Knitted in South Africa

Our core local fabrics are knitted in South Africa using yarn sourced through the regional textile industry.
 

Knitting takes thousands of metres of yarn and forms them into a continuous textile structure through interconnected loops.
 

It sounds simple.
 

It isn't.
 

The yarn, machine setup, stitch construction, tension and finishing process all influence the characteristics of the finished fabric.
 

Different garments therefore require very different fabrics.
 

A classic everyday T-shirt needs a different structure from a heavyweight oversized tee.
 

A sweatshirt requires something completely different again.
 

And performance apparel introduces an entirely different set of requirements.
 

There is no single perfect fabric.
 

There is the right fabric for the right garment.
 

From Yarn to Fabric

Industrial knitting machines operate continuously, feeding multiple strands of yarn through precisely controlled knitting systems.
 

As the machine works, the individual yarns become interconnected loops.
 

Those loops eventually form large continuous lengths of unfinished fabric.
 

At this stage, the fabric is often referred to as greige fabric.
 

It has structure.
 

But it doesn't yet have its finished colour, feel or final characteristics.
 

There is still significant work to be done.
 

Dyeing & Finishing

Once the fabric has been knitted, it moves into dyeing and finishing.
 

This is where colour is introduced and the fabric begins developing the appearance and characteristics of the finished textile.
 

Our core local fabric supply is both knitted and dyed in South Africa.
 

Keeping these processes local means that another significant part of the garment's manufacturing journey happens within the South African textile industry.
 

But dyeing isn't simply about making fabric black, white, navy or another colour.
 

It requires carefully controlled processes to achieve:

• colour consistency

• penetration

• repeatability

• softness

• dimensional stability

• suitable shrinkage characteristics

• the required finished appearance
   

The finished fabric has to work not only when it leaves the mill, but after it has been cut, sewn, decorated, worn and washed.
 

More Than GSM

One of the most common ways clothing is marketed today is by fabric weight.

160 GSM.

180 GSM.

220 GSM.

250 GSM.
 

GSM stands for grams per square metre.
 

It tells you how much one square metre of the fabric weighs.
 

That's useful information.
 

But GSM alone doesn't tell you whether a fabric is good.
 

Two fabrics can have exactly the same GSM and still feel, wear and perform completely differently.
 

That's because fabric quality is influenced by much more than weight.

It includes:

• fibre quality

• yarn construction

• knitting structure

• stitch density

• finishing

• shrinkage

• surface characteristics

• recovery

• consistency
   

That's why we don't develop garments around a GSM number alone.
 

Weight is a specification. Quality is the result of the entire process.
 

The Fabric Creates the Fit

A garment pattern doesn't exist independently from its fabric.
 

The two work together.
 

Take the same oversized T-shirt pattern and manufacture it using two different fabrics and you can end up with two very different garments.
 

A lightweight fabric may collapse and drape closely around the body.
 

A heavier, more structured fabric may hold the shoulders and create a stronger silhouette.
 

A fabric with more stretch may grow during wear.
 

A more stable fabric may maintain its original shape.
 

This is why selecting the correct fabric is fundamental to garment development.
 

We don't simply ask:

“What GSM should this T-shirt be?”

We ask:

“How should this garment feel and behave?”
 

Then we select the fabric accordingly.
 

Understanding Hand Feel

One of the hardest textile characteristics to communicate online is also one of the easiest to understand when you physically touch a garment.
 

Hand feel.
 

Hand feel describes how a fabric feels against your skin and in your hands.

It can be:

Soft.

Dry.

Smooth.

Structured.

Dense.

Light.

Brushed.

Fluid.

Crisp.
 

Two fabrics with identical fibre compositions and identical GSMs can have noticeably different hand feels.
 

Yarn choice, knitting and finishing all contribute to this.
 

And when you're creating premium apparel, that tactile experience matters.
 

A customer may never know the technical reason a garment feels better.
 

They simply know that it does.
 

Drape & Structure

Fabric also determines how a garment interacts with the body.
 

This characteristic is often described as drape.
 

A fabric with high drape falls softly and follows the shape beneath it.
 

A more structured fabric holds its own shape.
 

Neither is automatically better.
 

It depends on what you're trying to make.
 

A premium oversized T-shirt may benefit from additional structure because it helps create the wider silhouette associated with the fit.
 

A lighter classic tee may benefit from more natural drape.
 

Fabric selection therefore becomes part of the design process.
 

Shrinkage & Stability

Cotton is a natural fibre.
 

It reacts to moisture, temperature, mechanical movement and washing.
 

That means dimensional stability matters.
 

Fabric needs to be understood not only in its new state but in how it behaves after laundering.
 

Shrinkage can affect:

• garment length

• body width

• sleeve length

• neckline

• print placement

• overall fit
   

This is another reason fabric and pattern development have to work together.
 

A pattern should account for the characteristics of the textile it is designed to use.
 

Colour Consistency

For a consumer buying one T-shirt, colour variation may seem insignificant.
 

For a brand ordering the same garment repeatedly, it matters enormously.
 

Textile dyeing involves variables.

