A yoga towel is not a substitute for a good mat — it is a wet-grip layer you add on top when a practice produces more sweat than the mat surface can handle. Printing Yoga manufactures the mat half of that pair: natural rubber, PU-topped and PVC yoga mats built in your own designs, colors and alignment-line layout. We do not weave microfiber towels, so this guide covers what the two parts actually do, which mat surfaces need a towel and which do not, and what to specify when you order the mat side of a studio or retail bundle.
Do you need a yoga mat and towel, or just the mat?
Wet grip and dry grip are different properties. A surface that feels excellent dry can turn slick the moment sweat pools on it, while a frosted or napped top keeps working when damp. That difference is the entire reason the towel category exists, and it is why the answer depends on your practice rather than on the price of the mat.
If you teach or sell into hot and heated classes where sweat pools instead of evaporating, pair a towel with the mat and choose a top layer that tolerates constant moisture. Our Frosted PU + Rubber mat at 185*68*0.45cm is made for that use, and the towel becomes the washable wear layer between hands and mat.
If you practice or supply slower, drier styles — restorative, alignment work, gentle vinyasa — a towel mostly adds laundry without adding grip you need. One mat with a textured top and clear laser-printed alignment lines does the job on its own.
If you need us to manufacture the towel itself, we are not the right supplier. Printing Yoga's production capacity covers yoga mats, meditation cushions and activewear; microfiber towel weaving sits outside what we make, and we would rather say so than promise a category we do not control. We can still help you spec the mat so a towel from your own towel supplier lies flat on it.
Mat surfaces and towel pairing compared
These are three mats we actually produce, with their real surface materials and dimensions, so you can match a surface to the practice you are outfitting and see where a towel earns its place.
| Mat | Surface material | Dimensions | Alignment lines | Towel pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matte professional mat | Frosted PU + Rubber | 185*68*0.45cm | Laser printed | Optional — the frosted top holds grip when damp |
| Watercolor printed mat | PU + Rubber | 185*68*0.45cm | Latex printed | Recommended — a towel also shields the printed design from sweat |
| PVC premium mat | PVC | 183*61*0.6cm | Laser printed | Recommended for hot classes; the thicker cushion suits hard studio floors |
One detail buyers miss until the first shipment lands: towels are cut to a mat footprint. A towel sized for a 183*61cm mat will leave the edges of a 185*68*0.45cm mat exposed, and a towel cut for the wider mat will overhang the PVC one. Fix the mat dimensions first, then hand those numbers to whoever supplies the towels.
What to specify when you order the mat
Our services cover the mat from artwork to delivery, so the details worth locking early are the ones that change tooling rather than the ones you can adjust later. Confirm the surface material, the dimensions, the alignment-line method — laser printed lines sit in the surface, latex printed lines sit on it — and the colorway. We can create your own designs across a wide range of colors: the matte mat is produced in Matte Dark Gray, Matte Emerald Green, Matte Light Purple, Matte Milk Tea Color and Matte Soft Pink, and the PVC mat in Black, Burgundy and Purple, but for OEM work we build your palette rather than these stock options.
Our team can help you match the mat to the rest of your kit and will ensure the high-quality standards you sign off on the first sample carry through the main run, so the products your customers unroll deliver the same experience as the sample on your desk.
FAQ
Do I really need a yoga towel, or is a good mat enough?
For dry and moderate practice, a good mat is enough — a frosted or textured natural rubber top grips bare hands well. Once sweat starts pooling under your palms in a heated room, no dry-grip surface fully solves it, and a towel is the cheaper, washable answer.
Will the towel slide around on the mat during practice?
That depends on both layers. A slick, glossy mat surface lets a towel travel; a frosted PU or textured rubber top gives it something to hold onto. If your customers complain about slipping, the mat surface is usually the part worth changing.
What size towel fits your mats?
Match it to the mat footprint you order. Our professional rubber mats run 185*68*0.45cm and the PVC mat runs 183*61*0.6cm, so one spec will not sit correctly on both — decide the mat size first, then order the covering layer to suit.
Can you print our designs on the mat so it matches a towel we source elsewhere?
Yes. We print full-surface designs and brand marks on the mat and can work to your color references, which is how most bundles stay visually consistent when the second piece comes from a different supplier. Send the artwork and the color values and we will match on the mat side.
Do the alignment lines still show if the mat is covered by a towel?
No — a full-length towel covers them. If alignment lines are a selling point of your product, either offer a shorter towel that leaves the line zone visible or put the lines in your marketing of the mat itself rather than relying on them during heated classes.
How do we start a custom mat order?
Pick the surface and dimensions from the table above, then send us your designs and target colors. We will confirm surface, line method, colorway and delivery timing before sampling so nothing changes after tooling.