I've caught in a 100% polyester jersey, a poly-spandex jersey, and once, for one very long July doubleheader, a cotton-blend practice shirt a teammate swore was "basically the same thing." It was not basically the same thing. By the fourth inning it weighed about as much as my chest protector. By the seventh it smelled like Bunt after a swim in the lake. I've thought about fabric a lot since then.
Short answer: a sublimation jersey has to be made of polyester. Sublimation heats dye to roughly 400°F (about 205°C), turns it into a gas, and sends it into the polyester fibre, where it locks in as the fabric cools. Cotton can't hold it. Pick 100% polyester for the sharpest print and the longest life. Pick a polyester-spandex blend (85–98% poly) when you need stretch. Pick a technical knit or mesh when breathability matters most. Skip cotton and poly-cotton entirely. At NuWin, a sublimated baseball, hockey, or football jersey runs $59.99 for 1–4 and drops to $29.99 at 50+.
That's the whole post in one paragraph. The rest is the reasoning, for the teammate who has to defend the order to the group chat.
Sublimation only works on polyester. That's the whole science lesson.
Here's what a sublimated jersey actually means. Your design gets printed onto transfer paper with special dye. The paper goes onto the fabric in a heat press at 380–420°F. The heat turns the dye straight into a gas and opens up the polyester fibres. The gas moves in. The fabric cools, the fibres close, and the colour is now inside the shirt instead of on top of it.
Run your hand over a sublimated jersey and you feel fabric. No raised number. No plastic edge. No stiff patch across the chest that traps heat. That's the tell.
A full sublimation jersey takes this one step further. Every square inch is printed, seam to seam. The fabric starts white, and every colour on it, including black, comes from the dye. That's why sublimation does gradients, pinstripes, and six-colour logos at no extra cost. The press doesn't care how many colours you use. It prints them all in one pass.
One catch nobody mentions: because the base fabric is white, a deep snag can pull up a white fibre. It's rare. It's cosmetic. It's also the one honest flaw in the whole process, so I'm telling you now instead of after your shortstop slides into a fence.
100% polyester: the default for a reason
If you don't know what to pick, pick this. Pure polyester takes the dye best, so it gives you the sharpest print and the deepest colour.
- Sharpest logos and smallest text
- Won't crack, peel, or fade, even after a summer of washes
- Wicks sweat to the surface instead of soaking it up
- Holds its shape instead of sagging by August
- Limited stretch on its own
- Deep snags can show white
For baseball, a pique knit polyester is the usual pick for the jersey body. It has a slightly textured face that breathes well and looks sharp under the lights. Polyester doubleknit is the standard for pants, because pants are where you slide. (I slide like a folding chair falling down stairs. The pants have seen things.)
Polyester-spandex: for anyone who actually moves
Blends keep 85–98% polyester and add spandex or Lycra for stretch. That's enough polyester to take the dye properly, and enough spandex to give you four-way stretch. Logos and numbers stay sharp when the fabric stretches, because the colour is in the fibre, not sitting on top of it.
Here's the thing. I spend two hours of every Sunday in a crouch. A rigid jersey pulls across the back every time I set up. A blend moves with me. My knees still complain. They just don't have the jersey to blame anymore.
The trade-offs are small. Colour is a touch less saturated than on pure polyester, since there's less polyester to hold the dye. Blends also cost more to make. For a softball or soccer team that dives, slides, and sprints, it's usually worth it. Suplex (around 85% polyester, 15% spandex) is a common pick when a team wants something closer to a cotton feel without giving up the print.
Technical knits and mesh: when breathing is the priority
Technical fabrics are polyester built for a specific job. Most sit between 140 and 280 GSM. Some are tight interlock knits. Some are open mesh with visible holes for airflow. Both are hydrophobic, which is the fancy way of saying they don't drink your sweat.
- Interlock knit — smooth face, tough, resists snags, great base for detailed logos
- Open mesh — maximum airflow, a little more prone to snags
- Mixed panels — sturdy knit on the body, stretch fabric at the neck and shoulders
Hockey and football jerseys lean this way. Those players wear pads, sweat through them, and need a jersey tough enough to survive the boards or a pile-up. Mixed panels are the smart version: durability where you get hit, stretch where you swing.
Cotton doesn't work. Neither does "mostly cotton."
This is my one hard opinion, and it isn't close. Sublimation dye bonds to polyester. Cotton has no polyester in it, so the dye has nothing to grab. A design might look fine the day it comes off the press. It fades after the first wash.
Poly-cotton blends are worse in a sneakier way. The dye takes on the polyester strands and skips the cotton ones. You get a washed-out, vintage look on day one, and it gets more vintage every week. Then there's the sweat. Cotton soaks it up and holds onto it. That's how a practice shirt turns into a wet towel by the fourth inning. Ask me how I know. (Actually, don't. I already told you. Bunt still won't sit near my gear bag.)
For the record: if you want a soft cotton fan tee for the bleachers, we're the wrong shop. Go to a screen printer. Cotton plus screen print is a perfectly good tee. It just isn't a game jersey.
