Sportswear

Introduction:

Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including  footwear, worn for sport  or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.

Sports wear products T-shirt, Shorts, tracksuits, tennis shirts and

polo shirts. Specialized garments include wet suits(for swimming, diving or surfing), ski suits(for skiing) and leotards (for gymnastics). Sports footwear include trainers. It also includes some underwear, such as the jockstrap and sports bra. Sportswear is also at times worn as casual fashion clothing.

For most sports the athletes wear a combination of different items of clothing, e.g. sport shoes, pants and shirts. In some sports, protective gear may need to be worn, such as helmets or American football body armour.

Sportswear (fashion)Sportswear has been called America's main contribution to the history of fashion design , developed to cater to the needs of the increasingly fast-paced lifestyle of American women.[The term started out as a fashion industry term describing informal and interchangeable separates (i.e., blouses, shirts, skirts and shorts),and in the 1920s became a popular descriptive term for relaxed, casual wear typically worn for spectator sports.[Since the 1930s the term has been used to describe both day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate this relaxed approach while remaining appropriate wear for many business or social occasions.The term can also refer to activewear which is clothing designed specifically for participants in sporting pursuits.

Sportswear 

Swimming suitFitness wearSkiwearGymnastic uniformsFootball gearCricket wearHorse riding suit

Rugby gearWater sportswearWinter active wearClimbing and hikingCyclingMotor racingTennis

Classification

High performance textile fibers and fabrics are used for– Sportswear– Sports equipment– Sports facilities

Fabric Requirement

Fibre available• 100% of cotton • Poly cotton blend• Cotton lycra blend• Polyester • Acrylic • Wool • Spandex 

Parameters:1. Strength 2. Durability 3. Tailorability 4. Formability5. Resilience 6. Absorptiveness 7. Air permeability8. Lightweight9. Stress and strain10. Easy care

Sports wear main requirements

1. Fit2. Quality 3. protection

Design making↓

Pattern making↓

Sample preparation (fit & Size Check up)↓

Production Patterning↓

Grading↓

Marker Making↓

Spreading↓

Cutting↓

Bundling↓

Sewing↓

quality check up (inspection)↓

Pressing/ Finishing↓

Final Inspection↓

Packing↓

Dispatch

Operation Sequence

STITCHES AND SEAMS AVAILABLE FOR SPORTS GARMENTS

STITCHES:1. SNLS STITCH2. OVER LOCK3. FLAT LOCK4. CHAIN STITCH5. ZIGZAG STITCH

SEAMS: 1. PLAIN SEAM2. DOUBLE SEAM3. SUPER IMPOSED 

SEAM4. BOUND SEAM 5. TURN OVER SEAM 

Leading brands available for sports garmentCk ProductsAdidasPuma ReebokNikeDecathlon 

Sports Brand

Functional and aesthetic design features of sportswear

Sportswear Design Specification pointsAllows ease of movement – stretches, good fitProtects from the weather- sun, wind, rainEasy to get on and off – openings, fasteningsComfortable to wear - Wicks away sweat, keeps you 

cool/keeps you warmStorage for key/ipod/moneyDoesn’t rub – flat seam, smooth fabricKeeps athlete visible in all conditionsWashable

What happens when you play sports?Move easily.Get hotGet coldSweat Sweat can lead to you getting coldGet dirtyRubbing/chaffingPossible falls, knocks etc. It might rain, windy, sunny, snowy.Day and night visibilityYou might need keys or money

Fibres and Fabrics often used for sportswear

The following fibres and fabrics are usually used for sportswear due to their performance characteristics.

You need to know what these are and why it makes them suitable for sportswear.

PolyesterPerformance characteristics Abrasion resistant – durable and hardwearing Non Absorbant – Doesn’t soak up sweat but is resistant to rain Crease resistant – Reduces ironing, good for clothes in sports 

bag Reasonable insulator – keeps heat in quite well Moth and mildew resistant – won’t rot if left damp Resistant to acids – sweat is an acid Collects static – not good if rubbing against other fabrics Strong

Nylon (Polyamide)Performance characteristicsStrongElastic so stretches Does not absorb waterCrease resistantDurable – hardwearingNot very warm to wear.

