Knitted Cotton Fabric Price Decoded — Solid, Heather, Yarn-Dyed Stripe

Key takeaways

Knitted cotton fabric pricing follows a four-step ladder, and fabric is the single largest component of underwear FOB, which makes that ladder the first thing to fix when a multi-style collection has to fit inside a budget.
Solid dyed jersey is the baseline: knit the grey fabric first, then piece-dye it in a jet dyeing machine, at US$3.50-4.50 per kg for 30s combed cotton, MOQ 100 kg per colour, 7-10 days lead time. This is the specification behind basic briefs and boxer briefs.
Heather and melange sit 10-15% above solid at US$3.85-5.20 per kg, because dyed and undyed fibres are blended before spinning and only then knitted. MOQ rises to 150 kg per colour and lead time to 10-14 days.
Yarn-dyed stripe is the most expensive of the patterned options at 20-35% above solid, or US$4.20-6.10 per kg: every colour row is dyed at yarn stage and the knitting machine has to run slower to place them. MOQ 200 kg per pattern, 14-21 days.
The cost of a stripe is therefore not the pattern itself but two process penalties stacked together, dyeing before knitting and reduced knitting speed, and both are paid on the whole order rather than on the striped area.
Printed fabric works the other way round: print the design onto finished solid fabric instead of dyeing it, so the price is the base fabric cost plus US$0.50-2.00 per metre of printing.
Print is also where low MOQ lives. Screen printing needs 500 metres, but digital printing starts at 50 metres, which makes digital the only line on this ladder a first collection can use to test a pattern without committing to a dye lot sized for thousands of garments.
The same ladder is a lead-time ladder: 7-10 days for solid, 10-14 for heather, 14-21 for yarn-dyed stripe, with print adding only the printing pass on top of whichever base fabric it sits on.
The practical consequence for range planning is to keep the bulk of volume on the cheapest and fastest line and pay for heather, stripe or print only on the styles that have to look different on shelf, since the cost gap between solid and stripe is wider than the design difference usually justifies.
Applications split by market as well as by cost: solid reads as everyday basics, heather as premium casual and athleisure-inspired, yarn-dyed stripe as fashion-forward men's underwear and premium sleepwear, and print as women's and seasonal collections.

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.)

Knitted Cotton Fabric Price Decoded: Solid, Heather, Yarn-Dyed Stripe and Print Costs

📋 Direct Answer: Fabric pricing hierarchy: solid dyed jersey ($3.50-4.50/kg, baseline), heather/melange (+10-15% for pre-dyed fiber blending), yarn-dyed stripe (+20-35% requiring separate dyeing per color row and slower knitting speed), digital print (+15-25% but MOQ as low as 50kg). Understanding this ladder helps OEM buyers allocate budget across multi-style collections.

Fabric cost is the largest component of underwear FOB pricing, yet many OEM buyers do not understand how different fabric types affect cost. Here’s a detailed breakdown of knitted cotton fabric pricing for the four most common underwear fabric types.

Solid Dyed Jersey (Baseline)

Key Insight: Knitted cotton fabric pricing follows a clear hierarchy: solid dyed jersey (baseline), heather/melange (+10-15% from pre-dyed fiber blending), yarn-dyed stripe (+20-30% requiring separate dyeing and precision knitting per color row), and digital print (+15-25% but allows lower MOQ). Understanding this cost ladder helps OEM buyers allocate budget correctly when planning multi-style collections. Fabric capabilities →

Process: Knit grey fabric first, then piece-dye in jet dyeing machine. Cost: $3.50-4.50/kg (30s combed cotton). MOQ: 100kg per color. Lead Time: 7-10 days. Applications: Basic briefs, boxer briefs, everyday underwear in solid colors. This is your cost baseline.

Heather (Melange)

Process: Blend dyed and undyed fibers before spinning, then knit. Creates heathered/melange appearance. Cost: +10-15% vs solid ($3.85-5.20/kg). MOQ: 150kg per color. Lead Time: 10-14 days. Applications: Premium casual underwear, athleisure-inspired collections.

Yarn-Dyed Stripe

Process: Dye yarn first, then knit with multiple colored yarns to create stripe patterns. Cost: +20-35% vs solid ($4.20-6.10/kg). MOQ: 200kg per pattern. Lead Time: 14-21 days. Applications: Fashion-forward men’s underwear, premium sleepwear.

