Custom Gym Wear Manufacturers and the Details That Matter

The gym clothing has to perform as well as it looks on the web page. When clients squat, run, lift, stretch, and do it over and over again, each element of the item faces normal wear. That makes the schools custom gym wear manufacturers an essential part of the product design process, not a mere sewing and branding service.

The right manufacturing decisions begin with fabric and then move through fit, construction, decoration, sampling and bulk production. A gym wear brand can produce a powerful product when all these variables are in alignment.

Fabric Sets the Foundation

The fabric is the beginning. Common blends with polyester-spandex or nylon-spandex, and many others, can offer the stretch, recovery, durability and moisture management needed. The performance of a garment cannot be predicted based on fiber content alone.

Secondly GSM. Due to the weight of fabric it will determine flow and fit. By having a heavy weight fabric, a heavy feel to the garment can be created, or by keeping it light a more breathable and mobile feel can be achieved. Heavy weight garments may also be more durable. Each product requires a different balance, eg leggings and training shorts will need to be robust, compression tops and looser gym T-shirts need to vary in weight, stretch, coverage and comfort accordingly.

Fabric testing should also include stretch recovery, shrinkage, opacity, colorfastness and hand feel. Existing activewear manufacturing guidelines advise in having these parameters tested on fabric and not just looking at a swatch.

Fit Changes the Training Experience

Essentially the base layers of good gym kit should feel as though they are moving with the body rather than against it.

For the garments that will be worn while exercising, the details in fit are also very important. Leggings require the correct rise, waistband tension, hip shape, and leg length. A training t-shirt requires adequate room through the shoulders but not so much that there is excess fabric around the waist. Shorts require an adequate rise and ease through the seat and thighs.

Small pattern changes can make a big difference. A minute difference in the armhole allows a different range of shoulder motion. The maximum comfortable waistband height in a squat can be altered by a fraction of an inch. The feel of a side seam in a repetitive motion can be influenced by its position.

Therefore the development of a pattern should include fitting and movement checks. A pattern that appears ideal on a flat measuring sheet could react entirely differently on a moving body.

Stretch Puts More Pressure on Construction

Unusual stresses are placed on the seams by the nature of gym wear. Stretch stretch stretch, pull pull pull, squat squat squat, and suchlike repetitions.

Flatlock seams are a good example of how seams that will contact the body can be minimized, yet strength gained through the choice of appropriate thread, the number of stitches and positioning of the seams. Additional factors the manufacturer will need to take into account are the stretch characteristics of the fabric versus the stretch characteristics of the seam.

Bands have their own specific considerations and require foaming outliers. Any waistbands that have little or no stretch but ‘lire and does not recover can become misshapen with repeated wear. The performance issues can also be seen at cuffs, leg openings and on transfer panels.

Activewear specifications therefore tend to have stretch and recovery specifications in addition to the piece measurements and seam details.

Decoration Has to Move With the Garment

With branding a piece of standard training apparel can be made unique, but with gym wear this puts decoration under a further test: movement.

Screenprinting, heat transfers, silicone graphics, embroidery, woven labels and the like all have their time and place. The manufacturer has to match the fabric and the spot.

Designs for large graphics, like a graphic on a very elastic panel, or for small chest logos for a training T-shirt, may require a different approach. A waistband logo, for example, will need to stand up to lots of repeated washing and stretching.

Good development accedes to branding and sees it as integral to the entire garment rather than something tacked on at the end.

Sampling Should Expose Problems Early

It makes sense to set up a sample if a question can be answered.

Is the garment a good fit? Is the garment comfortable in the hand? Does the waistband stretch back smoothly? Are the seams comfortable to walk in? Is the print is cracking and running? Is the color has good stability?

A little damage now can save a brand a much bigger issue in the future.

Today, also advises to use samples to test fit, fabric, colour, logo positioning, sewing, packing and performance prior to any bulk production.

One sample cannot address everything. A complex design can require a number of trial pieces as the pattern, fabric, construction and embellishment are evolved.

MOQ Depends on the Product

Minimum order quantity can seem confusing to a new brand when first approaching custom gym wear manufacturers.

The MOQ may be specified on a per style, color, SKU or fabric basis rather than just a number across the whole collection. Custom fabric development can result in higher minimums than the standard use of an existing fabric.

For instance, instructions to suppliers recently on how to produce activewear included figures from approximately 30 pieces per SKU at low-MOQ factories to a few hundred pieces per style at more mainstream manufacturers. The figures differ significantly from one factory to another so the answer to any buyer‘s question ‘what does the MOQ actually cover? might be very different from what they expected.

A smaller order quantity allows a new brand to test a product, but quantity should never be the only criterion. Fabric quality, construction, fit and reliability of production all still factor into whether the order is commercially viable.

Authentic branding takes place far sooner than this though.

The brand for a gym wear could want a specific fabric mix, GSM, compression, waistband shape, pocket configuration, seam placement, color, fit, length, etc. Custom labels, packaging, drawcords, reflective or other details, screen printing, etc. could all be required.

That distinction matters because it can be easier to have a logo applied to an existing garment than to propose and have the product designed to a brand‘s specificities.

OEM development is often perfectly suited if a brand already has a tech pack or reference sample. ODM development can be more appropriate if the brand is lacking in the design department, or experience in sourcing fabric, developing patterns or refining product.

Bulk Production Tests the Manufacturer

A good sample, does not necessarily mean you will have a good production run.

Mass production places hundreds and even thousands of pieces into the process. The factory will have to maintain the measurements, how the fabric feels and behaves, the color, stitching, decoration and the overall finishing of the whole order.

Quality control should be established throughout the production process. Buyers should be informed how materials are checked, how cutting, stitching, embellishments, size and the completed garments are monitored by the supplier rather than relying on the final inspection alone.

This actually becomes even more relevant when a brand is planning repeat orders. Customers anticipate the second purchase to be as good as the first and consistency builds that assurance.

Production Capability Should Match the Collection

Each clothing factory does not have a full-blown activewear at this moment in time.

One manufacturer may have great experience with cut and sew gym tees, but little experience with seamless leggings. Yet another may focus only on compression wear or sports bras. Some factories may have the ability to develop products and also mass produce them, others only do assembly work.

Brands should therefore examine the product they intend to develop. They should have a manufacturer who understands the construction, fabric behavior and technical specifications of that product.

This method also cuts down on unnecessary sampling and enables the brand, better communicate its needs upfront.

A Strong Gym Wear Product Starts With Better Decisions

Making custom gym wears involves some choices that can sometimes be separate with general apparel. Fabric determines fit. Fit determines mobility. Construction determines robustness. Decoration determines elongation. Sampling links them all together.

That is also why a good manufacturing relationship is so important. If a brand has a competent partner they can point out the mistakes before hand and iterate on the product and keep it consistent.

At JiuvelWear, Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd. is working with brand to deliver the custom clothing development and manufacturing; it covers from fabric sourcing, sample producing, bulk production to QC. For gym wear, the purpose is nothing to just care label and logo printed on sportswear. It is to create a garment that fit, move and return to shape after used for time.

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