What is Single Jersey?

Single jersey is a light, stretchy knitted fabric made on a single-bed circular knitting machine. One face shows vertical columns of loops (wales); the other shows horizontal rows (courses). It is widely used in T-shirts, underwear and sportswear. Turkish suppliers call it süprem. The word penye, which you may see next to it, describes the yarn, not the knit structure (explained below).

Single jersey structure

Single jersey is knitted with one set of needles, so its two faces differ: wale columns (called “çubuk” in Turkish) on the face, course rows on the back (CottonWorks). Three consequences follow:

• Stretch is directional. Crosswise stretch is about twice the lengthwise stretch (CottonWorks; Dönmez, 2008).
• Edges curl and stitches can run. Single jersey cut across the width curls, and stitches can run (CottonWorks). High-twist yarn increases curling (NPTEL).
• Spirality can occur. This is a deviation of the angle between the wale line and the course line from 90 degrees (Turkish: may dönmesi), and it is undesirable (Doba Kadem and Sevgi, 2022). It is more pronounced in loose fabric without elastane (Marmaralı, 2003, cited in Cingü, 2022).

How single jersey is knitted

Single jersey is knitted on single-bed circular machines, which the Turkish industry also calls “single jersey” or “süprem machines”; the fabric comes off the machine as a tube (Dönmez, 2008). Machine gauge (needles per inch, “E” in Turkish) sets the range of usable yarn counts: the higher the gauge, the finer the yarn required (Dönmez, 2008; Cotton Incorporated, ISP 1009). Weight depends on stitch length, yarn feed, fabric take-down and gauge together; the shorter the stitch, the heavier the fabric (Dönmez, 2008).

Süprem and penye: what the Turkish terms mean

Süprem is a fabric structure; in the trade the single-bed machine is also nicknamed tek plaka (“single plate”). Penye is a yarn term, and the two should not be confused.

Penye yarn is spun from combed cotton. Combing removes short fibers and small fiber clumps called neps, giving a more even, less hairy and softer yarn (Cotton Incorporated, ISP 1006; NPTEL, IIT Delhi; Rieter). Carded yarn is spun from cotton that has passed through the carding machine but has not been combed (Cotton Incorporated, ISP 1006).

The same single jersey can be knitted from combed or carded ring-spun yarn, or from open-end yarn; research has compared all three (Dönmez, 2008; Doba Kadem and Sevgi, 2022). In everyday Turkish, however, “penye” is also used as a fabric and garment name: the Turkish Language Association (TDK) dictionary defines it as a type of fabric and the top made from it. In a quotation request, write structure and yarn separately: “single jersey, Ne 30/1 (English cotton count) combed cotton”.

Types and variants

• Fiber: Besides cotton, single jersey has been studied in viscose, polyester and cotton-polyester blended yarns (Tasmacı, 1996; Çeven, Eren and Günaydın, 2019; both cited in Cingü, 2022).
• Elastane: Elastane fed on every course gives “full elastane” (colloquially full lycralı in Turkish); on every second course, “half elastane” (Cingü, 2022).
• Slub (Turkish: flamlı): Knitted from yarn of planned, varying thickness. In single jersey knitted from Ne 20 slub yarns, pilling tendency rose with slub thickness, length and frequency (Özdil et al., 2025).
• Textured variants: Single-bed machines also knit structures such as single piqué (tek lakost; Dönmez, 2008), covered under piqué.

Single jersey weight (GSM)

There is no standard weight range. For T-shirt single jersey, knitted-fabric manufacturers quote 120–180 g/m² (Karcem, September 2026) or 120–220 g/m² (RT Tekstil, June 2026): the lower limit is similar, the upper limit depends on the source. Measured examples with a known source:

Even with the same yarn, weight can differ by more than 40 g/m² depending on the state of measurement: as the fabric relaxes, loops draw together and loop density and weight rise (Cotton Incorporated, ISP 1009; Erkoç, 2006, cited in Dönmez, 2008). Mass per unit area from small samples is measured to EN 12127, which applies to woven and knitted fabrics. For conversion, 1 oz/yd² ≈ 33.9 g/m² (120–220 g/m² ≈ 3.5–6.5 oz/yd²).

Uses

Single jersey is common in T-shirts, underwear and swimwear (CottonWorks), and is also used for dresses and sportswear (Pratt Institute).

What to specify when sourcing single jersey

1. State structure, yarn (type and count) and weight together. The same GSM can come from a fine yarn knitted tight or a coarse yarn knitted loose (Cotton Incorporated, ISP 1009).
2. Ask in what state the weight was measured: greige or finished, before or after relaxation.
3. Ask for single jersey shrinkage as a number: the width and length change under ISO 5077, from washing and drying to ISO 6330 procedures. Cotton single jersey can shrink.
4. Watch for spirality and curl: have a sample washed and check whether the wale line shifts; spirality rises in loose, elastane-free fabric.
5. For a fuller, more stable fabric consider interlock; for collars and cuffs, rib knit.