Industry Insights: Decorating the Organic Rib Range

For 20 years, we've provided premium blank apparel that serves as the perfect canvas for your work. We know you love our tees and hoods - but you might be missing out on a hidden gem: our Organic Rib range.

These best selling singlets, crop tanks, and baby tees are a slim fit, heavy weight 330gsm / 9.7oz. They're a favourite with universities, clothing brands, and the music industry. The entire range is made from organic cotton, grown without harmful pesticides. This promotes healthier ecosystems and responsible farming.

We get it though - ribbed fabric can seem tricky to decorate. Its unique texture and stretch might have you worried about puckering or cracking. But we're here to show you how it's done. Our customers have provided some brilliant examples of how to decorate the Organic Rib range successfully.

Bad Rego Screenprinting
📍Melbourne, Australia 
@badrego_screenprinting

Screenprint on 4035 Wo's Faded Organic Rib Crop Tank

What’s your go-to approach for screenprinting the AS Colour Organic Rib Range?

The AS Colour Organic Rib Range is super stretchy, so we’ve had the best results using plastisol stretch inks and stretch additives. We’ve tested a few different methods, including water-based inks, but stretch inks and additives are definitely our preference.

What are your tips on how to do it well?

Our tips: use a hard, sharp squeegee at a high angle to keep the print clean and sharp without laying down too much ink and risking a blown-out graphic. Also, make sure your off-contact is set for the fabric's thickness so the screen pops off nicely after each print.

Any advice on special inks, stretch additives or printing techniques?

Our go-to for white prints thus far is Avient’s Specialty stretch white ink. For coloured prints, we’d opt for a stretch additive; however, this may require additional hits of ink to make up for the reduced opacity it can cause.

What works for curing, alignment or coverage on ribbed surfaces?

We like to opt for “thicker” designs that can be exposed on lower meshes as opposed to super fine details that may be harder to push through higher mesh screens (for hand printing). This also applies to multi coloured prints where it may be harder to line up finer designs such as bitmapped images with under bases – considering the uneven surface of the material.

What should people avoid or be aware of when screen-printing on ribbed tanks?

We generally recommend avoiding soft squeegee rubbers and low squeegee angles, as the uneven surface of rib fabric makes it more likely for graphic edges to bleed. As mentioned earlier, it’s also best to steer clear of regular plastisol inks.

Zois Embroidery
📍Melbourne, Australia
zois.com.au  |  @zois_bespoke

Embroidery on 4035 Wo's Faded Organic Rib Crop Tank and Wo's 4063G Organic Rib Tank

What’s your go-to approach for embroidering the AS Colour Organic Rib Range?

I like to use a high-quality soft cut-away, and always keep the back tighter than the front in the frame. This can easily be adjusted in the framing process. The back being the cut-away non-woven interlining, we only use Freudenberg for the last 35 years. You can also use tear-away, depending on the design.

What are your tips on how to do it well? 

The basics always need to be done well: Programming - Digitising with the fabric substrate in mind definitely helps. More pull compensation .30 + and more underlay stitches would help in tackling this fabric.

Any technical advice on stabilisers, hooping, thread types, machine settings?


I would say working with Rib is an advanced embroidery application, practice makes perfect.

What should people avoid or be aware of when embroidering on ribbed tanks?

Avoid any lettering that’s below 8mm in height, make sure you use ball point needles...

Winston Embroidery
📍Melbourne, Australia
www.winstonembroidery.net.au  |  @winston_embroidery

Embroidery on 4064G Wo's Organic Rib Crop Tank

What’s your go-to approach for embroidering the AS Colour Organic Rib range?

Our approach to embroidering on the AS Colour Organic Rib Range begins with taking a step back to look at the full picture: the fabric, the design, and how they need to work together. AS Colour’s Women’s Organic Rib Tank are crafted from high-grade, organic cotton with a tight rib texture. Because ribbed fabrics have inherent stretch and surface texture, our first step is a thorough assessment of the design, evaluating line thickness, stitch density, and detail to ensure it complements the fabric's characteristics. We then select stitch directions that align with the grain of the rib to reduce distortion and maintain a clean finish.

What are your tips on how to do it well?

There’s no one-size-fits-all rule in embroidery, each design presents unique challenges that require thoughtful consideration. It's important to understand how every design element interacts with the fabric, especially when working with stretch materials like ribbed cotton. Then tailor every technical decision to suit the fabric.

• Digitise with purpose: Avoid automatic settings. Manually adjust stitch types, directions, and densities to accommodate stretch and rib structure.
• Minimalist designs work best: Open, breathable artwork with fewer solid fills is ideal for ribbed vests. Dense, geometric shapes can lead to warping, especially after washing or wear.
• Stitch density and spacing: Avoid overfilling. The right balance of coverage and breathing room ensures the embroidery sits cleanly without causing puckering.
• Stabiliser and thread pairing: we use a no-show or soft cut-away backing with a quality rayon or polyester thread. This combination ensures structural integrity and a smooth appearance without affecting the garment’s feel.

Ultimately, taking time during the setup phase leads to consistently high-quality, distortion-free results.

Any technical advice on stabilisers, hooping, thread types, machine settings?

We recommend using no-show mesh or soft cut-away stabilisers. These provide essential support for stretchy material while remaining invisible and comfortable to wear. Low quality stabilisers can cause thread breaks, fabric pull, or inconsistent stitching, especially problematic on textured, stretch materials.

Hooping: Correct tension is crucial. Do not overstretch the fabric, it should be taut but not distorted in the hoop. Inconsistent tension can lead to edge distortion or misaligned stitching.

Thread types: Use high-quality embroidery threads and right size needles for durability and sheen. Don’t overlook bobbin thread quality, it's just as important for overall stitch stability.

Machine settings: Reduce your speed to around 850-900 stitches per minute to avoid thread breaks and puckering. A slower pace helps maintain alignment and improves stitch quality on stretch fabrics.

What should people avoid or be aware of when embroidering on ribbed tanks?

Avoid heavy, solid-filled designs: Dense areas can overly compress the rib fabric, causing puckering or distortion, especially after washing.

Never use auto-digitised files: Ribbed fabrics require custom digitising that accounts for texture and stretch. Auto-settings often lack the control needed.

Watch for outline misalignment: Thin borders and precise outlines can become distorted if the fabric shifts. Always digitise your design to work with the movement of ribbed fabric, not against it.