Raw fibre changes.

Water chemistry changes.

Dye lots change.

Production conditions change.
 

Maintaining colour consistency across repeated production requires experienced textile manufacturing and controlled processes.
 

This becomes particularly important for brands building permanent core ranges.
 

Black needs to remain black.

​

Navy needs to remain navy.
 

The garment ordered six months from now needs to sit comfortably alongside the garment ordered today.
 

Textiles will always have acceptable manufacturing tolerances, but consistency remains one of the standards we look for from our fabric supply chain.
 

Built for Decoration

Our fabrics don't finish their journey when they become garments.
 

Most of them are going to become somebody else's brand.
 

That means they also need to provide a reliable surface for decoration.
 

Depending on the garment, that may include:

• Direct to Garment printing

• Direct to Film printing

• screen printing

• embroidery

• labels

• patches
   

The surface of the fabric, fibre composition, structure and finishing can all influence how a decoration process performs.

A premium blank therefore has two jobs.
 

It has to be a great garment.
 

And it has to be a great canvas for your brand.
 

Supporting Local Textile Manufacturing

Local clothing manufacturing is about much more than the final sewing operation.
 

A functioning apparel industry requires an entire network.

Cotton growers.

Ginners.

Spinners.

Knitters.

Dyers.

Finishers.

Fabric distributors.

Pattern makers.

Cutters.

Machinists.

Printers.

Embroiderers.

Packers.

Logistics providers.
 

Our core local fabric supply helps support this broader South African textile ecosystem.
 

One of the key fabric manufacturing operations within our supply chain employs more than 80 people from local communities and has been producing textiles in South Africa for more than 25 years.
 

Those jobs exist before a single In.It garment reaches our cutting table.
 

That's an important part of what locally made means to us.
 

More Than 25 Years of Local Textile Manufacturing

The local fabric manufacturing network behind our core range includes textile manufacturing operations established in South Africa in the late 1990s.
 

That represents more than a quarter-century of accumulated knowledge in knitting, dyeing, finishing and textile production.

Textile manufacturing is technical.

Machines can be purchased.

Experience cannot.

Keeping production local helps preserve the knowledge and skills required to keep South African textile manufacturing alive.
 

Why Local Fabric Matters

It would be easy to import finished fabric.
 

It would be even easier to import finished garments.
 

But every manufacturing stage moved offshore removes another piece of the local textile value chain.
 

Where our specifications and available materials allow, we choose to work with locally produced fabric because it helps:

Support South African manufacturing

More of the garment's value is created within the local economy.
 

Maintain textile skills

Knitting, dyeing and finishing require specialised knowledge and experience.

Strengthen local supply chains

Local garment manufacturing becomes more resilient when the textile inputs behind it are also available locally.

Improve visibility

A shorter, more connected supply chain allows us to understand more about how our materials are produced.

Support local employment

The economic impact of a locally made garment begins long before the sewing stage.
 

Local Doesn't Mean Perfect

We think this distinction matters.
 

Manufacturing locally does not automatically make a product sustainable.
 

Knitting requires electricity.
 

Dyeing requires water, energy and chemicals.
 

Fabric creates waste.
 

Materials still need to be transported.
 

Every manufactured product has an impact.
 

We're not interested in pretending otherwise.
 

Our approach is to understand more of that impact, support responsible improvements throughout our supply chain and keep as much value within the regional textile economy as practical.
 

That's a much more meaningful commitment than simply attaching a green label to a garment.
 

From Fabric to Garment

By this point in the journey, the cotton has travelled a long way.
 

It has been grown.

Harvested.

Prepared.

Spun into yarn.

Knitted.

Dyed.

Finished.

Only now do we have fabric.

The T-shirt still doesn't exist.

That comes next.

At a Glance

 

Fabric ManufacturingCore local fabrics knitted in South Africa

DyeingCore local fabrics dyed and finished in South Africa

Local EmploymentA key fabric manufacturing operation within our supply chain employs 80+ people from surrounding communities

Manufacturing HeritageMore than 25 years of textile manufacturing experience within our local fabric supply network

Fabric SelectionBased on weight, structure, hand feel, drape, stability and intended garment performance - not GSM alone

Decoration ReadyFabrics selected with downstream printing, embroidery and branding requirements in mind

Why Local MattersSupports South African textile skills, employment and domestic manufacturing capability
 

Transparency Matters

The information on this page relating to upstream textile manufacturing, employment and manufacturing history is based on published information and documentation from organisations operating within our supply chain.
 

We deliberately don't publicly disclose every commercial manufacturing partner.
 

We do believe in sharing the processes, standards and measurable impact behind the garments carrying your brand.

Our supply chain will continue to evolve.

So will the information we share about it.
 

The Journey Continues

We now have finished fabric.
 

The next step is turning that fabric into something recognisable.
 

A pattern is created.
 

The fabric is laid.
 

Individual components are cut.
 

And skilled hands begin assembling them into a garment.

Next in the Journey
 

Next: The Garment →
 

Discover how fabric becomes an In.It garment through local pattern development, cutting, sewing and finishing.