What Does GSM Means In Fabric?
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Are you new to fabric or do you own a small piece of fabric?
If you’re here, it means you’re in the fabric business, but you don’t know what GSM stands for.
GSM in the fabric means something different than electric GSM in the fabric. GSM helps you figure out how thick a layer of fabric is. It also lets you choose the type of fabric you want based on how thick it is.
So, you might choose the wrong material if you don’t know how to measure the thickness of it. In this article, we’ll tell you about GSM and how it applies to fabric. Keep reading Sewing Desire to learn more.

GSM is a method that lets us know how thick the fabric is. In short, GSM is the weight of the fabric. Grams Per Square Meter (grams/m2) is the full form of GSM in fabric. GSM in fabric stands for the weight of the fabric in grammes.
The GSM rate goes up as the density of the fabric goes up. And when GSM goes up, the price of a certain fabric goes up. GSM can also help you figure out how thick something is and decide what to buy.
What Does GSM Means in Fabric ?
Grams per square metre (GSM) is a metric measure of surface density that tells you how thick a sheet of material is. Technically, GSM is used to measure how thick paper and fabric are.
If you bought a 200 GSM t-shirt, that means that the knitted cotton fabric is 200 grammes per square metre. The GSM also changes how much that t-shirt costs. Some kinds of fabric are measured in ounces per square yard. A non-metric measuring unit of fabric weight is what this way of measuring fabric is called. For example, the weight of denim is measured in ounces to show how dense it is.
Whether you are a designer, the owner of a clothing business, a clothing store owner, or someone who buys fabrics, you need to know what GSM stands for. In fact, if you work with fabric, you need to know what GSMs are and how to figure out a fabric’s GSM.
Is it important to follow the GSM when working with fabric?
Yes, you need to pay attention to the GSM in fabric to get the right denier. You need to know what GSM is if you want to buy a T-shirt for a festival or your store. It’s important because a good t-shirt weighs between 160 and 180 GSM, while t-shirts with collars weigh between 180 and 200 GSM.
Here, you can find out if the t-fabric shirt’s is good or not. One thing to keep in mind is that GSM never shows the quality of the fabric. It only shows how thick it is. You can’t just look at the quality of the wear or dress to decide how good it is. Quality shows what kind of cotton or fabric something is.
During the summer, t-shirts are between 130 and 150 gsm. And the fabric of a cheap promotional t-shirt is thin, with a weight of 100 to 110 gsm. During the winter, hoodies and sweaters are made of thick, 300–400 gsm fabric. So, if you don’t pay attention to the gsm of the fabric, you’ll buy a sweater in the summer.
The more gsm your t-shirt has, the longer it will last even after being washed many times. If the gsm goes up, so does the price range of the fabric. Here is how to figure out how many gsm a fabric has:
The sample’s weight in grammes is multiplied by 10,000, and then the result is divided by the sample’s size in cm2.
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Which GSM is better?
From what we’ve talked about so far, we know what GSM stands for and how it works. You also get to learn how to figure out the fabric’s GSM. Now you should know whether high or low GSM is better. Here’s a quick look at how they’re different:
The fabric is thicker when the gsm number is higher, and thinner when the gsm number is lower. Fabrics with a high gsm use more microfiber and cost more. Low gsm clothes, on the other hand, have less microfiber and cost less. Low-density clothes wear out faster than high-density ones. So high gsm is better than low gsm, but it costs more.
Questions People Usually Ask (FAQ)
How Do I Figure Out The GSM Of A Fabric?
The gsm rate is easy to figure out, and it’s easy to figure out how to calculate it. First, you have to multiply the sample’s weight in grammes by 10,000. Then, you divide the result by the sample’s area in cm2. And the total number is called the fabric’s GSM.
Do fabrics with a high GSM cost more?
Yes, fabrics with a high GSM do cost more. GSM is a measure of how heavy or dense the fabric layer is. So, the gsm number goes up as the thickness of the fabric goes up. Cloths with a low GSM are made with fewer microfibers than those with a high GSM. So, when you buy a piece of fabric, you should know that if the gsm is high, the fabric will be expensive.
What kind of GSM should I get?
It depends on the weather and how thick you want the material to be. Like in the summer, choose a fabric that is between 130 and 150 gsm. These clothes will be thin and easy to breathe in. But if you want winter clothes, you should choose a material that is more than 300 gsm. This thickness of the cloth is enough to keep you warm in the winter.
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Conclusion
Now you know what GSM stands for and why it’s important in fabric. GSM helps people choose the right fabric density for the right situation. No matter if you’re in the fabric business or just a regular person who uses fabric, you should know how to figure out GSM. We hope that everything we told you about GSM helped you understand it.