Cotton

StrongNot very elastic so doesn’t stretchAbsorbent –soaks up water.Creases easilyDurable

Lycra / Elastane

Very elastic so stretches well.Crease resistantDurable so hardwearingMedium strengthNot very absorbent so doesn’t soak up sweatUsually combined with other fibres to make a 

stretchy, form fitting fabric.

GoretexFabric used in skiwear, hiking jackets etc.

Performance characteristics of GoretexDurably waterproofVery breathableHighly cold resistantExtremely lightResistant to flexing

Goretex

Some Application of Sportswear

CYCLING

• In cycling, clothing is continually developed to reduce the air resistance of the clothing. While this may not seem significant at first, when results often depend on fractions of seconds after many laps of the track, anything that helps increase speed and reduce workload can make all the difference.

SWIMMING CLOTHING• Similar developments have occurred in swimming, with new 

clothing introduced at the 2008 Beijing Games that significantly reduced drag in the water by using fabric that was water repellent. 

• Many world records fell at Beijing, causing questions about whether the technological advancement was too much and reduced the validity of events. 

• This intensified at the world championships the following year, where an improved version of the all-body swimsuit resulted in even more world records being smashed. 

• As a result, the sport is currently moving back to earlier clothing versions to improve the validity of results.

RUNNING SUITS / SKINS• Compression sportswear is clothing usually worn by athletes. They may be shorts, tights or 

underwear. They are form-fitting garments and when worn cover the athlete's waist to mid or lower thigh. These garments are often made from a spandex-type material.

• The main benefits of compression sportswear is that it keeps the muscles warm to prevent muscle strain and fatigue, and wick sweat away from the body to prevent chafing and rashes. In addition, there is some evidence that compression shorts may enhance athletic performance.

HOW THEY WORK:

• When you apply compression to specific body parts in a balanced and accurate way, it accelerates blood flow. This gets more oxygen to your working muscles – and boosts your performance.

• Better blood flow also helps your body to get rid of lactic acid and other metabolic wastes – which helps you work at a higher rate for longer. Plus, improved oxygenation reduces the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness and accelerates muscle repair. So Bio Acceleration Technology™ plays a big part in helping you recover from exercise too.

FOOTBALL BOOTS• In 1954 Germany won the World Cup in footwear that would change the football boot industry for 

ever. Adi Dassler, of sports firm adidas introduced football boots with screw-in studs. The boots were massively lighter, used softer leather for enhanced flexibility and feel, and had removable ‘screw-in system’* studs which allowed length of stud to be changed according to ground conditions.   In 1956 adidas took their ‘revolution’ one step further and introduced ‘polyamide’ sole units instead of leather. These were not only lighter, but more flexible and non-porous – meaning that they didn’t feel like lead in wet conditions. 

• 1994 saw the next great ‘mass-market’ innovation in football boots, and this again came from adidas with the Predator. The Predator had two significant developments. One, on the upper where strips of rubber were placed in the forefoot of the toebox area. This was to enhance feel, power and swerve – the rubber part of the boot gripped the football (by now footballs were totally synthetic). The second major development was on the sole unit, where a traxion sole unit made from a number of strategically aligned blades supposedly gave a better grip. 

• The Nike Mercurial Vapour is now on the market weighing only 198 g (the same as some sprinting spikes) – it I the lightest boot ever made. In their own words – ‘ the vapour is built around a ‘Nike frame’ for immediate take off, it has a sculptured arch and external heel counter for comfort and support. Also the snap studs allow easy and quick change according to ground conditions. The upper repels water and provides enhanced touch and control’. Nike have also developed other technologies including – synthetic KNG100 upper, side lacing for increased striking surface. 

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