Choosing Swimsuit Material: The Best Swimsuit Fabric, For You

Looking for fabric for your own line? See every composition, weight and color on our swimwear fabrics page.

Choosing Swimsuit Material: The Best Swimsuit Fabric, For You

Whether you are looking for a fabric for your swimwear line or next purchase it’s good to know what the options are. This post will cover the best fabric materials for swimwear, and their uses & characteristics. We also dig into weights, compositions, textures and the sustainability of swimwear fabrics.

Do note that no fabric is better than another, but that the fabrics have different attributes making them more suitable for different uses. On top of this, of course, the quality of your supplier makes a difference.

There are two major fabric options:

1. Nylon Blends

Nylon blends are what you will come across most in the female swimwear fashion world.

Why Nylon?

It is soft and comfortable, stretches well and hugs the body. It also takes dye and print beautifully, which is why most printed fashion swimwear is nylon.

A typical blend is around 80% nylon and 20% elastane, though anything from roughly 78/22 to 85/15 is common. The stretch fiber goes by several names. LYCRA® is the brand from The LYCRA Company, spandex is the common term in North America, and elastane (EL or EA) is used in most other markets. They describe the same type of fiber.

Nylon can also go under other names, such as Polyamide (PA) which is essentially the same. Nylon is the group name of some particular Polyamides.

Nylon can be printed digitally with acid dyes, which gives sharp, vivid colors. It doesn't suit sublimation, which only works on polyester. Our own printed swimwear uses sublimation on polyester, covered in the next section.

Characteristics

Feel: Very soft
Stretch: Very Good
Durability: Good
Dry: Quick
Printable: Yes (digital printing with acid dyes; not sublimation)
UV resistance: Moderate; nylon weakens with long sun exposure, so check the UPF rating
Chlorine resistance: Low with standard elastane; good with chlorine-resistant elastane
Water absorption: Low, but absorbs slightly more than polyester 

2. Polyester Blends

You’ll find polyester blends mostly amongst competitive swimwear.

Why Polyester?

It is soft yet very strong, and it is chlorine and UV resistant.

It is strong, holds its color and shape well, and resists UV and chlorine better than nylon. It feels slightly less soft and stretches a little less.

Polyester's big printing advantage is sublimation. The dye is heat-transferred into the fiber, giving crisp, rich prints that resist fading. Polyester is actually harder to dye conventionally than nylon, so sublimation is the main reason brands choose it for prints.

At Bali Swim, sublimation on polyester is how we print, so if you're planning a printed collection with us, polyester is the fabric to choose.

Characteristics

Feel: Soft
Stretch: Good
Durability: Very Good
Dry: Quicker
Printable: Yes
UV resistance: Yes
Chlorine resistance: Yes
Repels water: Yes
Care: Hand-Wash, Hang to Dry

What else look for in swimwear materials

Weight

Most fashion swimwear fabrics weigh 180–200 g/m². Lighter fabrics feel more like lingerie, while heavier ones give more coverage, support and shaping.

Heavier fabrics at 200-220g/m²+ are often more suited for competition or fall into the category of textured & other fabrics, we’ll get into those fabrics later.

Composition

When it comes to composition, it will help that you know the properties of the ‘ingredients’. For example, the Spandex/Elastane/LYCRA® gives most of the stretch.

So therefore – 80% Nylon and 20% Spandex will be more stretchy than 85% Nylon and 15% Spandex – but note that this largely applies to fabric that comes from the same source/manufacturer; so if you’re going to switch between sources, don’t go by numbers alone. Therefore it’s always a good idea to get swatches or feel the fabric yourself if possible. You can also ask the supplier for more details, as the content description might not give you the full story.

Sustainability

Swimwear has traditionally relied on fabrics that are heavy on the environment. As consumer awareness and demand have grown, fabric options have evolved with them.

One of the best-known options is ECONYL®, a regenerated nylon made by the Italian company Aquafil from pre- and post-consumer waste. Aquafil describes its process in four steps:

ECONYL® publicizes their process in 4 steps:

1. Rescue – Finding waste like fishing nets, fabric scraps, carpet flooring and industrial plastic from landfills and oceans around the world.

2. Regenerate – Regeneration and purification process. Recycled back to original purity, exactly like virgin, or new, nylon.

3. Remake – The nylon is processed into the swimwear yarn

4. Reimagine – The regenerated yarn is used in new swimwear products, until they are no longer useful and can go back into step one: Rescue.

You can read more about them here.

There are other examples of recycled swimwear fabrics, such as REPREVE®, who make theirs from recycled plastic bottles.

Further shifts in consumer demands will put further pressure not only the fabrics suppliers but also manufacturers in their methods. As a manufacturer, this is something that we take seriously.

Certifications to ask for

GRS (Global Recycled Standard) verifies recycled content through the supply chain. OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 confirms the fabric has been tested for harmful substances.

Related page: Swimwear Manufacturing

Other swimwear fabrics and textures

Textured

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber that stays flexible across temperatures and insulates well, which is why it's used for wetsuits. It is thicker than regular swim fabric and is usually glued or blind-stitched rather than sewn the usual way. If you want to use it, look for a manufacturer that already produces wetsuits or neoprene swimwear.

At the time of this blog post, we see a large demand for textured fabrics – especially ribbed and velvet.

Neoprene

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber that stays flexible across temperatures and insulates well, which is why it's used for wetsuits. It is thicker than regular swim fabric and is usually glued or blind-stitched rather than sewn the usual way. If you want to use it, look for a manufacturer that already produces wetsuits or neoprene swimwear.

Ribbed

Ribbed textures can be made out of a variety of knitted fabrics. You make a ribbed texture by alternating knit and purl stitches – this creates the ridges. The fabric will lie flat but also stretches more in one direction. The ribbed used for swimwear is frequently nylon, and can be made very compact and tight with less stretch. Different compositions give different looks. For example JL Bristol fabric has a 92% - 8% blend and has a more sporty look being so tight. A blend closer to 80% - 20% will have a more standard fashion look.

Velvet

Swim velvet is a knitted stretch velour with a short cut pile that gives its soft, plush feel and rich sheen. A good blend looks very luxurious. Keep in mind that velvet holds more water, dries more slowly than flat fabrics, and its pile can crush over time.

Others

Other examples of fabric suitable for swimwear are mesh, corduroy and some even use cotton blends. However when it comes to cotton blends you need to be wary of its durability. Harsh swim environments (sun, salt, sea, chlorine) can have tough effects on it.

That’s a wrap! We have covered the essential things that you need to think about when it comes to choosing swimwear materials. Fabric options, their properties, their characteristics and a good few reasons on why one may be better than the other – for you and your purpose. We hope that it’s been helpful, and assists you in making good choices for your ideal bikinis and swimsuits.

If you have any additional questions about the fabrics mentioned or if you would like to develop your own swimwear line – please feel free to contact us by downloading the catalog below. You’ll have our most important information and FAQ’s in hand, and we will be notified to contact you from there.

Always,

Your Bali Swim Team