Exploring the Top Swimwear Materials: Which One Suits You Best?
Revised Custom our platform Post
Written by Amelia Sebastian
Trying to find the best fabric for a bathing suit is a popular debate these days. With numerous options available, it's challenging to make a final decision, considering individual preferences come into play. This post explores all aspects to help you find the perfect swimsuit fabric.
What's the Name of Swimwear Fabric?
Swimming is an excellent way to stay fit and have fun at the same time. If you haven't gone swimming in a while, now's the perfect time to start rethinking your swimwear options. But with so many fabric choices, how do you decide what to go for? What's the best material for swimwear?
Polyester/elastane blends are the ideal fabric for swimwear. Elastane, also known as Spandex or Lycra, is the stretchy material that makes swimwear comfy and long-lasting. Polyester is colorfast and resistant to chlorine, making it the perfect pick. Nylon swim fabric is another great choice, but it has a tendency to pill after some time.
Swimwear fabrics need to be comfortable and durable. When blended with elastane, polyester and nylon have similar characteristics.
Swimwear Fabric Materials
Natural Fabrics
Before the development of synthetic Lycra, bathing suits were made from natural fibers. Wool was one of the most popular fibers used. It possessed a specific stretch factor, so it could be woven into form-fitting swimwear.
Wool was also easily available and affordable, making it accessible for swimmers to sew their own swimsuits. There were sewing patterns in style magazines to encourage them to do so. This might seem a bit peculiar from a modern perspective, but it was all they had back before Spandex and Lycra. One of the biggest names in swimwear today, Speedo, started as a weaving factory producing socks.
Just like most natural fibers, wool absorbs water. This makes it expand, get heavy, and lose its shape. None of which are appealing qualities for swimsuits.
With the push for more eco-friendly options, there's a gradual comeback for wool and polycotton blends in swimwear. But it has a long way to go before it can match the desirable swimming experience provided by synthetic materials. Until then, natural fibers will continue to be excluded when choosing appropriate textures for swimwear.
Synthetic materials have flooded the market with options for swimwear, offering excellent characteristics for both competitive sports and fashion.
Embrace Our Swimwear Materials!
Get Chlorine-Resistant Fabrics Today!
Contact Us Now
Synthetic Fabrics
The list of synthetic fibers and blends of synthetic yarns is endless, covering all the essential characteristics needed for swimwear. Besting the decision of eco-friendly fabric is polyester swimsuit fabric. A fiber with built-in protection from chlorine and sunlight, it's both easy to maintain and durable. When mixed with the stretch of elastane, the inherent characteristics of polyester make it the ideal choice for swimwear.
There are various blends of polyester-elastane mixtures. Some fabrics will contain more polyester, while others will contain more elastane. However, the result is the same - a sturdy, functional garment designed for pool or beach.
Elastane can be mixed with different fibers besides polyester. Going by the brands like Spandex or Lycra, elastane can be combined with nylon to create a swimwear fabric. Nylon is less UV resistant and harmed by chlorine. It still remains a decent alternative to a polyester-based swimsuit, particularly if you're looking for a one-season design bathing suit.
Less famous yet equally comfortable is a polycotton-spandex weave. This option combines the look and feel of poly swim fabric with the stretch required for swimwear. It comes with some drawbacks. Being partly natural fiber affects its ability to dry rapidly and it tends to blur more quickly. But this depends on the amount of polyester in the blend, and it can still make for a durable and viable option.
Which Fabric is Best for Bathing Suits?
We have listed the various bathing suit materials below:
Related: Find a Clothing Manufacturer that can help you better understand how they create bathing suits.
Polyester Swimsuit Fabric
Super soft fabric with unbelievable sturdiness, polyester is one of the most popular choices in clothing production. Its fast-drying properties and lifespan make it an excellent choice for swimwear, especially for competitive swimming. With built-in UV protection and the ability to withstand standard contact with chlorine, this fabric ranks high in the swimwear industry.
