Knits & Weaves
Ripstop
Ripstop is a woven fabric with reinforcing threads spaced in a grid pattern, typically every 1/4 to 3/8 inch, that stop small punctures from spreading into larger rips.
Ripstop gets its strength from thicker reinforcing yarns, usually nylon or polyester in the 70 to 420 denier range, woven into the base fabric at regular intervals, typically every 1/4 to 3/8 inch, forming the visible crosshatch grid you can see and feel on the surface. When a small puncture or snag happens between two reinforcing threads, the tear runs into the next thick yarn and stops instead of continuing to unravel the whole panel.
This is the fabric behind packable windbreakers, tactical vests, gear bags, and outdoor jacket shells from brands like Rothco and Port Authority, anywhere a shirt program expands into outerwear. It's a slick, tightly woven surface, nothing like the cotton jersey most apparel decorators work with daily, and that changes how a design has to be applied.
Screen printers need a nylon-catalyst additive mixed into plastisol ink to get real adhesion on ripstop nylon; standard plastisol will crack and flake off a slick synthetic surface within a few washes. Embroidery holds up better than print on ripstop, provided the backing accounts for how thin and slippery the base fabric is under the needle.
Buyers regularly assume ripstop fabric is automatically waterproof because it shows up on rain jackets. The grid weave only stops tears from spreading; it takes a separate DWR or PU coating to actually repel water, and that coating wears off with washing well before the ripstop weave itself fails.