A silicone grip print is a pattern of silicone applied to the inside of a hem or waistband to create friction against skin or another layer, which helps the garment stay in place. It is a decoration method with its own failure modes, so it needs its own specification and tests.

Placement and pattern

Decide where the grip goes, such as the inside of the hem or the waistband, and how wide the band is. Pattern matters: solid coverage reduces stretch in that zone and can feel stiff, while dots, lines or open patterns allow more stretch. The silicone must stretch with the fabric, so test the garment stretched to the extent a wearer will reach. Check that the print does not cross seams where it will crack.

Stretch and recovery

A print over an elastic fabric can reduce recovery or leave a hem that no longer returns to shape. Test stretch and recovery of the printed area against an unprinted area with a method suitable for elastic fabrics such as ASTM D4964, before and after washing.

Washing, drying and rubbing

Wash finished garments with a named procedure such as ISO 6330 for the target cycles and check cracking, peeling, tackiness and loss of grip. Check what the drying temperature does, because heat can harm some prints. A rubbing test such as ISO 105-X12 helps to see whether colour transfers. Look for lint and hair pickup, since silicone can be sticky. Do this on garments that have been through the full wash programme, because grip that works on a new sample can lose its tack after laundering or become sticky enough to hold fibre, and either result is a reason to change the silicone, the pattern or the cure before bulk production starts.

Comfort and compatibility

Check how the print feels against bare skin and how it behaves against other garments in a wash load and in a drawer, as the tacky surface can bond with other fabrics or pick up pilled fibre. If grip transfers to a wash load, change the pattern, the silicone or the cure. Ask the printer for the cure time and temperature used on the approved sample and make them part of the specification, since an under-cured print is more likely to stay tacky or wear off. Keep a washed reference piece with the approved sample so that each bulk lot can be compared by eye and by hand.

Label wording

The FTC Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423, calls for a warning if a usual procedure would harm the garment. If hot drying damages the print, say so on the label.