Lycra, Foil, Velvet, Mesh & Sequin Fabrics for Dance and Cheer Costumes

The base fabric: 4-way stretch lycra at 180–220 GSM

Every dance and cheer costume ZipaSports makes starts from a 4-way stretch lycra/spandex knit at 180–220 GSM, and the decorative fabrics (foil, velvet, mesh, sequin) are cut as panels and sewn onto or into that base. 4-way stretch means the knit extends and recovers both along the length and across the width, which is what lets a leotard survive splits, leaps and lifts without the seams taking the load.

The 180–220 GSM range is lighter than the 240–300 GSM used for gym leggings because a costume is not squat-tested under daylight; it needs to be opaque under stage lighting, move with the body and hold its shape through a full recital season. We use the upper end for leotards and bodysuits worn on their own and the lower end for skirts, overlays and sleeves layered over another piece.

The fibre choice under the word lycra matters. Polyester-spandex lycra takes sublimation, so it is the base for any printed design. Nylon-spandex lycra is softer in hand but only comes in solid colours. Both are cut on the same lines in Sialkot, Pakistan, for leotards and bodysuits and full dance costumes.

Dance costume fabric options compared

The table below lists the fabric options ZipaSports runs for dance and cheer costumes, what each is built from, how much it stretches and which decoration methods it accepts. Costumes normally combine two to four of these in one garment.

Foil (metallic) fabric: how it behaves on stage and in the wash

Foil fabric is a stretch lycra base with a thin metallic film bonded to its face by heat and adhesive, which is why it gives a mirror or holographic shine that a printed metallic ink cannot match. The film sits on the surface of the knit rather than in the yarn, and that fact explains everything a buyer needs to know about it.

When foil lycra stretches, the film opens into fine crackle lines and the base colour shows through, so a gold foil on a black base reads darker on a stretched bodice than on a relaxed skirt panel. We match the base colour to the foil for that reason, and we recommend foil as panels rather than the full body of a costume that needs maximum stretch, because the film adds a small amount of firmness.

Foil cannot be sublimated over, since the film blocks the dye from reaching the polyester underneath. Logos and names on a foil costume are therefore placed by hotfix rhinestones, by embroidery on an adjacent lycra panel or by a cut foil shape heat-applied to plain lycra. Foil also marks under a hot iron and dulls in a tumble dryer, which sets the care rules further down this page.

Stretch velvet: pile direction, weight and decoration

Stretch velvet is a pile knit on a polyester-spandex ground: the ground gives the 4-way stretch and the short cut pile gives the light-catching surface. It is heavier and warmer in hand than plain lycra, which suits bodices, ballroom and lyrical costumes and winter recital pieces more than high-cardio cheer routines.

The pile has a direction, called the nap, and the fabric reads a different shade when the light runs with the nap than against it. ZipaSports cuts every velvet panel in one costume, and every costume in one team order, with the nap running the same way, so a line of dancers under the same stage light shows one colour. This is a marker sheet and cutting-table discipline, and it is one of the reasons velvet costumes are quoted per design rather than from a price list.

Velvet is available in solid colours, with a crushed variant on request. It takes hotfix rhinestones and embroidery well because the pile hides the stone glue and the stitch back. We do not recommend sublimation on velvet, because the dye cannot penetrate the pile evenly and the image reads soft; for printed velvet-look panels we use sublimated lycra instead.

Power mesh insets and illusion panels

Power mesh is a fine, firm 4-way stretch mesh knitted from nylon-spandex or polyester-spandex, used where a costume needs an open or illusion effect without losing support: sleeves, backs, side panels, keyholes, necklines and midriff insets. It is stronger and less see-through than soft costume tulle, holds its shape through a routine and carries hotfix rhinestones without tearing.

Skin-tone mesh, matched to the dancer's shade range, gives the illusion of bare skin on stage while keeping the coverage many dance schools and cheer programmes require; skin-tone mesh is available in a range of shades and the closest one is confirmed on the mockup. Polyester power mesh can be sublimated, so a printed sleeve or back panel can carry the same pattern as the lycra body.