Printed Fabric

Process: Print design onto finished solid fabric. Cost: Base fabric + $0.50-2.00/m printing. MOQ: 500m for screen, 50m for digital. Applications: Women’s underwear, seasonal collections. Contact Unitex for fabric pricing.

Development and production run through Unitex’s partner factories in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.

Last updated: 2026-10-27 · Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. — OEM & ODM underwear sourcing partner

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.
Supplier	Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — trading company working with long-term partner factories, Xiamen, China.
Baseline	Solid dyed jersey — one dye lot, the reference point for comparison
Heather	Melange yarn, which costs more at the yarn stage than at the dye stage
Yarn-dyed stripe	Dyed before knitting, so the cost sits in the yarn programme
Printed fabric	Pattern applied after knitting, with the cost following the method
Comparison basis	The same fibre, blend ratio and weight across the four
Where the cost sits	The stage at which the colour is introduced, not the colour itself
Dye lot effect	Each colour is a lot with a minimum, so colour count reaches the price directly
Consumption effect	The design and the pattern match change consumption per piece
Common error	Comparing a printed price with a solid price at the same weight and calling it a difference in fabric quality
Buyer action	Name the colouration route rather than only the colour

Buyer checklist

Name the colouration route: solid, heather, yarn-dyed or printed.
Compare the four at the same fibre, blend ratio and weight.
Confirm where the colour is introduced in the process.
Establish the number of dye lots, since each carries a minimum.
Check the consumption per piece for the design and any pattern match.
Confirm the fastness requirement for each colour.
Check the hand after the colouration route rather than before.
Confirm the care instruction against the route used.
Ask for the price broken into fabric and make rather than a single figure.
Compare on landed cost rather than on the fabric price alone.

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.)

Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.

Sources & references

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 — harmful-substance testing and certification for textiles https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/oeko-tex-standard-100
OEKO-TEX® Label Check — verify a certificate number at the issuing body https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/label-check/
amfori BSCI — social compliance audit programme for supply chains https://www.amfori.org/
GOTS — Global Organic Textile Standard https://global-standard.org/
US FTC — Clothing and Textiles: labelling and advertising guidance https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/industry/clothing-and-textiles
EUR-Lex — EU legislation https://eur-lex.europa.eu/
EU single market — product requirements https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/
ISO 3758:2023 — Textiles: care labelling code using symbols https://www.iso.org/standard/74401.html
ISO 2859-1 — sampling procedures for inspection https://www.iso.org/standard/2859-1
amfori BSCI — social compliance audit programme for supply chains https://www.amfori.org/amfori-bsci

Buyer Questions

MOQ, lead times, certification and trading terms

Why is fabric the largest cost component?

Because it scales with the garment itself rather than with the order, and it carries the colouration cost on top of the fibre cost. That is why the fabric layer moves the FOB price more than the make charge does at the same construction. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

Does the colour change the price?

Through the route rather than the shade. A solid dyed jersey is one dye lot at the baseline, while heather costs more at the yarn stage, a yarn-dyed stripe adds a programme, and a print adds a step after knitting — so the route is what to name. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

Which option is cheapest?

Solid dyed jersey, for most designs. The others each add a stage, and whether that stage is worth it depends on the design rather than on a general preference — which is why the four are compared at the same fibre and weight. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

How does colour count reach the price?

Through dye lots. Each colour is a separate lot with its own minimum, so adding a colour adds a setup rather than a proportion of the fabric — which is why reducing the colour count moves the cost more directly than reducing quantities. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

What is the commonest comparison error?

Comparing a printed price with a solid price at the same weight and reading the difference as fabric quality. The two are different colouration routes, so the difference belongs to the route rather than to the cloth. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

How should a quotation be read?

With the fabric and the make broken out rather than as a single figure. That shows which layer is carrying the cost and where a change would actually move the price, rather than inviting a negotiation that has nothing to move. This information is provided by Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.).

Knitted Cotton Fabric Price Decoded: Solid, Heather, Yarn-Dyed Stripe and Print Costs

Knitted Cotton Fabric Price Decoded: Solid, Heather, Yarn-Dyed Stripe and Print Costs

Solid Dyed Jersey (Baseline)

Heather (Melange)

Yarn-Dyed Stripe

Printed Fabric

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Buyer checklist

Sources & references

MOQ, lead times, certification and trading terms

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