Fabric, printing and care

What is the best T-shirt fabric for children?

Children's shirts get washed far more often than adult ones, which compresses the whole lifecycle and changes what matters. Softness against skin is the first consideration, but resistance to repeated laundering runs a close second.

Pure cotton is the most comfortable and the most breathable, and it takes prints best. Its weakness is shrinkage: an untreated cotton tee can lose three to five per cent of its length in a hot wash, which on a child's shirt is enough to change the fit.

A 50/50 cotton-polyester blend resists shrinking and holds colour longer, and dries much faster — genuinely useful for garments in constant rotation. It is slightly less breathable, which matters more in hot weather than most people expect.

Weight is the number worth checking and the one most listings omit. Below about 145 gsm a shirt starts to feel thin and show wear sooner; above about 180 it can feel stiff on a small child until it has been washed several times. The middle of that range is where most well-made children's tees sit.