Mesh edges are finished with a narrow bound edge, a clean-finish elastic or a lycra binding so the panel does not roll or ladder at the seam. Follow your competition organisation's rules on mesh coverage before finalising a cheer uniform; the design studio in Sialkot will flag a panel that looks likely to fail a coverage rule when it builds the mockup.

Sequin fabric and rhinestone hotfix

Sequin fabric and hotfix rhinestones are the two ways a dance costume carries sparkle, and they behave very differently on the body. Sequin fabric is a sheet of sequins stitched onto a stretch mesh or lycra base; the sequins themselves do not stretch, so the fabric has reduced stretch and is used as an overlay on a lycra bodice, a skirt or an accent panel with lycra underneath. Its cut edges are bound in lycra so no sequin edge sits against the skin, and sequins are removed from the seam allowance before the seam is sewn.

Hotfix rhinestones are glass or acrylic stones with a heat-activated glue back, placed on the fabric to the layout in your approved mockup and set with a heat press. They work on lycra, foil, velvet and power mesh, and stone size is specified on the mockup in standard SS sizes. Because the number of stones changes with every design, rhinestone work is quoted per design after the layout is agreed.

ZipaSports applies both in-house in Sialkot, Pakistan; the full method is on the rhinestone and crystal embellishment page.

Sublimation on stretch lycra for all-over prints

All-over printed costumes are made by dye sublimation on polyester-spandex lycra: the design is printed onto transfer paper, then heat-pressed at roughly 200 °C so the dye turns to gas and bonds inside the polyester fibre. The print becomes part of the yarn, so it does not crack, peel or fade in the wash, and it adds no hand or stiffness to the knit.

Sublimation gives a dance studio unlimited colours in one costume, gradients, ombré fades, photographic textures and pattern-matched panels across a whole team, plus printed names, numbers and studio logos at no extra decoration step. Nylon-spandex lycra does not accept sublimation dye, which is why every printed costume is cut from a polyester-based lycra.

On a stretch fabric one rule matters: the fabric is printed flat and then cut, so under extreme stretch the white base can show between the dyed loops, an effect called grin-through, and it shows more on dark backgrounds. Keeping the base at 180–220 GSM with good elastane recovery, and grading the pattern to the dancer's actual size chart rather than stretching a smaller size, keeps grin-through below what an audience can see. Details are on the dye sublimation page.

Lining, gussets, elastics and stitching

A stage costume is lined and finished differently from a gym garment, and the construction spec is agreed at the mockup stage. Leotards and bodysuits are front-lined in a light lycra lining, skin-tone or self-colour, so the body is opaque under stage lights; a shelf bra lining is added where a bodice needs support; and the crotch is a lined gusset rather than a single seam.

Leg and neck openings are finished with clear or braided elastic, stitched flat so it does not roll; a skirt attached to a leotard is joined at the waist seam; and closures use covered hooks and eyes, snap crotches on cheer bodyliners or hidden zips as the design needs. Seams are overlocked, hems are coverstitched, and any seam that sits against skin during a floor routine can be flatlocked instead.

Sizes run adult XS–5XL, women's XS–4XL and youth sizes, with fully custom size charts for a studio or squad; team orders are graded from your measurements, and matching skirts, leggings and tights and hair bows and accessories are cut from the same dye lot.

Care instructions and how to order

Decorated dance fabrics last longest when they are washed cold, inside out, in a mesh bag and never tumble-dried or ironed on the decorated face. The table is the care wording ZipaSports recommends for each fabric.

To order, send a sketch, reference photo or idea and the studio returns a free digital mockup within 24 hours. A physical sample takes 5–7 days, is charged at sample cost and is credited against the bulk order. Bulk production is 15–25 business days after design approval. MOQ 20–25 pieces per design, lower on request. Quality Guarantee: if any garment arrives with a manufacturing defect, we remake it free of charge — the remake goes into production within 3 days of your report.