What Is the Best Swimsuit Material?
Posted on June 24th, 2022
Swimming is a great way of getting fit and having fun at the same time. If you haven’t been for a swim lately, now is the perfect time to start thinking about new swimwear. There are so many fabric choices, though. How do you know which one to go for? What is the best fabric for swimwear?
The best fabric for swimwear is a polyester/elastane blend. Elastane is the super stretchy fabric better known by the brand names Spandex or Lycra. Polyester is colorfast and resistant to chlorine, making it a perfect choice. Nylon is another good fabric for swimwear, but it is more likely to pill over time.
Swimwear fabric has to be comfortable and durable. When combined with elastane, polyester and nylon have similar qualities. Let’s take a look at how each one performs in swimwear.
What Material Are Swimsuits Made Of?
Natural Fabrics
Before the invention of synthetic fibers or stretchy Lycra, swimsuits were made from natural fibers. Weirdly enough, wool was one of the most popular. The thinking behind the use of wool, it has a certain amount of elasticity, so it could be knitted into close-fitting swimwear.
Wool was also readily available and affordable, meaning swimmers could knit their swimming costumes. There were knitting patterns in fashion magazines to enable them to do this. Slightly bizarre from a modern-day perspective, but it was all they had back in the days before Spandex and Lycra. One of the leading names in swimwear today, Speedo, started as a knitting factory making socks.
Like most natural fibers, wool tends to soak up water. This causes it to expand, become heavy and stretch out of shape. None of which are endearing qualities when it comes to bathing suits.
With the recent push for more sustainable options, wool and polycotton blends are slowly making their way back into swimwear. There’s still a long way to go before natural fabrics can come close to the superior swimming experience offered by synthetic materials. Until then, natural fibers will continue to be ruled out when choosing suitable fabrics for swimwear.
The change from natural to synthetic fibers is all down to the introduction of Lycra back in the 1950s. Swim-orientated garment design was revolutionized. Leading to groundbreaking progress in the development of swimwear.
Synthetic Fabrics
The list of synthetic fibers and blends of fibers is endless for suitable fabrics for swimwear. Synthetic materials are brimming with the essential qualities today’s swimwear needs to perform in both competitive sports and fashion arenas.
Topping the choice of suitable fabrics is polyester. A fabric with built-in resistance to chlorine and sunlight, it’s both easy to care for and durable. When blended with the stretch of elastane, the inherent qualities of polyester make it the perfect option for swimwear.
There are different combinations of polyester-elastane blends. Some fabrics will contain more polyester, others more elastane. The result is the same, though. A fully functional, resilient piece of clothing designed to be a hit in the pool or by the beach.
Elastane can be blended with other fabrics besides polyester. Going by the names Spandex or Lycra, elastane can be coupled with nylon to create a swimwear fabric. Nylon is less UV resistant and can be damaged by chlorine. It’s still a suitable alternative to a polyester-based garment, especially if you are looking for a one-season fashion swimsuit.
Less popular but just as comfortable is a polycotton-spandex knit fabric. This option combines the look and feel of polycotton with the stretch needed for swimwear.
It comes with some disadvantages. Being part-natural fiber affects its ability to dry quickly and it tends to fade at a faster rate. Despite this and depending on the ratio of polyester to cotton, this fabric has the potential to be a durable and viable choice.
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