Weight, in plain numbers
GSM means grams per square metre. Higher GSM is heavier, tougher, and warmer. Lower GSM is lighter and cooler. Rule of thumb:
| Sport | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Soccer | Lightweight knit or mesh. You run for 90 minutes. |
| Baseball / softball | Mid-weight pique knit on the body, doubleknit on the pants |
| Hockey | Heavier, snag-resistant knit or mesh. Pads and boards are rough on fabric. |
| Football | Tough knit body, stretch panels where the pads sit |
Every NuWin jersey is fully dye-sublimated on a pro-grade polyester knit. Same fabric family across all four sports, cut to the job.
How to check a fabric before you order a full roster
Nobody else tells you how to test this yourself. Here's how I do it.
- Feel the print. Run a finger across the number. If you feel an edge, it's vinyl or screen print, not sublimation.
- Stretch the logo. Pull gently. Sublimated colour stretches with the fabric. Printed-on colour cracks or goes pale.
- Hold it up to a window. Even, tight weave is good. Thin patches mean it'll snag or tear early.
- Ask for the fabric content. If the tag or quote says anything below roughly 60% polyester, the print will look tired. Most good suppliers use 85% or higher.
- Order one first. There's no order minimum at NuWin. Order a single jersey, wear it to a game, wash it twice. Then order the roster. Trust me on this one.
Care: keep the colour where we put it
Sublimated colour won't wash out. The fabric still needs a little respect, or it stops wicking.
- Cold water, turned inside out
- No fabric softener — it coats the fibres and blocks the wicking
- Hang dry or low heat — high heat is rough on any polyester
- No iron on the print
- Not balled up wet in a hot car trunk — polyester holds smell when you let it marinate
That's it. No special detergent. No ritual. My brother and I have split season tickets since 2014, and his care routine for anything is "throw it in with the towels." The sublimated jersey survives him. That's my whole endorsement.
The trade-offs, side by side
| Fabric | Print quality | Stretch | Breathability | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% polyester | Sharpest | Low | Good | Most team jerseys |
| Poly-spandex blend | Slightly softer colour | High, four-way | Good | Softball, soccer, compression |
| Technical knit / mesh | Sharp | Low to medium | Highest | Hockey, football, hot games |
| Cotton / poly-cotton | Fades fast | Varies | Poor, holds sweat | Not sublimation. Fan tees only. |
Honest pricing
Every NuWin jersey is fully dye-sublimated. Unlimited colours, your logo, names, and numbers are all in the price. No per-colour fee. No "logo setup" charge waiting at checkout.
Honest numbers, per jersey:
| Quantity | Baseball, Hockey, Football | Soccer |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | $59.99 | $47.99 |
| 5–9 | $49.99 | $39.99 |
| 10–49 | $39.99 | $31.99 |
| 50+ | $29.99 | $23.99 |
Zero order minimum. Proofs take 1–3 business days with unlimited revisions. Production takes 10–25 business days, so plan on roughly 2–4 weeks before it ships. Sizes run 2XS to 4XL in athletic, women's, and youth fits.
Every jersey is cut and sewn for your order, so there are no returns or exchanges. If something arrives wrong because we made a mistake, we'll make it right.
Rule of thumb: pick the fabric for the worst inning, not the photo
Every fabric looks good in the team photo. Pick for the fourth inning of a July doubleheader instead.
- Standard team jersey: 100% polyester
- Lots of diving, sliding, or crouching: poly-spandex blend
- Pads, heat, or contact: technical knit or mesh
- Fan tee for the bleachers: cotton, from a screen printer, not us
In Major League, Harry Doyle watches a pitch sail to the backstop and calls it "juuust a bit outside." That's also my call on every cotton blend that claims to be "sublimation-ready." Close isn't the same as polyester.
Straight answers
What is a sublimated jersey?
A polyester jersey where the design is dyed into the fabric with heat instead of printed on top. The colour won't crack, peel, or fade, and you can't feel the print.
What does sublimated jersey mean?
"Sublimated" refers to the dye turning from solid to gas under heat, without becoming a liquid first. That gas gets into the polyester fibres and locks in as they cool.
What is the best fabric for sublimation jerseys?
100% polyester gives the sharpest, longest-lasting print. A polyester-spandex blend is best when you need stretch. Either way, aim for 85% polyester or higher.
Can you sublimate on cotton?
Not properly. The dye has nothing to bond to, so prints fade after the first wash. Poly-cotton blends only take colour on the polyester strands, so they look washed out from day one.
Do sublimated jerseys fade?
No. The colour is inside the fibre, so it survives washing and sun. Wash cold, skip fabric softener, and avoid high heat to keep the fabric itself in good shape.
What is a full sublimation jersey?
A jersey printed edge to edge, including the base colour. The fabric starts white, and every colour, even black, comes from the dye. That's why gradients and patterns cost nothing extra.
Is sublimation better than screen printing for jerseys?
For game jerseys, yes. Screen print and vinyl sit on top of the fabric, trap heat, and eventually crack or peel. Sublimation adds no weight and doesn't change how the fabric breathes.
Pick the fabric. We'll handle the rest.
Send us your logo, your colours, and what your team actually does out there. We'll match the fabric to the sport and send you a free proof. You argue about the team name. I'll be behind the plate at 8:30 AM, in polyester, as is right and proper.