Pros
- Soft skin-friendly material
- Durable
- Colorfast
- Resistant to UV light and chlorine
- Easy to wash
- Quick dry
- Retains its shape
Cons
- Not eco-friendly
- Inconsistent quality if low-grade polyester thread used
Nylon
Also called Polyamide, nylon is a quick-drying and water-resistant fabric commonly used in fashion swimwear. Gentle with a slightly reflective sheen, it feels and looks attractive. When blended with elastane, the texture can be figure-embracing, which helps in hiding body contours. Thus, it has become popular as a fabric for swimming outfits, beachwear, and pools.
Pros
- Durability
- Easy laundry
- Soft feel
- Suitable for all age groups
Cons
- No resistance to UV rays
- Can be damaged by chlorine
- Can't be used with sublimation printing due to color bleed
Elastane
Elastane was developed for clothing in the 1950s. It's the standard name for the stretchy material found in brands like Lycra and Spandex swimwear. A 100% synthetic material called polyurethane, elastane has various modern applications, including shock and energy protection.
Elastane can be used with synthetic materials or added to natural fibers to give clothing an agreeable stretch. Its flexible properties make it an ideal fabric for swimwear.
Pros
- Stretchy and flexible
- Perfect fit
- Moist
Cons
- Not eco-friendly
- Expensive to produce
- Non-recyclable
Polybutylene Terephthalate or PBT
PBT for short, Polybutylene Terephthalate, or PBT, is a plastic yarn fiber with natural stretch and recovery. PBT belongs to the polyester fabric family of plastics.
Not as stretchy as other polyesters, its surface is stiffer with a soft and smooth feel. This lightweight characteristic makes it excellent for competitive athletic clothing.
Pros
- Resistant to chlorine and sunlight
- Comfortable to wear
- Moisture-resistant
- Fast drying
- Colorfast
- Resistant to UV rays
Cons
- Produced from petroleum-based fibers
- Not eco-friendly
- Less stretchy
Cotton
Natural fibers like wool or cotton historically would have been used to create bathing suits. Think of Victorian beachgoers with their full-coverage outfits. One of the main issues with natural fibers is water retention. The outfit can absorb too much water, making the swimmer sink, or worse, lose their bathing suit as it shrinks and falls off.
Today, cotton and bamboo are used to create retro swimwear reminiscent of bygone eras. These outfits are not designed for serious swimming or competitive purposes, but rather for lounging on the beach or relaxing on a folding chair.
Pros
- Fashion statement
- Cool clothing
Cons
- Absorbs water
- Prone to damage from sea salt and sun
- Unsuitable for swimming due to the risk of damage
Is Nylon or Polyester Better for Swimsuits?
The best bathing suit fabric is a contentious question in the fashion world. However, there aren’t many options available. Swimwear fabrics generally need to be quick-drying, colorfast, and stretchy. Let's explore a few options for swim textures and their unique qualities:
Nylon is more commonly made from pre-consumer materials, which might not be as eco-friendly as post-consumer materials. On the other hand, polyester is easy to recycle and comes from a variety of sources. If a texture claims to be 100% post-consumer recycled, that means all the fiber material in the fabric came from waste material.
In conclusion, polyester ranks high if you're looking for a durable and long-lasting bikini fabric, or if you plan to use your swimsuit for screen printing. This would be your best choice.
- In the pursuit of finding the perfect fabric for a bathing suit, swimwear fabrics should not only be comfortable and durable but also eco-friendly, considering the push for sustainable options.
- Synthetic materials like polyester and nylon, including blends with elastane, offer excellent characteristics for both competitive sports and fashion, making them popular choices in swimwear production.
- For those who want to embrace sustainable swimsuits without compromising on chlorine resistance, polycotton-spandex blends could be a viable option, although they may not dry as quickly or retain their shape as effectively as other synthetics.
- When it comes to the ongoing debate about nylon versus polyester for swimsuits, polyester's built-in protection from chlorine, UV light, and ease of maintenance, combined with its integration with popular screen printing techniques, makes it a top contender for the best bikini fabric.
