Side Vents
Construction — one of 70 in the glossary
Short slits left open at the bottom of the side seams, usually finished with a bartack at the top to stop them splitting further. They let the hem move over the hips instead of riding up, which is why they are standard on untucked polos and woven shirts, and they are often paired with a longer back panel. For decorating they matter only at the hem: a bottom-edge print needs to clear both the vent and its bartack, and the two front and back panels are no longer joined there, so the garment will not lie square on a platen.
Letting the hem move
A side vent is a short slit left open at the bottom of the side seam. It lets the front and back panels move independently over the hips instead of the hem riding up as a single band.
That is why they are standard on untucked polos and woven shirts — a shirt meant to be worn out needs a hem that sits rather than rides.
They are often paired with a longer back panel, so the vent and the extended tail work together.
The bartack is the point of failure
The top of a vent is where the slit stops, and it takes all the stress of the panels pulling apart.
A bartack — a dense cluster of stitches — is what stops the slit continuing up the seam. Without one, or with a weak one, a vent eventually splits.
It is a quick thing to check on a sample and a common place for a cheap garment to fail.
At the hem, for a decorator
The two panels are no longer joined at the bottom, so the garment will not lie square on a platen at hem level.
A bottom-edge print has to clear both the vent and its bartack, and anything crossing the vent line will not sit flat.
Chest placements are unaffected — this is a hem-level consideration only.
Common questions
- What are side vents on a shirt?
- Short slits left open at the bottom of the side seams, so the front and back panels can move over the hips instead of the hem riding up.
- Why do polos have side vents?
- Because they are meant to be worn untucked. Vents let the hem sit over the hips rather than riding up, and they are usually paired with a longer back panel.
- What is the bartack on a side vent for?
- It stops the slit continuing up the seam. The top of the vent takes all the stress of the panels pulling apart, so a weak or missing bartack is where a vent splits.
See also
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