Acrylic sweaters, your specification
Made to your tech pack, fabric and colours by a factory matched to the order.
Private label
Your main label, care label, hangtag and polybag. Nominated trims accepted.
Acrylic sweaters are the knitwear of value ranges, supermarkets, school lists and fashion brands that want a soft jumper at a low price that goes in the washing machine. Acrylic is light, warm for its weight, takes bright colours and does not felt as wool does. An acrylic sweater manufacturer in Bangladesh knits it on flat knitting machines, from 3 gauge chunky knits to 12 gauge fine ones, in plain, jacquard and intarsia designs.
Garments Hub BD asks both factories quoting the sweater to state the yarn type, count, gauge and target weight per piece, so a cheaper quote cannot rest on a lighter knit or a regular yarn swapped for high bulk. Jacquard and intarsia designs go only to plants on the bench that already knit them.
Kinds of acrylic sweater
High bulk acrylic jumpers
Yarn spun from a mix of fibres that shrink by different amounts when steamed, so the yarn puffs up. Softer, loftier and warmer than regular acrylic, and closer to wool in hand; the usual retail choice.
Regular acrylic knits
Non bulked yarn, smoother and flatter with a slight sheen. Lower in cost and clear in stitch detail, so it suits fine gauges, uniform knits and textured stitches.
Acrylic wool blends
Commonly 70 to 80 percent acrylic with wool, for more warmth and a natural hand at a price below wool. The wool share is tested and stated on the label to the percent.
Jacquard and intarsia sweaters
Patterns knitted in. Jacquard carries several colours across each row; intarsia knits blocks of colour without floats behind. Bright acrylic shades suit both, on machines set up for the design.
Chunky acrylic at 3 to 5 gauge
Heavy, lofty knits from thick yarn or several ends together, lighter than wool of the same bulk. Quick to knit per panel but heavy in yarn per piece.
How to specify an acrylic sweater
- Yarn type and count
- Regular or high bulk, the count, for example 2/32 Nm, and the ends knitted together. Anti-pill acrylic, a modified fibre that lets pills break away, suits ranges sold on wear.
- Gauge
- 3 or 5 for chunky, 7 for mid weight, 10 or 12 for fine knits. A thick yarn on a fine gauge knits stiff; a thin one on a coarse gauge knits loose.
- Weight per piece
- A target finished weight per size with a tolerance. Acrylic is light, so a few grams short is already a visibly thinner knit.
- Bulking and relaxing
- Say whether high bulk yarn is bulked in the hank before knitting or on the knitted panel. Bulking after knitting shrinks the panel, and the pattern must allow for it.
- Colours and pattern
- Shade references per colour and, for jacquard or intarsia, the design in stitches per row with the colour count. Each colour is a yarn dye lot with a minimum in kilos.
- Care
- Machine wash temperature and drying advice. Acrylic stretches out of shape when hot, so dryers and irons stay cool on the label.
Tests for an acrylic sweater manufacturer in Bangladesh
- ISO 12945-1
- Pilling box test, the result buyers watch closely on acrylic. Acrylic pills hold on to the knit instead of falling away, so agree a grade before bulk and test the bulk yarn.
- ISO 5077 with ISO 6330
- Dimensional change after washing. Acrylic will not felt, yet an unrelaxed knit still moves in its first wash; ask for length and width figures on the finished sweater.
- ISO 105-C06
- Wash fastness of dyed acrylic yarn. Dark and bright shades in a jacquard can bleed into white stitches, so ask for staining results as well as shade change.
- Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011
- EU fibre names, with acrylic a listed name and blends declared by percentage. US labels follow the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, and the Wool Products Labeling Act where wool is present.
What moves the price of an acrylic sweater
- Yarn: high bulk and anti-pill acrylic cost more per kilo than regular, and wool blends more again.
- Weight per piece, which falls as the gauge moves from chunky to fine.
- Jacquard and intarsia, which knit slower and need set up per design.
- Colour count, since each shade is its own yarn dye lot.
- Against wool and cotton: at the same gauge, acrylic usually costs less per piece.
Lead time for acrylic sweaters
Acrylic yarn in standard shades is widely stocked by spinners, so plain jumpers in stock colours reach the knitting machines quickly. Shades dyed to a lab dip add a yarn dyeing round, and every colour in a jacquard must be ready before the first panel. Intarsia knits slower than plain, and steaming high bulk panels adds a step before linking. Each stage carries its own date on the quote.
What we check on acrylic sweaters before shipment
- Pattern placementJacquard and intarsia motifs checked for position, colour order and clean matching at side seams and sleeve heads.
- Scale weightSweaters from each size put on a scale against the approved weight; a light reading points to a looser knit or thinner yarn.
- Early pilling testA sweater from the first bulk panels sent for the pilling test before most of the order is linked.
- Floats and snagsInside of jacquards checked for long floats that catch fingers and jewellery, and the face for pulled loops.
Questions buyers ask about acrylic sweaters
Is high bulk acrylic worth the extra cost?
For a retail jumper sold on softness, usually yes. High bulk yarn is loftier and warmer and feels closer to wool. Regular acrylic is smoother and costs less, and suits fine gauges, uniform knits and patterns where clean stitch detail matters more than softness.
Why do acrylic sweaters pill, and what helps?
Acrylic fibre is strong, so pills that form on the surface stay attached instead of breaking off. Anti-pill acrylic, a tighter knit, plied yarn and longer fibre all reduce it. Agree a grade by the pilling box method before bulk, and test the bulk yarn rather than a swatch.
How does acrylic compare with wool and cotton on price?
At the same gauge and style, acrylic usually costs less per piece than wool and often less than cotton, as the yarn is cheaper and lighter. Wool blends sit between. Weight, gauge and design still set the price, so a chunky acrylic jacquard can cost more than a plain fine cotton knit.
How many colours can a jacquard acrylic sweater carry?
It depends on the machine and the design. Each extra colour in a row adds yarn carried behind the face as floats, so the panel grows heavier, the floats longer and the knitting slower. Intarsia knits blocks of colour with no floats, so it suits large motifs with few colours in a row. Send the artwork, and both factories state what their machines knit and at what weight.
Get a quote for acrylic sweaters
Tech pack or sketch with quantities per colour. A compared quote in 48 hours.
