What Is Piqué Fabric?

Piqué is used overwhelmingly for polo shirts. Its raised knitted texture holds the cloth off the skin, which is why it became the tennis shirt fabric in the 1920s and 30s, and it also holds a collar upright and hides creasing. Beyond polos, knitted piqué turns up in school and corporate uniforms, hospitality wear, some structured dresses and skirts, and children's clothing where a little body helps a garment keep its shape through washing. In uniform programmes the polo is usually the default staff garment, and piqué is chosen for its structure and crease resistance. Micro piqué, usually in polyester, is used for performance polos. There is also a woven piqué, called marcella, used for the bib fronts of formal dress shirts and for bow ties, but that is a different fabric made on a different machine and shares only the name and the raised appearance. When a garment factory says piqué without qualifying it, they mean the knitted kind.

Piqué is pronounced pee-KAY, with the stress on the second syllable, following the French. It is not pronounced peek or pick. The word comes from the French piquer, meaning to prick or to quilt, which describes the pricked-looking raised surface of the cloth. You will see it spelled both piqué and pique in supplier correspondence, because the accent is usually the first casualty of a keyboard; they mean the same fabric and nobody in the trade will think twice about either spelling. Written either way, it names the same knitted cloth with a raised waffle or honeycomb surface, the classic polo shirt fabric. The word itself matters less than what follows it on paper, because piqué names a family of knits rather than one cloth, and a factory needs to know which member of the family you mean before it can quote.

Piqué has a raised waffle or honeycomb texture; jersey is smooth and flat. Both are knits, but piqué's texture comes from the stitch structure: some needles are held out of action on selected rows, so longer loops stand proud of the surface in a repeating grid. Jersey is knitted without that pattern, so its face stays even. The practical differences follow from that. Piqué breathes more because the texture holds the cloth off the skin, it holds a collar and placket upright, and it hides creases because the matte surface breaks up light. Jersey is softer and smoother against the skin, drapes more and shows every fold. In looks, piqué reads classic and traditional, while jersey reads modern and casual, closer to a t-shirt. Neither is better; the choice should follow the garment's job. If you cannot decide, sample both in the same weight and compare them side by side.

Most cotton piqué polos sit between about 180 and 220 GSM, roughly 5.3 to 6.5 oz per square yard, heavier than a t-shirt because the piqué construction is thicker at the same yarn count. Below roughly 170 GSM the collar struggles to stand up, which is the single most visible failure in a cheap polo. Heavier double piqué runs above 220 and gives more body, at the cost of comfort in heat, which matters if the polo is going to be worn all day in a warm climate. Put the finished weight on your spec sheet, meaning the weight after dyeing and compacting rather than straight off the knitting machine, and check it on the pre-production sample alongside the shrinkage result. Weight is only half the answer, though. The collar is the other half, and it is the part your customer will judge first, so ask how it is made.

The main types of piqué are honeycomb (or waffle), birdseye, double, micro and slub piqué, and they differ in texture, weight and fibre. Honeycomb or waffle piqué is the standard piqué, with a visible cellular grid. Birdseye piqué has a finer, denser dotted texture, often knitted in two colours of yarn. Double piqué is a heavier double-knit version with more body and no curling at cut edges. Micro piqué has a very fine texture, usually in polyester for performance polos, and looks almost smooth at arm's length. Slub piqué is knitted from irregular slub yarn for a deliberately uneven, vintage surface. All of them get their texture from the knitting itself rather than from a finish, so the pattern cannot wash out or press flat. If you are not sure which one you have in mind, send a reference polo whose feel you like; the garment usually settles the type faster than a description does.

