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Fabric and material play a crucial role in the quality of a baseball jersey.
In this article, I’ll walk you through four of the most common fabrics used in baseball jerseys. You’ve probably seen these materials on MLB jerseys or from other baseball jersey makers. As a professional manufacturer, we also use them in our baseball jerseys.
Most manufacturers use polyester as baseball jersey material. Their common features are as follows:
Aside from these factors, the main differences between these fabrics lie in their texture and hand feel. Different techniques mean they breathe and deal with moisture a bit differently. For example, Nike’s Vapor Premier and regular polyester knit fabrics don’t differ much in performance.
Let’s break them down so you can pick the right one for your needs.
Here are the four main types of fabric used for baseball jerseys. This includes brands like MLB, Nike, and Adidas.
Modern MLB baseball jerseys are made from double-knit fabric. The knitted fabric has 2 main types, warp-knit and weft-knit. This one belongs to warp-knit.
Compared to weft-knit, warp-knit has a harder hand feel. And warp-knits have better strength. It helps the jersey hold its shape better.
The fabric texture looks premium and gives the jersey an upscale appearance. You can see the most MLB replica and authentic baseball jerseys made from this fabric.
A great example is the Pittsburgh Pirates Oneil Cruz Home Replica Jersey, which uses this fabric.
This fabric is known as Koolwick or Birdseye. It is a weft-knit material, and its surface is covered in small perforations. While it offers lower tensile strength compared to warp-knit fabrics, it has a noticeably softer hand feel. At the same GSM, it feels thinner and lighter than the other three fabrics.
The Koolwick fabric might be the most widely used, especially among sublimation baseball jersey manufacturers.
A good example is the Men's Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones Practice Jersey, which is made with Koolwick.
If you have an 1980s or 1990s baseball jersey, you may have seen this fabric before. It is also warp-knit fabric, and the texture is plain. Lots of vintage baseball jerseys are made from this fabric.
Like double knit, it holds its shape well and gives the jersey a throwback look. The surface of the fabric feels slightly rough, but it has a substantial, thick hand feel. Many buyers prefer this kind of heavier texture.
A typical example is the Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones 1995 Throwback Jersey.
Mesh fabric is widely used in sports jerseys, particularly in throwback basketball jerseys. Mesh fabric is warp-knit.
Its surface is covered with small holes, and the holes are bigger than the Koolwick fabric. From these holes, you can tell that this fabric is highly breathable. Heat can easily escape through them.
In addition to the basketball jersey, MLB jerseys also use mesh for retro baseball jerseys. A few examples include the Red Sox David Ortiz Mesh Batting Practice Jersey and the Padres Tony Gwynn Mesh Batting Jersey.
The pinstripe baseball jersey fabric can be made using either jacquard knit fabric or printed fabric. For example, the New York Yankees white pinstripe jersey is made from jacquard knit, where the pinstripes are woven directly into the fabric during production. However, the vast majority of pinstripe fabrics are made using printing.
Printed Pinstripe baseball jersey fabric is also based on the 4 baseball fabrics above. We dye the fabric first, then print the pinstripes on it. The printing methods include screen printing, sublimation printing, and rotary transfer.
One advantage of screen printing is that it works on fabrics of any color. For example, the black fabric with white pinstripes shown in the photo above is using screen printing. The fabric is first dyed black, then the white stripes are printed on top.
You can often tell if a fabric was screen printed by looking closely at the edges of the stripes. If they appear slightly blurry, that's a typical sign of screen printing. In this case, you can see that the white pinstripes on our fabric have fuzzy edges. This shows that the fabric was made using the screen printing method.
Sublimation printing can only be done on white fabric. If you look at sublimation pinstripe baseball jerseys, you’ll notice that the base fabric is white. The main benefit of sublimation printing is its flexibility. We can use it to make small amounts, like one or two pieces.
For example, if you want a green base with yellow pinstripes, most manufacturers will choose sublimation printing. That’s because classic combinations, like black fabric with white stripes or white fabric with black stripes, are more common. You can easily find the stock fabric. Other color combinations are not as popular. Sublimation printing meets the needs of customers who want custom-colored pinstripe fabrics.
The last method is rotary transfer printing. Unlike screen-printed and sublimation-printed pinstripe fabrics, stripes are usually added during garment production. In contrast, rotary transfer printing happens during the fabric manufacturing stage.
Similar to sublimation, rotary transfer can only be used on white fabric. Rotary transfer is great because it is affordable and very efficient. If a customer wants a lot of white fabric with black pinstripes, rotary transfer is the best choice.
Once the fabric is ready, baseball jersey makers can cut and sew right away. They do not need to print the stripes themselves. This greatly improves production speed and lowers costs.
MLB uniform is made of polyester knitted fabric, which includes double-knitted fabric, plain knit fabric and mesh fabric.
Here are the benefits of polyester fabric:
In fact, in the 19th century, baseball jerseys were made from cotton fabrics. They used jersey knitted, flannel, and canvas to make both the jerseys and the knee pads.
Those early uniforms were much heavier than today’s, 200–300 gsm back then versus around 180 gsm now. When baseball players started sweating, those heavy cotton jerseys would get soggy and drag them down. Plus, thick cotton holds moisture and can go musty, so rashes and skin infections were a regular problem.
After 1973, Major League Baseball teams shifted almost entirely to polyester as the primary material for baseball uniforms.
In summary, cotton is poorly suited for baseball uniforms for several reasons:
Cotton Doesn't Offer Moisture-Wicking or Quick-Dry Performance
Baseball is an intense sport, and players sweat a lot. While cotton feels soft, it absorbs moisture and dries slowly, making the jersey feel heavy and clingy once wet. This affects comfort and performance on the field.
Cotton Lacks Durability Compared to Polyester
Baseball jerseys need to withstand pulling, sliding, and frequent washing. Cotton is more prone to wear, shrinking, and losing shape, making it less ideal for long-term use.
Cotton Isn’t Ideal for Printing or Customization
Custom jerseys often feature printed team names, numbers, and logos. Polyester fabrics are better suited for sublimation and heat transfer printing, producing vibrant, long-lasting designs that won’t fade easily.
Cotton Doesn't Hold Its Shape Well
Polyester—especially warp or double-knit types—offers better structure and shape retention, helping the jersey look sharp and professional. Cotton tends to stretch out or wrinkle over time.
Poor Breathability and Moisture Management
Nylon doesn’t breathe as well as polyester and lacks moisture-wicking properties. During intense baseball games, this can make jerseys feel hot and sticky, reducing overall comfort.
Prone to Static Cling
Nylon fabrics tend to build up static electricity, especially in dry weather. This causes the fabric to cling to the body, which is distracting and uncomfortable during athletic performance.
Not Suitable for Heat-Based Customization
Many baseball jerseys require heat-pressed numbers, logos, or sublimated graphics. Nylon can be affected by high temperatures. It may melt, shrink, or warp when heated. This makes it not suitable for these processes.
Higher Cost with Lower Practicality
Although nylon is strong and durable, it’s generally more expensive than polyester. It does not provide enough extra benefits to justify the higher price. This is true, especially since polyester works better for team uniforms.
UV Sensitivity and Faster Aging
Nylon fabrics tend to degrade more quickly under prolonged exposure to sunlight. Over time, this causes colors to fade, materials to become brittle, and durability to decrease. This makes it a bad choice for outdoor sports like baseball.
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