When it comes to choosing the best kit for your team or training wear for yourself, you might find some of the different types of materials and fabric techniques pretty challenging to understand.

As experts in all things sportswear, we're here to make life a little easier for you and will be taking a closer look at knitted and woven training wear and kits so that you can select the type that works best for you.

Knitted sportswear

First, let's kick off with a look at knitted training garments.

If the term ‘knit’ has you picturing a room full of grannies with big balls of yarn and massive needles, then you actually aren’t as far off the mark as you might think!

Knitted sports and training wear is indeed made from a single piece of yarn that is continually looped in rows to create a braided look. This technique offers the extra benefit of giving stretch in the fabric.

Other bonuses offered by knit fabric training gear include its flexibility, so the wearer has full freedom of movement and impressive moisture absorption. This type of fabric also gives a form-fitting look,  ideal for anyone who wants to show off all the hard work they've been putting in on the pitch or at the gym.

Plus, it's pretty easy to wash with a mild washing powder and doesn't require ironing which is win-win if you'd rather be spending your spare time doing something else!

Woven training gear

Now that we’ve given a big shout out to the knit kits, let’s have a look at woven training wear fabrics as they also have plenty to offer.

Woven training fabrics are created by weaving thousands of tiny fabrics on a giant loom which are interlaced to provide a sturdy structure.  Many sports kits using a woven fabric also include materials such as Lycra to improve stretch and wearability.

The thing that sets woven fabrics apart from their knitted teammates is durability. Woven fabrics are incredibly sturdy and maintain their original structure no matter how many dirty tackles you encounter on the pitch. They are also easy to wash without losing their shape and won’t shrink which is good if you end up caked in mud and need to pop them on a boil wash.

Woven sports kits are often a little more expensive than their knitted counterparts, but this is all down to their incredible durability and the number of fibres used in every garment. Therefore, if you need something that's going to last more than one or two seasons, then woven is the way to go.

 

Tags: sportswear fabrics, knitted team kits, woven training garments

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Matthew Tittensor