Double piqué is a heavier, double-knit version of piqué, knitted on two sets of needles rather than one. It has more body and more stability than standard single piqué, does not curl at cut edges, and gives a more substantial, structured polo. Knitting on two sets of needles uses more yarn per square metre and more machine time, so it is priced above single piqué. Where most cotton piqué polos sit at about 190 to 220 GSM, double piqué runs heavier, so it can feel warm in hot weather. It suits polos that need to look formal or survive industrial laundering, such as hospitality and uniform work, and is usually more than a fashion polo needs. If you are unsure which you are describing, send the polo you want to match. Its weight, its hand and the way its cut edges behave tell us quickly whether it is single or double piqué, and we quote the one your garment needs.

Cotton piqué shrinks like any cotton knit unless the fabric has been compacted before cutting, so ask what finishing it has had and confirm residual shrinkage with a wash test on your own sample before bulk. Compacting relaxes the knitted loops before the fabric is cut, so most of the shrinkage happens at the mill rather than in your customer's first wash. The texture itself will not wash out, because it is knitted into the stitch structure rather than embossed on. Shape loss is usually a collar problem rather than a fabric problem. A collar knitted separately to a firmer gauge holds up over repeated washing; a collar cut from body fabric goes soft and curls, and it does so within a few months. If a quote does not specify how the collar is constructed, that is the question to ask before price.

Interlock is smooth on both faces, while piqué has a raised textured surface, and both give a polo more structure than jersey. Interlock is a double knit, so it is heavier, more opaque and more stable than single jersey, holds its shape without any visible texture, and does not curl when cut. It also uses more yarn per square metre, which makes it the dearest of the three usual polo fabrics, with piqué sitting between interlock and jersey. Piqué's texture holds the cloth off the skin and breaks up light, which is why it breathes and hides creases better than a flat knit. Interlock suits garments where a flat surface matters: it is a common choice for performance polos that carry a printed or sublimated finish. For a classic cotton polo worn at work, piqué is the usual answer; choose interlock when you want a clean, smooth face or an all-over sublimated print, for which you should expect to be quoted polyester interlock.

Only a little across its width, and less than single jersey of the same fibre. The raised texture comes from loops held over on selected rows, and those held loops make the fabric firmer and more stable than a plain knit. That stability is the point on a polo: it keeps the body from growing and helps the placket lie flat, but it also means a cotton piqué polo relies on its cut, not the cloth, for ease of movement. When a polo needs real give, as a fitted or performance polo does, a few percent of elastane is knitted in, usually called stretch piqué. The collar is a separate decision: a separately knitted rib collar with elastane recovers after washing, while a collar cut from body fabric does not. Put the composition, including any elastane, on your spec, and tell us how close to the body the polo is meant to sit.

Yes, which is why it became the tennis shirt fabric. The raised texture holds the cloth slightly off the skin, so air moves between them, and the matte surface hides creasing and damp patches better than smooth jersey. Weight matters more than the knit, though. Most cotton piqué polos sit at about 180 to 220 GSM; double piqué runs heavier, and it feels warm when worn all day in a hot climate. For staff polos in heat, a lighter single piqué is usually the better choice, and below about 170 GSM the body looks thin and the placket loses its shape. Fibre matters too. Cotton absorbs sweat and dries slowly, which is why sports polos are often knitted in polyester micro piqué. If your polo will be worn outdoors or in a warm kitchen, say so in the brief, and we will suggest the weight and composition before you approve the sample rather than after.

No, although the names overlap. Honeycomb piqué is sometimes sold as waffle piqué, because its small raised cells look like a fine grid. Waffle knit, used as a fabric name on its own, usually means a different and deeper structure: larger square cells with pronounced pockets, used for thermal tops, henleys and loungewear, where the pockets trap warm air. Piqué's texture is much finer and flatter, so it reads as smooth from a few steps away and keeps a polo looking smart. Both get their texture from the knitting itself, not from embossing, so neither washes flat. In practice the confusion causes quoting errors. A supplier asked for waffle may quote a thermal fabric when you wanted a polo cloth, or the reverse. Avoid that by naming the garment, the weight in GSM and the exact variant, honeycomb, birdseye, double or micro piqué, and by sending a reference garment with the brief.