Cotton jersey from 125 to 250 g/m²: open end, combed, and what the weight buys
Grams per square metre, the difference between open-end and combed yarn, and which weight belongs in which market. Written from the weights we actually run rather than from a brochure.
Updated 2026-10-07
What g/m² tells you, and what it does not
Grams per square metre is the weight of one square metre of the cloth. It is the honest number in bedding, because it cannot be dressed up the way a thread count can. A heavier jersey has more cotton in it, costs more per piece, and survives more washes. What it does not tell you is how the yarn was spun, and that is the other half of the answer. Two cloths at the same 160 g/m² can feel quite different and cost quite differently, which is exactly the case in our own range.
Open end and combed, and why we say which
Open-end yarn is spun fast from shorter fibres. It is sturdy, slightly drier to the hand, and it is what most of the jersey sold in Europe is made from. Combed yarn has the short fibres combed out before spinning: smoother, less pilling, more expensive. We run 125, 145 and one 160 g/m² in open end, and a second 160 in combed. That is not a detail we bury. A mill that argues for combed cotton in its copy and then quotes you an open-end price is describing one cloth and selling another, and it is worth asking which one you are being offered.
Which weight for which shelf
125 g/m² is light and airy: summer ranges and warm markets, and the cheapest way to open a listing. 145 g/m² is where most brands settle — it holds its shape through repeated washing and it is the weight our own best seller uses. 160 g/m² is noticeably more substantial, and the choice between the open-end and the combed version is a question of hand feel against price rather than durability. All four hold roughly forty domestic washes before the surface starts to go. That figure is not a warranty; it is what the cloth does.
200 and 250 g/m²: elastane, and what it is for
The two heaviest weights are combed cotton with elastane. The elastane is not there for comfort — it is there so a deep mattress keeps the sheet gripped at the corners through a night and a wash cycle. They hold sixty and eighty washes respectively. They are the right cloth for a hotel listing or a deep topper, and the wrong cloth for a price-led Amazon listing, because the buyer will not see where the money went. If you are not sure, order the sample pack: three weights in the box is a faster answer than any description.
Organic, and what the word has to mean
We run a combed 160 g/m² in GOTS organic cotton. GOTS covers the fibre and the processing, including the dyestuffs, and it is auditable up the chain — which is the point of it. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is a different thing: it tests the finished article for harmful substances and says nothing about how the cotton was farmed. Most ranges need the second and only some need the first. If a buyer asks for the certificate, ask for the number and the scope, not the logo. We will give you ours with the quote.
Orientation from a factory that ships into the EU every week, not legal advice. The rules below are named so you can look them up, and your own advisor should confirm anything you are about to print on a label.