What is piqué?
Piqué is a knit with a raised, textured surface — a fine waffle or honeycomb pattern — that gives the classic polo shirt its look and feel. It is more structured and breathable than flat jersey, hides marks well, and takes embroidery cleanly.
Why it matters
The texture is what makes a polo read as smarter than a tee, and the structure is why polos hold their shape through years of washing. It is the uniform fabric for offices, hospitality and golf.
On our floor
Our polos are 220 gsm cotton or cotton-rich piqué with a ribbed collar and cuffs. Embroidered chest logos at around $17.60 per polo at 50 from our current rate sheet.
Common questions
- Is piqué cotton or polyester?
- Either, or a blend. Cotton for feel; cotton-poly for easy care in uniforms.
- What weight is a good polo?
- 200–240 gsm; ours is 220.
- Can piqué be printed?
- Small prints and DTF work; the texture makes large flat prints uneven. Embroidery is the natural choice.
- Why do polos hold shape better than tees?
- The piqué structure and the ribbed collar are both more stable than flat jersey.
Related terms
jersey
Jersey is the single-knit fabric of the t-shirt: a smooth face, a slightly looped back, stretch across the width and a tendency to curl at…
embroidery
Embroidery stitches your artwork into the garment with thread, from a digitised file that tells the machine where every stitch goes. Priced…
GSM
GSM is grams per square metre — how much a square metre of the fabric weighs. It is the single number that predicts most about how a…
ring-spun cotton
Ring-spun cotton is yarn made by continuously twisting and thinning the cotton fibres into a fine, strong, smooth thread. Compared with…
Where this applies
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