If you are into sports or any fitness routines, you must have wondered why your fully stretchable clothes never lose their shape. For example, swimsuits, shorts, leggings, and shirts. They are made with spandex fabric, which is popular for its elasticity and shape retention.

Like many different types of fabric, spandex fabric material has its own unique properties that make it perfect for many types of garments but especially for activewear or sports-fitness apparel. This blog is a special guide for you to understand everything about spandex.

I have covered all the significant things about this fabric in this blog. You will learn about its composition, history, applications, properties, and disadvantages.

What Exactly Is Spandex Fabric?

Spandex is a synthetic material known for its elasticity. It can stretch surprisingly well, as it is usually used in making fitness or sports clothing. This fabric is one of a kind since it has the capacity to withstand rough use, stretching, and regular use. All in all, spandex is a durable material.

What Is Spandex Made Of?

Spandex is made of polyurethane, a synthetic polymer with extraordinary stretch abilities. This fabric is formed by forming a long polymer chain by reacting polyester fabric with disocyanate, which carries a minimum of 85% polyurethane.

Brief History of Spandex

American chemist Joseph Shivers invented Spandex fabric at DuPont’s laboratory in Virginia in 1959. Its original name used to be K-fiber, which was later branded as Lycra. It also revolutionized the garment at its arrival.

Types of Spandex Fabric?

Spandex can be created using different production methods. However, the chemical results of the process are always the same despite the diversity in methods.

1- Spandex: The word spandex is actually an anagram of the word “expands.” It was not supposed to refer to elastane fabric. However, customers kept calling it that. Americans and Canadians call it spandex today.

2- Elastane: Elastane is the chemically correct way to refer to spandex. Most Europeans use elastane or other variants of the term.

3- Lycra: Lycra is the registered trademark of DuPont Corporation. This means that only spandex produced by DuPont can be referred to as Lycra. Lycra is chemically identical to spandex or elastane. It even has the same characteristics.

There are also some other spandex types that are created by blending with this material:

  • Cotton Spandex
  • Rayon Spandex
  • Polyester Spandex
  • Nylon Spandex

What Is Spandex Used For?

Spandex is a highly versatile material that is commonly used for various garments and industrial applications. Here are some common uses of spandex fabric:

Fashion:

The clothes made of spandex are usually skin- or body-fit, which are accurate for the fast fashion community these days. This material is used to make bodysuits, leggings, and tights that look outstanding on people.

Form-Fitting Apparel:

Spandex fabric creates the finest form-fitting garments. This material is ideal for making underwear, sports clothing, and swimsuits. It gives the body a snug and comfortable fit without holding back the body movement.

Spandex can improve the elasticity of other garments too by being blended or woven into other fabrics, including wool and cotton.

Footwear:

Spandex is used in producing socks. It prevents socks from slipping down and maintains their place. If you want your socks to be stretchable, spandex is the fabric to choose.

Sports Gear:

Spandex is popular for its applications in sports and fitness. Such as, it is commonly used in making athletes’ team uniforms, cycling apparel, gloves, and compression shorts.

Industrial Applications:

Spandex is used for producing motion capture sites in the entertainment industry. It makes suits perfectly form-fitting and generates 3D characters more realistically.

Spandex Fabric Properties and Pros

Spandex is known for its many traits that are useful in producing different types of garments. Let’s discuss its prime and most promising properties, which also happen to be its pros.

Flexibility

Stretch, or flexibility, is what this blog is telling you about spandex from the very beginning. It can stretch up to 5 times its original length. This trait makes wearing tight or fitted clothes easier.

Comfort

Spandex fabric is soft, lightweight, and comfortable to wear. It allows a great range of movement. All these traits are ideal for athleisure and activewear.

Versatility or Blending Capability

You can blend spandex with other fibers, like polyester, nylon, and cotton, to produce different materials or to merge their unique properties.

Durability

Spandex is highly durable, as it can withstand repeated washing, wearing, stretching, and frequent use. It doesn’t lose its elasticity or shape very easily.

Quick-drying

Spandex is a water-resistant material with quick-drying abilities. This is the reason many swimsuits are made of spandex.

Cons of Spandex

Spandex has many advantages and properties that make it a popular choice in the textile industry. However, this material also has some disadvantages or cons that should be clearly stated to people before they get spandex.

Moisture Trapping

Due to lacking breathability, spandex traps moisture, sweat, and bad odor. This disadvantage shouldn’t be neglected since sweating or moisture can cause skin infection. However, blending spandex with cotton can resolve this issue.

Heat Sensitive

Spandex is heat sensitive, as it doesn’t absorb liquid. Therefore, you can damage this fabric by washing it using hot water, an iron, or machine drying.

What Is the Cost of Spandex?

Spandex is an expensive material. It is more costly than nylon and polyester due to its effortful manufacturing process and novelty. Elastane is commonly used in smaller quantities.

Also, customers usually keep the quantity low since a high spandex quantity in a garment means a high price for the product. There is no fixed price for this material but it can vary according to customer requirements.

Care & Maintenance

Spandex is a long-lasting and strong fabric that can withstand regular use, stretching, and rough fitness hustles. However, do not machine wash spandex. It shouldn’t be ironed. And lastly, it shouldn’t be washed with hot water.

From Where Can You Buy Spandex?

Spandex is a fine fabric that requires excellent handling when it comes to transforming it into garments. Mega Sports Apparel is the best choice for anyone wanting to create best-quality spandex clothing. You can get this fabric clothing at a reasonable price, depending on your needs and product requirements.

FAQs

Are Lycra and spandex the same?

Yes, Lycra and spandex are the same. Lycra is the brand name of spandex.

Is spandex stretchy?

Spandex is capable of stretching up to 5–8 times its original size, which means it is very stretchy.

Is spandex natural or synthetic?

Spandex is a man-made, synthetic fiber created from polyurethane.

Is spandex polyester?

No, spandex and polyester are two different materials. However, when they are blended, they adopt each other’s traits.