Choosing blank apparel: weights, fits & fabrics

GSM: what fabric weight actually tells you

GSM (grams per square meter) is the most useful single number on a blank spec sheet. It tells you how dense the fabric is, which translates directly to how the garment feels, drapes, and holds a print.

• 185-200 GSM tees: light, breathable, drapey. Good for giveaways, athletic wear, and hot climates. Can feel thin if you want weight.
• 210-220 GSM tees: the midweight standard. Balanced feel, prints well, the default for most merch.
• 230-250 GSM tees: heavyweight. Structured, substantial, holds its shape, the weight class behind most streetwear tees.
• 330-500 GSM fleece: hoodies, crewnecks, and sweatpants. 330 is a solid midweight fleece; 470 and 500 are dense, and 500 GSM at 14.7 oz is the heaviest blank we hold in stock.
• Past 600 GSM: heavier than anything worth stocking, so it is a custom sourcing job rather than an off-the-shelf pick. We can do it. Expect a longer lead time and a higher blank cost, and tell us the weight you want on your quote.

Fits: classic, relaxed, and cropped

Weight and fit together define how a blank reads. A classic fit is the straight, familiar cut that works for the widest range of bodies, the safe call for clubs, teams, and company merch. A relaxed or boxy fitis wider in the body with a dropped shoulder; paired with heavyweight fabric, it's the contemporary streetwear silhouette. A cropped fitshortens the body and is a deliberate fashion choice rather than a crowd-pleaser. If your audience is broad, lead with classic; if you're building a brand look, relaxed heavyweight is usually where to start. Compare cuts side by side in our styles catalog and check measurements against the size guide.

Fabric content: cotton, blends, and what "ringspun" means

100% cotton is the workhorse: it prints well with every method we offer and ages nicely. Within cotton, the spinning process matters, ringspun cotton is spun into a finer, smoother yarn than basic open-end cotton, and combed ringspun goes a step further by removing short fibers before spinning. The result is a noticeably softer surface that takes fine print detail better.

Cotton/poly blends add softness, drape, and wrinkle resistance, and they're common in fleece. The trade-off: high polyester content can cause dye migration under screen printing on dark garments, and DTG strongly prefers cotton. If your decoration plan is set, choose the fabric with it in mind.

Construction details worth checking

Two spec-sheet details separate budget blanks from premium ones. Side-seamed garments are cut from flat panels and sewn, producing a consistent, tailored shape; tubular garments are knit as a tube, which is cheaper but fits less precisely and can twist after washing. Shoulder-to-shoulder taping, a fabric strip reinforcing the neck and shoulder seams, keeps the collar from stretching out and is standard on better blanks. Neither detail shows up in a product photo, but both show up after ten washes.

Matching blank tier to the job

There's no universally "best" blank, there's the right tier for what the garment has to do. For a giveaway or event tee, a light-to-midweight basic is the rational choice: people are getting it free, and budget goes further on quantity. For club and team merch, a solid midweight with side seams hits the durability-to-cost sweet spot. For a retail-quality brand drop, anything people pay for, heavyweight, combed ringspun, side-seamed blanks are worth it, because customers judge the garment before they judge the print.

One order can mix tiers. Manicule's conference run paired relaxed tees and long sleeves with four 500 GSM premium hoodies, spending the heavier blank only where it counted. Pairio went the other way and ordered a single tier, three heavyweight fleece quarter-zips for the founding team.

Orders start at just 3 pieces per style and color, blank or decorated. If you want help narrowing it down, see how we source blanks, or send your use case and budget through the quote form and we'll recommend a tier with written pricing.