured by mass per surface area. The best way to use this measurement is to find the difference between heavier and lighter fabrics made from the same material profile - the thickness of the fabric is directly proportional to the GSM measurement. GSM can be a great indicator for quality if similar raw materials are used. Even though this measurement is a good representation of quality, some people in the garment industry can misrepresent this number as the tools used to measure GSM are not widely available to the public. This leads to inflated GSM numbers because it is hard for the public to check their claims. To find out more about the importance of GSM, here is our page on the subject. 

Choosing quality fabric at the beginning of garment construction determines the final quality of a product. Our fabric was design to measure with a high 400 GSM to create a durable and long-lasting garment.

Hooded vs Crewneck

There are many different considerations that go into choosing the right garment for an apparel assortment. While most styles are familiar, one criteria for choosing which style to use can be how a designer sees their customers wearing the designs. The growing popularity of fleece in the luxury streetwear industry and the unmatched comfort makes hoodies or crewnecks an apparel line’s foundation. For fleece top options, the main considerations are hooded sweatshirt, crewneck sweatshirt, and zip up sweatshirt.  Within that, choosing which style to use becomes more of a design choice. One can go for the more streetwear-influenced look with a hoodie, or a more vintage, polished look with a crewneck. These decisions within fleece styles tend to be based on the designer’s preference.

Quality Heavyweight Hoodie Blanks

Heavyweight hoodies are valued for their long-lasting quality and comfort. Since heavyweight hoodies are always in high demand, many companies are trying to produce heavyweight sweatshirts. When looking to purchase luxury blank hoodies, looking at the GSM of the fabric and the raw materials used directly affects quality. With the weight of a quality fleece, flexibility should  not be compromised and the fit should be made to be versatile. We avoid bulkiness by carefully designing our hoodies to be the perfect comfortable weight without compromising the flexibility and fit of the garment.

Materials and Stitching

To differentiate seemingly similar garments, looking at every detail down to the stitching is imperative. Consider that the materials and the stitching are the only main components in the construction of the garment and therefore need to be taken in to truly understand what final product you are getting. A natural option that yields the best quality of feel is usually organic cotton. Utilizing weft knitting is a trusted construction method. Original Favorites uses both organic cotton and weft knitting, while also incorporating a brushed interior for our fleece. A brushed interior adds the soft, cozy, and comfortable feel that is synonymous with a sweatshirt. Many manufacturers choose to take production shortcuts by using subpar materials or cheaper, less strong stitching techniques. Original Favorites is based on providing our customers with the provable quality options for fleece so our consumers can enjoy this quality staple piece.

          

Tear-Away Labels

An often overlooked detail when looking at blanks is the neck label.  Many times, blank providers use non tear-away labels for their products, which makes sense for provider, but is not usually in the best interest for the client. Tear-away labels make complete garment customization easy and accessible. Original Favorites uses tear-away labels for this very reason, to provide ultimate customization to our customers. 

Original Favorites was built to provide our customers with the best support and resources for their brands.  We provide premium quality garments down to the tear away label to keep our customers’ customization and success in mind. We pride ourselves on supporting our customers in any way we can, which includes unmatched customer support and being a trusted industry resource.