1STEX
Menu

Fabric designed
stitch by stitch.

We develop and produce functional circular knits for apparel, triple-knit jacquard for mattresses, and cooling fabrics for bedding.

We draft patterns and process yarn in-house, and follow the same standards for bulk production as for sampling.

Development & production inquirySee the fabrics

Fabrics

Apparel & functional knits

We develop circular knits for sportswear, workwear and innerwear: stretch single jersey and stretch double knits, interlock, ponte, and dense high-gauge fabrics. Yarn count and stitch density are chosen for the conditions the garment will be worn in, and stretch recovery and surface hand are checked on samples first.

We have handled knits for seasonal apparel and for uniforms alike. One of those jobs was a patented moisture-wicking, quick-dry fabric supplied to more than 50 institutions under Korea’s Ministry of Justice, where the fabric had to stand up to frequent laundering and stay consistent across a large volume.

End use
Sportswear · workwear & uniforms · innerwear
Structure
Stretch single jersey & double knit · interlock · ponte (Punto di Roma) · piqué · dense high gauge
Function & yarn
Moisture-wicking, quick-dry · Aerosilver

More detail

FaceFillerBack

Mattress & dimensional jacquard

On a mattress or a topper, the cover fabric decides the first impression in the store. Our triple-knit and quilted-knit jacquards are knitted in three layers, with a filler yarn laid between the face and the back, which gives the fabric its thickness and cushioning. A large pattern that uses the full machine width and a small brand logo or lettering are both placed stitch by stitch. When we use cellulosic yarns such as lyocell, modal, bamboo viscose and rayon, or functional yarns such as temperature-regulating (PCM) fiber, the structure is adjusted again to suit the yarn.

End use
Mattress covers · topper covers
Structure
Triple-knit jacquard · quilted-knit jacquard · logo & lettering jacquard
Yarn
Lyocell · modal · bamboo viscose · rayon · temperature-regulating (PCM) fiber

More detail

Cooling & bedding fabrics

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) cooling yarns such as Huvis DURARON-Cool conduct heat well. We knit them together with other yarns to balance the cool touch (Q-max) felt the moment skin meets the fabric with the soft feel that bedding needs. We produce fabrics for cooling pads, comforters and toppers, and quilted-knit jacquard for pillows with a bedding brand’s logo and pattern knitted in.

End use
Cooling pads · comforters · toppers · pillows
Structure
Cooling knits · quilted-knit jacquard for pillows and bedding
Yarn & property
Huvis DURARON-Cool · HDPE (PE) cooling yarn · cool touch (Q-max)

More detail

Patterns

Patterns are drafted in-house.

11121314111121
  • Long float
  • Where the repeat joins

How well a jacquard fabric turns out depends on how accurately the artwork is carried over into needle movements on the knitting machine. At 1STEX, patterns are prepared in-house with TexCAD, jacquard CAD software we developed ourselves.

One cell on the screen is one stitch in the fabric. Long floats, the join where a repeat meets itself, and the density of light and dark areas are checked before anything is knitted. A brand logo file or a reference image can be turned into a knitting pattern right away, cutting down on repeat sampling.

Design protection

Your design does not turn up anywhere else.

A design you have put real work into should not leak through an outside pattern studio, or show up slightly altered in another customer’s samples. We have set working practices to prevent this.

The route a pattern file takes
Customerlogo · artwork · reference images
In-house
Pattern workTexCAD
Machine fileloaded on the knitting machine
Knittingall jacquard
Not on the routeOutside pattern studioSubcontract jacquard mill

Jacquard stays in-house

For jacquard, pattern work, machine-file generation and knitting are all done in-house. At no stage does a pattern file go out to an outside pattern studio or a subcontract jacquard mill.

Not shown to other customers

Patterns, brand logos and artwork that a customer provided, or that we developed for that customer only, are stored separately under that customer’s code. We do not use them in sales samples or proposals for other customers, and we do not supply altered versions of them.

1STEX designs on exclusive terms

Designs owned by 1STEX can also be supplied to you on exclusive terms. Where needed, we secure the rights by registering the design in Korea, which lets us stop other mills there from knitting the same design.

Production

We prepare the yarn, knit the fabric, and keep production records.

Yarn prepared for the fabric

We do not rely on off-the-shelf yarn alone. With in-house air-interlacing equipment we make air-covered yarns and interlaced composite yarns, so the stretch and hand a fabric needs are set at the yarn stage.

Gauge and quantity are settled in consultation

We produce single-jersey, double-knit and jacquard fabrics on circular knitting machines, using coarse yarns at low gauges for bulk and fine yarns at high gauges for a dense surface. Jacquard development can start from relatively small quantities. Minimum quantity and lead time depend on the type of fabric and on yarn availability, so we settle them with you in consultation.

Every roll is recorded

For each roll we record the knitting machine, the item and the defect type, and the roll stays in the same system through to shipment. If a problem comes up, we can tell right away which machine knitted the fabric and when. We also developed this production management system in-house, to suit the way our mill operates.

Sample record
Inspected
2026-11-10 14:20
Machine
Jacquard 02
Item
Triple-knit jacquard
Weight
21.4 kg
Defect type
None

Company

1STEX, 제일섬유

1STEX was established in 2021 in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, on the foundation of core circular-knitting and yarn-processing equipment and a sales base built up over 40 years.

To long hands-on experience with yarn tension and knit structures, we have added jacquard CAD software and a production management system of our own. Yarn processing, pattern work, knitting, inspection and shipment are all run directly at our Pocheon mill, and we develop fabrics together with our customers so that their products stand out in the market.

Address
43 Hwadong-ro 477beon-gil, Hwahyeon-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Fax
+82 31 536 5351

Contact

Talk to us about the fabric for your next product.

Tell us what the product is for and the direction you have in mind, and we will come back with a suitable fabric and development specification. Even at an early stage with no detailed spec, a reference image or a sample is enough to start.

Development & production inquiry

Phone +82 31 536 5350Fax +82 31 536 5351
Email [email protected]

Helpful to include

  1. End use apparel · mattress · bedding · industrial
  2. Material or desired feel
  3. Gauge · weight if known
  4. Expected quantity and timing
  5. Reference images

Artwork and reference files you send are handled under our design protection principles.