Bella + Canvas 3981C - Unisex Lightweight Sweater - Heather Athletic

The Bella + Canvas 3981C is the Unisex Lightweight Sweater, a 5.3 oz poly/viscose rib-knit pullover cut with raglan sleeves and a flat 1x1 smooth rib body, the blank a decorator reaches for when a program wants a lighter retail sweater knit rather than a heavy cotton-fleece crew. It is the sweater for retail and resale lines, corporate and uniform programs, campus and team merch and the layering runs that want a finer rib-knit pullover by the dozen. The body is 5.3 oz of 65% polyester / 35% viscose spun to 32 singles in a 1x1 smooth rib engineered with a flat face for printing, finished with 2x2 ribbed waistband, neckband and cuffs, raglan sleeves and side seams in a retail fit. The size range runs XS through 2XL, in six colourways: Black, Midnight, Heather Athletic, Heather Dark Gray and the two-tone White / Heather Athletic and Maroon / Heather Athletic, which run a solid body with contrast Athletic Heather raglan sleeves. The standard colours are a 65/35 poly/viscose body, while the Athletic Heather is a 52% polyester / 48% viscose blend.

The 3981C decorates as a poly-majority rib-knit body, not a cotton fleece, which sets the method list and rules out the cotton routes, but the 5.3 oz rib sweater is substantial enough to embroider where the thin flowy poly/viscose tees are not; the raglan cut and ribbed trims also shape where a print sits, with art kept on the flat 1x1 rib body below the raglan seams and clear of the 2x2 ribbed waistband, neckband and cuffs. For DTF, the transfer bonds to the poly/viscose face and the engineered flat rib takes a transfer cleanly, the standout and most colour-consistent route across the whole range; use a soft low-bulk film so the print moves with the rib rather than stiffening the body. For screen printing with plastisol, the poly-majority fabric migrates under a hot cure, so run a low-bleed ink and a poly-blocking underbase, keep the deposit light and the cure moderate, and the flat 1x1 face holds the print better than a coarse rib. For embroidery, the 5.3 oz rib body holds a stitch where a lighter flowy tee would not, so back the panel with a cut-away stabiliser to control the rib stretch, keep the design on the flat body below the raglan seams and off the 2x2 ribbed trims. For vinyl, a light flexible HTV presses at a lower temperature on the heat-sensitive body, so keep the design centred on the flat body so it moves with the rib. DTG does not apply, since the 65/35 poly/viscose body carries no cotton for the ink to bond to. Water-based and discharge inks do not apply, since the poly and viscose body will not discharge. Sublimation is not a reliable route, since the viscose content does not hold disperse dye and the colours are not a white polyester substrate.

• Brand: Bella + Canvas
• Style: 3981C (Unisex Lightweight Sweater)
• Fabric: 65% polyester / 35% viscose, 32 singles (Athletic Heather 52% polyester / 48% viscose)
• Weight: 5.3 oz/yd2
• Construction: 1x1 smooth rib body, 2x2 rib waistband/neck/cuffs, raglan sleeves, side-seamed.
• Fit: Unisex retail fit
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL
• Colors available: 6 colourways across solids, heather and two-tone (check current availability on the product page)
• Ordering: available by the piece or by the case; confirm current packing per case for your colour and size before a large order
• Care: Machine wash cold, gentle. Tumble dry low.

The reorder note specific to this style: treat it as a poly-majority rib body, so default to DTF for clean colour across the range and place art on the flat 1x1 body below the raglan seams, clear of the 2x2 ribbed trims; the 5.3 oz rib is the one poly/viscose Bella body in this family that takes embroidery, so back it with a cut-away stabiliser when stitching. Hold a light deposit and a moderate cure on any plastisol run because of the poly migration. Cross-shop the Bella + Canvas 3901 Unisex Sponge Fleece Raglan Sweatshirt for a heavier cotton-blend raglan crew, and the Bella + Canvas 3945 Unisex Drop Shoulder Fleece for a heavier drop-shoulder fleece when more weight decides the order. TheClothingSpace stocks the 3981C at wholesale pricing with bulk discounts that increase as case and unit quantities rise, among the lowest prices online for this style, with fast US shipping on stocked colours.

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