Compression Fit

Compression fit is cut with negative ease — the garment pattern runs smaller than the body it covers, typically 4-8% tighter through the torso and sleeves, so the fabric itself has to stretch to close that gap and hold. Blends run high-spandex, usually 8-15% spandex against polyester or nylon, knit tight as a warp-knit tricot or four-way stretch jersey so the garment recovers its shape after every wash.

For a print buyer, compression fit is what shows up under a football jersey, on a wrestling singlet liner, or as a moisture-wicking base layer under a hockey uniform — Under Armour's HeatGear line built the category, and most team suppliers now stock a house-brand equivalent at a lower minimum. We've had teams return an entire order because the screen print cracked at the seams by week three: the ink's stretch didn't match the fabric's.

Because compression fit depends on spandex content to do its job, standard plastisol cracks under repeat stretching — specify a stretch additive, discharge, or DTF process instead, and keep prints off high-stress zones like the underarms and small of the back where the fabric moves most. Get the size chart in hand before quoting, too; compression sizing runs by body measurement, not the loose S-M-L most buyers expect, so a shirt that fits flat on the table is meant to be genuinely tight on the wearer.

The common mistake is treating compression fit like a slightly tighter athletic cut and speccing standard plastisol because it's "just a tee" — on a garment with double-digit spandex content, that print cracks, peels, or ghosts within a handful of wash cycles, and the buyer ends up covering the reprint.