Regular dyeing colours the fabric before the shirt is sewn. Garment dyeing colours the shirt after. That one change in order affects how the shirt feels, how it ages, and how much it costs to make.
How each one works
In conventional production, cotton yarn or knitted fabric goes into the dye bath on a roll. It comes out an even, consistent colour. The fabric is then cut into panels and sewn into shirts. Every shirt from that roll matches exactly.
In garment dyeing, the shirt is cut and sewn first, from undyed fabric. The finished garment then goes into the dye bath as a whole. Seams, hems and the body all take the dye at slightly different rates.
What you notice on the finished shirt
| Garment-dyed | Fabric-dyed | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour consistency | Slight variation shirt to shirt | Uniform |
| Feel when new | Soft, already broken in | Crisper, softens with wear |
| Later shrinkage | Mostly happened in the dye bath | More left to come |
| How it ages | Settles into a lived-in tone | Tends to fade flat |
| Cost to produce | Higher | Lower |
The variation is the point
Two garment-dyed shirts in the same colour will not be identical, and the difference is more obvious across separate production runs. If you buy the same design twice a year apart, expect a slightly different white.
This is a property of the process, not a defect, and it is the reason the colour looks worn-in before you have worn it.
Why it shrinks less afterwards
The dye bath is hot and the garment is agitated in it for a long time. That is, functionally, an aggressive first wash carried out at the factory. The fibres do their contracting there. What reaches you has already been through it, which is why a garment-dyed tee holds its size if you wash it cold and dry it low.
Why we pay for it
We print on Comfort Colors 1717, a garment-dyed 6.1 oz blank, rather than a lighter fabric-dyed shirt. It costs more per unit and it is heavier in the hand. In exchange the shirt keeps its shape and softens rather than stiffening.
You can see the full specification on any product page, for example the A Snowy Day tee. More on how we choose blanks is on our About page.