All About Our Favorite Jerseys

What is a Jersey?

The name was first given to a fabric. This fabric got its name as it was manufactured on the island of Jersey. It is a well-knit fabric, also called plain knit or single knit. An earlier version of this fabric was for fisherman’s clothing. It was a heavier weight fabric than the ones used in the early 2000s. In the present times, the term Jersey is used for many clothing made from the Jersey fabric. They can be day wear or athletic wear. Read on to know more.

History:

This fabric has developed through a course of time to be what it is today. The following is a short timeline of the historical background of the Jersey fabric.

– A Jersey was mainly used for hosiery.
– Traditional Jerseys were died in blue color.
– In 1879, an actress named Lillie Langtry made it fashionable to be worn during the day. She was also given the name of Jersey Lilly. She wore tight-fitting, long jersey top over a skirt.
– Later, the famous Coco Channel popularized the fabric. It started being used to make comfortable women’s clothing, dresses, and suits.

The process of making the fabric:

– Jerseys can be hand knit or machine knit.
– Jersey knits are made from the basic knitting stitch.
– The knits have rows of loops; each loop is drawn through the loop below.
– In comparison to the other knits, jersey knits are lighter.

Kinds of Jersey fabric:

– Single Jersey
– Double Jersey
– Interlock Jersey
– Jacquard Jersey
– Clocqué Jersey
– Stretch Jersey

Uses:

There has been evolution is the production of the fabric. They were heavyweight fabric used in fishermen wear. Seamen wore tight fitting and tunic style sweaters made from this fabric. With time their uses have expanded. This fabric has been used to make clothing which is called Jersey Clothing. They are used in making T-shirts, Hoods, Jackets and the list goes on.

In sports:

The athletic wear is also called as Jerseys. Those consist of a logo of the team, sponsor name, and numbers. A player’s Jersey is his or her identity as long as they are playing the game. Jersey gains an identity which is more than just of a garment. Most of the times a Jersey is retired and placed in the native place of the team in order to honor the player.

So many of us wear Jerseys frequently. It is one of the most common clothing items in present times. But did we ever think where it came from? It’s amazing, right? Let us know your views.